"Life Begins At Conception,” Indiana Law Would Inform Women Seeking Abortion“

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana, February 13, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Under a new law proposed in the state of Indiana, women seeking an abortion would hear from their doctors that human life begins at conception, They would also hear that their baby might be able to feel pain.

The law would go farther than almost any other legislation in the country in requiring that women be fully informed about the act of abortion. Only South Dakota has brought in a similar law, which has been blocked by court proceedings.

Current law in Indiana requires doctors to tell women about the age of their baby and its potential viability, and to offer to show an ultrasound of the child. They must also provide information on risks and alternatives to abortion.

Dorothy Timbs, of the National Right to Life Committee, told the Associated Press that many women seeking an abortion are told the fetus is nothing more than "a blob of tissue." She says women need to understand the consequences of an abortion on both the fetus and themselves.

"This is a decision that profoundly affects both forever and is irreversible," she said. "Women deserve this information. The more they have, the better off they are."

29 states have “informed consent” laws in place that ensure women seeking an abortion receive information about the procedure beforehand. In most states the information is limited to resources available for them if they decide to carry the child to term. Three states, Arkansas, Nevada and Wisconsin, offer information about the potential psychological damage to the woman caused by abortion.

In Arkansas, Georgia and Minnesota, women must be told that their baby may be able to feel pain, but only for abortions sought at 20 weeks gestation or later. Indiana’s legislation would require that information be given to women for an abortion sought at any period.

Planned Parenthood of Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota challenged South Dakota's law, saying it infringed on doctors' First Amendment rights. No trial date has been set, but U.S. District Judge Karen Schreier of Rapid City granted a preliminary injunction last year blocking enforcement of the law, saying the plaintiffs have a good chance of winning.

 Jack M. Balkin, Yale Law School professor, told the AP Indiana's proposal could withstand free-speech challenges if doctors tell women the information is required by the state and might not necessarily reflect their own views.

"If a doctor can put it in those terms, then he's acting as a conduit from the state to the woman," he said.
 
The proposed changes cleared the Republican-controlled House on a 70-30 vote the first of February. A Senate committee will consider the bill this month. 

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Abortion Activists in U.S. Say They Are Losing the Battle

By Gudrun Schultz

January 30, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – After thirty-three years of abortion-on-demand in the US, abortion activists are saying they can feel their grip on the country starting to slide away.

"I think [Roe vs. Wade] in the short term will be dismantled," said Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, to Reuters. "We have an anti-choice president, an anti-choice Congress and now ... with the confirmation of Judge Alito to the Supreme Court, we are seeing the potential for a very right-leaning, anti-choice Supreme Court."

Judge Samuel Alito’s nomination to the Supreme Court has given pro-life advocates concrete hope that Roe vs. Wade, the 1973 judicial activist decision to make abortion a constitutional right, may finally be overturned. There are many other factors, however, which are contributing to the sense among both pro-life and pro-abortion groups that the balance is beginning to shift toward the side of life.

A survey conducted in November 2005 by the Pew Research Center showed that a majority of Americans think abortion is the central issue before the Supreme Court.  John Green, senior researcher at the Pew Forum on religion and Public Life, said the flood of anti-abortion legislation is linked to conservative religious groups.

"I do think it is a critical moment," Green said. "A lot really hinges on Alito and other judges who may be appointed in the near future. I could imagine in the next 10 years or so there could be steady changes in the law regarding abortion."

Organizations working for the protection of the unborn say research that shows babies’ complex development at very early stages has undermined support for abortion. Testimonies of women who have suffered emotional and physical damage from aborting their babies have also helped turn public opinion.

Above all, technological advances have had an impact. Ultra-sound improvements that let pregnant women see the faces of their babies have been a significant force in turning people away from abortion.

"The technology has allowed someone who before had no face and no voice to become an actual child," said Mary Spaulding Balch, director of state legislation for the National Right to Life Committee. "In the 70s and 80s whenever you debated abortion you talked about the mother. Now the baby is being brought into the debate."

Across the country, state legislation restricting abortion is being brought forward, ranging from laws banning abortion outright, to laws restricting access, requiring parental notification, longer “cooling off” periods before obtaining abortions, and even restrictions on birth control and sex education.

Every state now has anti-abortion legislation either established or under way. Twenty-six states have laws banning abortion after three months of pregnancy. Legislation underway in four states, South Dakota, Tennessee, Indiana and Ohio, would ban abortions entirely unless the mother’s life was clearly in danger.

"There is a growing public realization that abortion is an injustice, the destruction of an innocent human life," said American Life League executive director David Bereit.

The up swell of anti-abortion measures cannot be activated while Roe vs. Wade stands, however, which barricades state legislation.

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