• PARTIAL-BIRTH ABORTION BAN UPHELD BY OHIO FEDERAL COURT The 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has upheld the Ohio Partial-Birth Abortion Ban. Recently, the U. S. Congress passed and President Bush signed a ban on this ghastly procedure which is now being challenged in federal courts. Perhaps the Appeals Court ruling will lend support to the federal ban. But, the two laws have a significant difference. The Ohio law has a so-called "health exception," allowing the procedure to be performed when the woman's health is in danger. The federal ban does not because pro-life Members of Congress rightly felt that the exception would devour the rule in the hands of dishonest abortionists. Instead, the federal ban includes medical findings showing this procedure, is not only never needed to protect a woman's health, it can potentially be very dangerous. Obviously, the battle to defend the unborn is far from over. [Naral: Confused about Life and Partial-Birth Abortion http://www.frc.org/index.cfm?i=IF03C2&f=WU03L16 Partial-Birth Abortion: Dispelling the Myths http://www.frc.org/index.cfm?i=IF03C1&f=WU03L16]

• NY ABORTIONIST ADMITS RECURRING NIGHTMARES ABOUT HIS VICTIMS.  Comment: this abortionist admits that of his victims "only 18 women lost the ability to have children." Ironically, abortion supporters argue that abortion—esp. partial-birth abortion-- is needed to protect women's fertility! [N. Valko R.N.] NY City abortionist William Rashbaum revealed that he has recurring nightmares of an unborn child attempting to escape his butchery. Rashbaum, a Gyn, is described as "one of the pre-eminent and longest-practicing providers of second-trimester abortions in the United States ." The article reports Rashbaum's conversation with a patient: "He tells them that out of 21,000 late-term abortions he has performed, only 18 women lost the ability to have children. He has also never lost a patient and says he'll be furious with her if she's the first." The article admits "the procedure is gruesome, as anyone who has seen it, including Rashbaum, will attest…one of his former interns remembers watching Rashbaum do a D&E on well-developed twins one hot summer day. He intently leaned in closely and methodically pulled piece after piece of the fetuses out of the mother's uterus, ignoring the attending staff's whispers of horror - 'It's twins. It's twins' - to each other. The intern reacted violently, running home, throwing up, and asking herself, 'Is this right?'. The article reports that Rashbaum, "was troubled by a recurring dream of a fetus trying to hold onto the walls of a uterus by its tiny fingernails." About the nightmares, Rashbaum comments: "What kind of dreams do you think you are going to have?" [Boston Phoenix 5Dec03, LifeSiteNews.com, http://www.bostonphoenix.com/boston/news_features/other_stories/multipage/documents/p, N.Valko RN]

• PRO-LIFE GROUP OBTAINS PRO-ABORT INTERNAL DOCUMENTS          CFAM announced that it has obtained internal memos from the Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR) detailing the strategy to develop international pro-abortion laws that can be imposed and enforced throughout the world -- ultimately government financed abortion on demand worldwide. "The memos appear to confirm long-standing fears of some legal scholars that international negotiations on human rights laws are no longer conducted in good faith, and that national sovereignty is jeopardized by such negotiations" [Douglas Sylvia of CFAM]. Austin Ruse, President of CFAM said that while the strategy disclosed in the document is "nothing new" to his organization, it is a "smoking gun" belying the tactics pro-abortion groups have denied for years -- tactics that he called "primarily deception." "Most of their work is getting governments to accept language that will change meanings later," said Ruse . "For instance, they like the phrase ‘reproductive health’ instead of ‘abortion’ -- if they used ‘abortion’ they'd likely lose. When it comes to enforcement, that term can be used to refer to abortion." [7Dec03 www.lifenews.com/intl36.html]

• MIFEPRISTONE (RU 486) The proposed RU-486 Suspension and Review Act of 2003 would suspend use of the drug until a complete investigation of the approval process has been completed. The bill has been introduced in the House (HR 3453) and Senate (S 1930). The bill is the result of concerns expressed by the family of Holly Patterson after her untimely death following an RU-486 abortion. Go to Library of Congress at http://thomas.loc.gov and search by bill number. [communiqué 12Dec03; ple-news 16Dec03]

• U.S. PREGNANCY, BIRTH, ABORTION RATES DOWN – 1990 - 1999 [CDC].

