Carolina Journal’s David Bass reports here on House Bill 854, sponsored by Rep. Ruth Samuelson (R-Mecklenburg). I encourage you to read the entire story, but here is a sample.
Pro-lifers say a bill pending in the General Assembly would save thousands of unborn lives by ensuring that abortion-minded women are furnished with needed information before choosing to terminate a pregnancy.
The proposed law would signal a sweeping change for North Carolina, which has few abortion restrictions on the books, and is sure to generate heated political discussion as it makes its way through the legislature, a process sponsors say will start soon.
“Abortion is a surgical procedure that affects two lives, and I believe it’s important for a woman to have complete and accurate information before she consents to the procedure. Right now, that’s not required,” said Rep. Ruth Samuelson, R-Mecklenburg, a chief sponsor of the bill.
The measure — House Bill 854, Abortion-Woman’s Right to Know Act — would bar physicians from performing an abortion without a woman’s “voluntary and informed consent.” Among other provisions, that translates into a 24-hour waiting period prior to the procedure, an ultrasound image of the unborn child, and notarized parental consent for a minor’s abortion.
The woman would have to certify in writing that she was provided the information. The signed statement would be retained in her medical records.
Rep. Samuelson says this is not about taking away a woman’s right to choose. And she poses the key question: (emphasis is mine)
“I think reasonable people will agree that an abortion is vastly different from any other medical procedure,” she said. “I think the real question here is: Why would someone not want women to be fully informed before they make a decision about it?”
Exactly right. If you want to know what the abortion lobby is really about, read the comments of a former Planned Parenthood clinic director from Texas who reveals PP’s efforts to make money from ending the life of a defenseless baby.
