COLUMBUS, OH [July 3, 2008] – Heartbeat International today praised the Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals for upholding an informed consent law in South Dakota that requires abortion providers to inform women that “abortion will terminate the life of a whole, separate, unique, living human being.”
“This is a momentous decision supporting the rights of women to know all the facts before obtaining an abortion,” said Peggy Hartshorn, president of Heartbeat International, a life-saving network of nearly 1,100 pregnancy support service providers worldwide. “The abortion industry consistently lobbies against bills that would require women to have all the information regarding the abortion decision. In contrast, our network of pregnancy resource centers advocates informing women of all of the facts on abortion – from procedure details, risks, and medical complications to fetal development and post-abortion syndrome – that abortion clinics often leave out intentionally.”
“We hope this decision will set the standard in care for women’s health across the country,” continued Hartshorn. “Today, the abortion industry is a multimillion dollar industry that encourages and promotes abortion for profit, often without any regard for the dignity of the woman herself.”
“Through our affiliated pregnancy resource centers, women receive compassionate care and receive all the information regarding the abortion choice when faced with an unexpected pregnancy. Through this court decision, we are hopeful that other states will recognize their responsibility in protecting women’s health,” concluded Hartshorn.
To read Planned Parenthood et al v. Rounds et al, Alpha Center et al, Interveners the informed consent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit click here.
During the 2005 legislative session an overwhelming majority of the South Dakota legislature voted to create The South Dakota Task Force to Study Abortion. According to this most thorough governmental study on abortion: Committees in the South Dakota House of Representatives and Senate heard evidence concerning the magnitude of the interests and rights of pregnant mothers who were adversely affected by abortion. They heard testimony from a number of women who had undergone abortions and who testified how they became depressed and were haunted by suicidal ideation. In every instance they testified about the magnitude of their loss and how that loss adversely affected their lives once they understood that the procedure terminated the life of their existing offspring.
Many women reported that they were pressured into having an abortion, often by the father of their child, but by others as well. They typically did not understand that the procedure would terminate the life of a human being, and this lack of understanding was further complicated by the fact that abortion providers had misled them at the time of the abortion. The abortion providers told them that there was “nothing but tissue” inside of them. Many of the women testified or reported to that if they had been given accurate information, they would not have submitted to the abortion.
One woman testified before the South Dakota Legislature that the policy of not telling a woman that an abortion terminates the life of a human being is a lie:
“First and foremost, because it denies the essential benefit of motherhood. It tells us that we are not forfeiting anything of value for ourselves. We are told we lost nothing, nothing of value. The truth is that the loss is massive. Massive and life altering"…click here to read more.
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Victory for South Dakota Women!