Pregnancies fell 7%, from 6.78 million in 1990 to 6.28 million in 1999. The birth rate declined 9% in that time, from 70.9 to 64.4 births per 1,000 women ages 15 to 44. And the abortion rate went down 22%, from 27.4 to 21.4 abortions per 1,000 women. The overall pregnancy rate dropped 12 percent, from 115.6 to 102.1 per 1,000 women. Women 20 to 24 years old had the highest pregnancy rate, followed by women 25 to 29. About one in six women in their 20s was pregnant in 1999. Teen pregnancy rates reached historic lows, dropping 25 percent during the 10-year period. The teen birth rate dropped 19 percent, and the teen abortion rate was down 39 percent. In 1999, black and Hispanic teenagers got pregnant at more than twice the rate of non-Hispanic white teens. The racial differences dwindled among women in their 20s and disappeared by age 35. Pregnancy rates for married women declined 12 percent from 1990 to 1997, but they have since increased slightly. [AP, 31Oct03; Pro-Life E-News

Abortion provider Hern says he performs abortions up to 26 or even 34 weeks of pregnancy. In a recent column on Slate.com, Hern questions whether the congressional ban on partial-birth abortion might impact his practice. That ban specifically talks about abortions in which the fetus lives outside the womb. Hern gives the fetus an injection to stop its heart as the first step in his process. Meanwhile, NE abortionist LeRoy Carhart said about 500 abortions that he performs yearly would be outlawed by the late-term measure. [Lincoln Journal Star; 3Nov03; Sandra Fish, 2Nov03 http://www.bouldernews.com/bdc/county_news/article/0,1713,BDC_2423_23963; PLE-news, #284, 4Nov03

