Abortion Provider Closes Doors Instead of Obeying Laws, Old Media Silent

July 27, 2008 | Filed Under Abortion, Democrats/Leftists, Health, Morals/Sex, News, Publius Contributor, Society/Culture, Warner Todd Huston |

-By Warner Todd Huston

Now here is an interesting little story that doesn’t seem to be getting any media coverage. In South Dakota after being held up in courts since 2005, a new law finally took effect on July 21 requiring any abortion doctor to read a statement covering the possible ill effects that abortions have on women — both mental and physical — at least two hours before the procedure occurs. The one Planned Parenthood office in South Dakota had taken the state to court to stop this law being implemented, but lost their case on the 18th. On the day the law was to take effect, though, the Planned Parenthood office did not open its doors for “business,” refusing to abide by the new laws. Doesn’t this refusal to operate tend to confirm that Planned Parenthood is in the game for ideological reasons as opposed to being only interested in women’s health?

This is a big defeat for Planned Parenthood, and a great victory for anti-abortion supporters yet the media is silent on the issue. That seems rather curious.

The new notification law requires a doctor to read a prepared script filled with the sort of info that PP tries desperately to exclude in their normal day-to-day operations. The Washington Post had a story about the new law on July 20.

Under the law, doctors must say that the woman has “an existing relationship” with the fetus that is protected by the U.S. Constitution and that “her existing constitutional rights with regards to that relationship will be terminated.” Also, the doctor is required to say that “abortion increases the risk of suicide ideation and suicide.”

More specifically, the law requires the physician to tell the patient the following information:

The abortion will terminate the life of a whole, separate, unique, living human being;
The pregnant woman has an existing relationship with that unborn human being and that the relationship enjoys protection under the United States Constitution and under the laws of South Dakota;
That by having an abortion, her existing relationship and her existing constitutional rights with regards to that relationship will be terminated;
A description of all known medical risks of the procedure including depression and related psychological stress and increased risk of suicide

Naturally, PP is ginning up their highest dudgeon claiming that this simple act of reading some scripted information will be a “terrible, terrible barrier” to women seeking abortion.

“The law is one more terrible, terrible barrier,” said Sarah Stoesz, president of the regional Planned Parenthood office. She described the rules as “unprecedented interference in the doctor-patient relationship and unprecedented interference in a woman’s life.”

Of course, it seems like an untenable position that PP is arguing. Why are they against a few words on a piece of paper? Why is it such an affront to their idea of “health care” to be sure and give their patients accurate information with which to make an informed decision?

Obviously what PP is objecting to is that they won’t have free reign to disseminate their own ideologically skewed information to patients and this is why they’ve closed their office in South Dakota. How such a small gesture of reading a list of information to a patient could be such an impediment to proper health care is anyone’s guess.

To even a casual viewer, it would seem to be big news in the abortion fight that Planned Parenthood has decided to quit their work to avoid obeying these common sense laws, but so far only a few sources on the Internet are reporting this story. Worldnetdaily.com, of course, has the story, LifeNews.com has it, and a few blogs posted entries as well. But, no major news outlets have yet to touch the tale.

Curious, eh?

(Photo credit: Foxnews.com)

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Warner Todd Huston is a Chicago based freelance writer, has been writing opinion editorials and social criticism since early 2001 and is featured on many websites such as newsbusters.org, townhall.com, New Media Journal, Men’s News Daily and the New Media Alliance among many, many others. Additionally, he has been a frequent guest on talk-radio programs to discuss his opinion editorials and current events. He has also written for several history magazines and appears in the new book “Americans on Politics, Policy and Pop Culture” which can be purchased on amazon.com. He is also the owner and operator of publiusforum.com. Feel free to contact him with any comments or questions : EMAIL Warner Todd Huston