FIRST U.S. ABORTION-BREAST CANCER (ABC) LAWSUIT SETTLED -- for an undisclosed amount (17Oct03, Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas). The plaintiff was a 17-year-old PA resident when a second-trimester abortion was performed in NJ without parental knowledge/consent. Although she hasn't developed breast cancer, she sued her abortion provider, Charles Benjamin, for neglecting to warn her about the physical and emotional risks of abortion. Karen Malec [Coalition On Abortion/Breast Cancer president] said that the settlement would alert "the medical establishment that it can no longer profit by keeping women in the dark about the breast cancer risk. This case also establishes that abortion providers can be sued for battery if the abortion provider performs no parental consent abortions on minors from neighboring states (with parental consent statutes), even if the state where the abortion is performed does not have a parental consent statute." On the eve of trial, Dr. Benjamin and the Cherry Hill Women's Center in Cherry Hill, NJ, agreed to settle claims it violated parental-consent law and failed to inform its then-17-year-old patient about the emotional and physical risks of abortion – including increased risk of breast cancer. When the plaintiff, who goes by the fictitious name of "Sarah," got pregnant at the age of 16, her high school guidance counselor facilitated her second-trimester abortion at the NJ clinic across the Delaware River without her parents' knowledge. NJ was chosen because it has no parental-consent laws regarding abortions for minors. Sarah is said to have suffered tremendously since having her abortion. Attorney Susan Gertz, executive director of the Women's Injury Network, the national charity which covered Sarah's case expenses, reports she was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress syndrome following the abortion. Gertz applauded the undisclosed settlement, which was based on Sarah's need for medical monitoring for early detection of breast cancer. Doctors estimated that cost to be $2,500 annually. The settlement also includes funding to cover future psychological counseling. "Abortion malpractice lawsuits help expose the deceptive practices of the abortion industry and hold doctors legally and financially accountable to the women they've harmed," Gertz said in a statement. Sarah's parents successfully sued the high school in a separate lawsuit for violating their 14th Amendment rights to raise their child without interference by the public school. This lawsuit makes it possible for the abortion providers to be sued for battery. "…Abortion centers can't escape civil penalties by aborting for kids from other states when they know the state where they come from has parental-consent statute," said Sarah’s attorney Stanton [215/886-6780]. According to Stanton's statistics, an average of 43 women from PA travel to NJ every month to have abortions. Ten of those are teens, some as young as 12. The ABC link has been called "the elephant in medicine's parlor." Medical experts privately say abortion causes breast cancer, but it is too volatile to publicly acknowledge. According to a National Cancer Institute (NCI) commissioned study, teens who procure abortions before age 18, more than double their risk. [1] Girls and women have a predominance of immature, cancer-vulnerable Types 1 & 2 breast lobules, which aren't matured into cancer-resistant Types 3 & 4 lobules until a term pregnancy takes place. Abortion can increase the statistical odds of developing breast cancer in two ways: 1) It delays a first term pregnancy; and 2) It increases the number of cancer-vulnerable breast cells because estrogen overexposure during a normal pregnancy stimulates cell multiplication. Women don't receive protection from estrogen overexposure until third trimester hormones mature their breast tissue into milk-producing Types 3 & 4 lobules. Differentiated (mature) cells are not vulnerable to carcinogens. Scientists are incapable of refuting the biological explanation for the ABC link: 17 of 29 worldwide studies are statistically significant, which means there's a 95 percent certainty that the association is not by chance. Seven of these 17 report more than a two-fold risk increase. 13 of 16 U.S. studies report risk elevations. The NCI provided at least partial funding for 10 studies. "It's common sense," adds Malec. "Doctors should be erring on the side of caution and should be telling patients 'Yes, there is research going back 46 years that supports an abortion-breast cancer link’. That's the minimum owed to women." [1. Daling et al. (1994) J Natl Cancer Inst 86:1584-92. 2. National Physicians Center for Family Resources, American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Polycarp Research Institute, Breast Cancer Prevention Institute. COALITION ON ABORTION/BREAST CANCER, 1-877-803-0102, www.AbortionBreastCancer.com, Karen Malec, 21Oct03 & 23Oct03, Pro-Life E-News

• FOR AN OUTSTANDING ARTICLE by Dr. G. Sweeney on the psychological effects of skewed human sexuality which affect women’s health, go to www.physiciansforlife.org/editorials.interviews.htm

• PARTIAL-BIRTH ABORTION BAN SIGNED INTO LAW. On 5Nov03, President Bush signed the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act (S. 3) into law (Public Law 108-105). At the signing ceremony, the president noted that "Our nation owes its children a different and better welcome" than partial-birth abortion. "The facts about partial-birth abortion are troubling and tragic, and no lawyer's brief can make them seem otherwise." The president affirmed the right to life as unalienable. "America stands for liberty, for the pursuit of happiness and for the unalienable right of life. And the most basic duty of government is to defend the life of the innocent. Every person, however frail or vulnerable, has a place and a purpose in this world. Every person has a special dignity. This right to life cannot be granted or denied by government, because it does not come from government, it comes from the Creator of life…The late PA Governor Robert Casey once said that: when we look to the unborn child, the real issue is not when life begins, but when love begins. This is the generous and merciful spirit of our country at its best. This spirit is reflected in the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003, which I am now honored to sign into law." Aware of the pending court challenges, the president pledged "the executive branch will vigorously defend this law against any who would try to overturn it in the courts." For the president's remarks, see: www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/11/20031105-1.html. [NCHLA, 7Nov03; FRC, Washington Update, 31Oct03]
• THE ACT ITSELF -- An Act to prohibit the procedure commonly known as partial-birth abortion. (a) CHAPTER 74--PARTIAL-BIRTH ABORTIONS-1531. Partial-birth abortions prohibited. (a) Any physician who, in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, knowingly performs a partial-birth abortion and thereby kills a human fetus shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 2 years, or both. This subsection does not apply to a partial-birth abortion that is necessary to save the life of a mother whose life is endangered by a physical disorder, physical illness, or physical injury, including a life-endangering physical condition caused by or arising from the pregnancy itself. This subsection takes effect 1 day after the enactment. (b) As used in this section-- (1) the term `partial-birth abortion' means an abortion in which the person performing the abortion-- (A) deliberately and intentionally vaginally delivers a living fetus until, in the case of a head-first presentation, the entire fetal head is outside the body of the mother, or, in the case of breech presentation, any part of the fetal trunk past the navel is outside the body of the mother, for the purpose of performing an overt act that the person knows will kill the partially delivered living fetus; and (B) performs the overt act, other than completion of delivery, that kills the partially delivered living fetus; and (2) the term `physician' means a doctor of medicine or osteopathy legally authorized to practice medicine and surgery by the State in which the doctor performs such activity, or any other individual legally authorized by the State to perform abortions: Provided, however, That any individual who is not a physician or not otherwise legally authorized by the State to perform abortions, but who nevertheless directly performs a partial-birth abortion, shall be subject to the provisions of this section. (c) (1) The father, if married to the mother at the time she receives a partial-birth abortion procedure, and if the mother has not attained the age of 18 years at the time of the abortion, the maternal grandparents of the fetus, may in a civil action obtain appropriate relief, unless the pregnancy resulted from the plaintiff's criminal conduct or the plaintiff consented to the abortion. (2) Such relief shall include-- (A) money damages for all injuries, psychological and physical, occasioned by the violation of this section; and (B) statutory damages equal to three times the cost of the partial-birth abortion. (d) (1) A defendant accused of an offense under this section may seek a hearing before the State Medical Board on whether the physician's conduct was necessary to save the life of the mother whose life was endangered by a physical disorder, physical illness, or physical injury, including a life-endangering physical condition caused by or arising from the pregnancy itself. (2) The findings on that issue are admissible on that issue at the trial of the defendant. Upon a motion of the defendant, the court shall delay the beginning of the trial for not more than 30 days to permit such a hearing to take place. (e) A woman upon whom a partial-birth abortion is performed may not be prosecuted under this section, for a conspiracy to violate this section, or for an offense under section 2, 3, or 4 of this title based on a violation of this section.'.

• ACLU PROMOTES INFANTICIDE MASKED AS ABORTION -- Three separate lawsuits were filed in federal courts in NE (on behalf of Carhart and 3 other abortion providers), New York City (on behalf of the National Abortion Federation), San Francisco (for Planned Parenthood Fed of Amer) on 31Oct03 (Halloween). All three courts have entered temporary restraining orders against enforcing the new law. The abortion lobby's actions come as no surprise, because this is what they always do. Since an overwhelming majority of Americans want partial-birth abortion banned, abortion supporters could not get their way in Congress. As a result they are now turning to the courts…to…sanction infanticide. The lawsuits promote infanticide masked as abortion. "The signing of this law will draw a bright line between abortion and infanticide," said N. Nikas, general counsel for Americans United for Life (AUL). "The abortion industry is simply not content with the destruction of unborn life in the womb, the place where abortion occurs. Rather, it seeks to extend the abortion right into a right to infanticide by expanding the boundaries to include killing infants who are mere inches from full birth." Roe v. Wade and subsequent abortion cases have consistently defined abortion as "a woman’s decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy." Nikas referred to medical evidence which shows that this procedure is not abortion (which destroys the child in the womb), but is rather infanticide because it destroys the child’s life after pregnancy has been terminated by the child’s entry into the birth canal, where birth is inevitable. Commenting on the fate of the partial-birth law, Nikas stated, "The only question for the courts, and ultimately the Supreme Court, is whether unelected judges will again protect infanticide as a constitutional right, and continue to reject the democratic will of the people as expressed by the legislatures of 31 states, 70% of the American people, almost two-thirds of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives (64-34 Senate; 281-142 House), and the President of the United States." AUL attorney Dorinda Bordlee stated that Roe and other abortion decisions are simply not applicable to this case involving infanticide. Because the Supreme Court’s definition of "health" equates to abortion on demand, Justice O’Connor’s call for a health exception in the 2000 Carhart decision would make any partial-birth ban meaningless.[1] Although this procedure goes beyond abortion into infanticide, Bordlee expressed her profound concern for women’s physical and psychological well-being, taking issue with the abortion industry’s claims that abortion helps women. "Legalized abortion significantly harms women’s health," said Bordlee. She pointed to a January 2003 medical survey of 30 years of articles on the long-term health impact of abortion on women. Researchers concluded that women who have undergone abortion are 3 to 6 times more likely to commit or attempt suicide, and that in their future pregnancies there is a 50% increased risk of placenta previa, and a 30% increased risk of preterm birth. The article also concluded that women seeking abortion should be warned of an increased risk of breast cancer.[2] [1] Doe is frequently cited for its definition of maternal "health." Because Roe allowed abortion in the second and third trimesters for the "life or health" of the mother, the following definition of "health" has been used to make abortion on demand available through all nine months of pregnancy: "[T]he medical judgment may be exercised in the light of all factors -- physical, emotional, psychological, familial, and the woman’s age -- relevant to the well being of the patient. All these factors may relate to health." Doe v. Bolton, 410 [2]Thorp, Harris and Shadigian, Long-term Physical and Psychological Health Consequences of Induced Abortion: A Review of the Evidence, Obstetrical & Gynecological Survey, January 2003; 58(1):67-79.
• [NCHLA, 7Nov03; FRC, Washington Update, 31Oct03; Thorp and Hartmann are Co-Directors of the Women's Health Research Project at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill .Shadigian is a professor of Ob-Gyn at the University of Michigan School of Medicine. The abstract and study are may be found at http://www.obgynsurvey.com. Contact us at Americans United for Life]

• HOW THE PARTIAL BIRTH ABORTION BAN REALLY SAVES LIVES. "Meanwhile, the pro-abortion movement is [upset] over the new federal law banning partial birth abortion (PBA), the first federal restriction on abortion since Roe v. Wade. But the way they're reacting publicly is all wrong…the best pro-life news isn't so much the signing of the PBA ban, but the…restraining order issued by a federal judge in Nebraska. Why? Because it shows how far out of touch the pro-abortion camp is. If they were guided by a single iota of wisdom or common sense -- rather than a monomaniacal defense of abortion up to the last second of pregnancy -- they would leave this issue alone. They've got plenty of other ways to kill these babies anyway -- equally horrific, but not covered by the PBA ban. Instead, they are exposing themselves to the general public for who they really are. All their rhetoric about ‘choice’ and the ‘difficult abortion decision’ and ‘compassion for women’ is being revealed as propaganda. They're looking more and more radical all the time, more and more utterly devoid of common decency. And they're doing it to themselves. That's how the PBA ban really saves lives: by shifting public opinion farther and farther away from the kind of radical position the pro-abort forces are clinging to. Every injunction, every loss in the federal courts is really a victory for life in the court of public opinion that brings the final end of legal abortion that much closer." [Eric Scheidler, Life-Update 6Nov03]

• LAWYER WHO INVENTED ROE V. WADE STRATEGY DIES. Roy Lucas, a pro-abortion attorney who created the legal strategy that led to the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision died in 11/03. From 1966-1973 Lucas laid the groundwork for the decision that legalized abortion. He was the first person to explain fully how the Supreme Court's 1965 Griswold decision, which created a right to use birth control, could be legally expanded into a right to abortion. Lucas was a third-year law student at New York Univ when he made that pivotal argument in a research paper for a class on litigation [New York Times]. The paper was bandied about prominently in the legal community. When the Roe case reached the Supreme Court, Lucas hoped to argue it in front of the justices, but Texas attorney Sarah Weddington, who lied about Norma McCorvey and fabricated her desire for an abortion, got the task. [LifeNews.com, 12Nov03]

• SC ABORTIONS DOWN 53% -- The number of abortions continued their 15-year decline in South Carolina through 2002. Since 1988, abortions have dropped 53%. Mary Glover [statistician for the SC Dept of Health and Environmental Control] said the number of reported abortions in 2002 was 6,574. That is 440 fewer abortions than occurred in 2001 -- a 6% decrease. The abortion number peaked at 14,333 in SC in 1988. Since then, the state legislature has passed a number of pro-life laws that, combined with the educational efforts that took place to pass them, are credited with cutting the number in half. [http://www.lifenews.com/state161.html, 29Sept03]

• TX BUILDERS SCORE VICTORY IN ABORTION-CENTER BATTLE General contractor pulls out of construction project amid boycott -- The general contractor overseeing the construction of a Planned Parenthood abortion center has pulled out amid a burgeoning boycott by subcontractors. Browning Construction has abandoned PP’s $6.2 million "Choice Project." Workers broke ground on the one-story, 9,931-square-foot bldg., slated to be the largest such facility in 10 counties, in 9/03. Danze, chairman of the Austin Area Pro-Life Concrete Contractors & Suppliers Assoc, sent a letter to more than 750 chief executives of construction-related companies, asking them not to supply materials or work on the center. The letter was signed by 88 local business owners. The boycott has gained momentum with the lumber supplier, roofing supplier and air conditioning contractor also boycotting. Danze says ~70 contractors officially registered their participation and several others do not want to be named. PP now says they will be their own general contractor. [News 8 Austin; WorldNetDaily.com, 5Nov03; PLE-news, #287, 7Nov03, 15Nov03]

• OH COUPLE GETS $210,000 IN ABORTION ERROR SUIT; Doctor had admitted negligence at start of trial. Before his civil trial even started, Akron doctor Barry Fish admitted he mistakenly aborted a viable fetus. The jury awarded $210,000 in damages to the couple who sued the gynecologist, claiming his negligence robbed them of a child they wanted and left the woman with the horror of delivering a partial fetus weeks later. [Beacon Journal, 14Nov03, Pro-Life E-News

• ULTRASOUND. A CareNet poll shows that 4 of 5 women support the idea of providing greater access to ultrasound for pregnant women. The level of support was constant whether women described themselves as pro-life/pro-choice or Republican/ Democrat. ["New poll: Women want ultrasound access," Care Net news release, 9/2/03; Communique, 5Sept03; Pro-Life E-news, 9Sept03]

• MULTIPLE ABORTIONS. almost half of the abortions each day in America are repeat abortions. Of 1999 abortions reported (CDC), 26.2% of women who aborted had 1 previous abortion; 11.2% had 2 previous abortions, and 7.5% had 3 or more previous abortions. State reports to CDC are voluntary, and 4 states, incl. CA (the #1 abortion state) do not report. Forty-six states do report, and this led to a total count of 861,789 legal induced abortions in 1999. That means that in 1 year, by the most conservative data available, 64,634 abortions were performed on women who had had 3 or more previous abortions. Why do women have multiple abortions? Dr. Philip Ney points out that pregnancy, like sleep, is a biorhythm. If you are awakened in the middle of the night, your body says, "Go back to sleep." Many who abort, therefore, feel the urge to get pregnant again. A biorhythm has been interrupted. Many want a "replacement" or "atonement" baby. Yet once pregnant again, they [find] that the same circumstances that led to the first abortion are still in place. Hence, another abortion follows. Repeat abortions are a sign of ambivalence, and at times of self-punishment. Dr. Theresa Burke also explains, "Repeat abortions and replacement pregnancies are two common ways in which women reenact elements of their abortion trauma" (Forbidden Grief, p.110). Dr. Ney: "Tragedy is repeated not because we do not understand, but because we are trying to understand" (Deeply Damaged, p.118). In other words, an underlying conflict…is unresolved. We find we cannot resolve it by simply replaying it in our minds. So we re-live it…We repeat what we don't understand, in the hopes of mastering it. "How can she do that??!!" "We should change the question & ask instead, "How can I help you to heal?" [PFL, 888-PFL-3448]

• 1980 STUDY ON RATS SHOWS CANCER-ABORTION LINK. The ABC link is based on statistical evidence as well as on cause-effect relationship. "An animal study in 1980 demon-strated that 77.7 per cent of aborted rats develop breast cancer when exposed to a carcinogen, but 66.7 per cent of virgin rats and zero per cent of rats with full-term pregnancies develop tumors…" www.AbortionBreastCancer.com [Malec, Coalition on Abortion/Breast Cancer, IL; "Women and their doctors have to evaluate risks", Letters, 4Sept; 10Sep03 Pro-Life E-News www.canada.com/vancouver/vancouversun/8]

• COERCED ABORTIONS: TURNING TO OUR FAVOR Once the issue of coerced abortions is raised, everyone - even pro-abortionists - admits that coercion is occurring. Lovers and parents…often pressure, badger, and blackmail a woman into accepting an unwanted "safe and legal" abortion …Even the prominent abortion defender Daniel Callahan writes: "That men have long coerced women into unwanted abortion when it suits their purposes is well-known but rarely mentioned. Data reported by the Alan Guttmacher Institute indicate that some 30 percent of women have an abortion because someone else, not the woman, wants it." This is a powerful political issue… Abortionists should be held legally responsible…If abortion [sites] fail to properly screen their patients, they should be held accountable as "accessories" to the crime of pressuring a woman into an unwanted abortion …she should be entitled to sue the [site] for the wrongful [death] of her wanted child - which can entail millions of dollars in compensation. Emphasizing the issue of coerced abortions allows…refram[ing of] the abortion debate in a way which puts women and children together on the same side…When faced with clearly pro-woman initiatives, pro-abortion politicians will be forced to either accede to our reforms (which will doom the abortion industry), or to side with the abortion industry against women's rights (which will doom pro-abortion politicians). Either way, we win. [Excerpts:"Making Abortion Rare: A Healing Strategy for a Divided Nation," by David C. Reardon (p. 35), The Elliot Institute News, Vol.2, No. 9 -- 6Sept, 2003 http://www.AfterAbortion.Info; Pro-Life Info]
• COERCED ABORTION EXAMPLES

**FL Man Standing Trial for Death of Pregnant Girlfriend Joseph Peck reported his girlfriend missing in October 1995. Police say Peck killed her because she was pregnant and refused to have an abortion.

**OK Man Arrested for Beating Pregnant Ex-Girlfriend in an attempt to cause her to abort.

**NY State Woman Files Pregnancy Discrimination Suit Against Restaurant -- she says she was pressured to have an abortion and then fired when she refused to do so. She is raising her 20-month-old daughter. Company officials deny the charges. [Elliot Institute News, v.2, #9 -- 6Sept03]

• TWO REVIEW ARTICLES: "The Abortion-Breast Cancer Link: How Politics Trumped Science and Informed Consent" [Karen Malec]; "Induced Abortion and Risk of Later Premature Births" [Brent Rooney & Byron C. Calhoun, M.D.; Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons, Summer 2003; The Elliot Institute News] http://www.jpands.org/jpands0802.htm

• DOCTORS' GROUP TAKES PRO-LIFE POSITION ON ABORTION * * - Amer Assoc of Physicians/ Surgeons [60th annual mtg] approved a pro-life resolution, that the Hippocratic Oath does not allow doctors to perform abortions. The new platform "clearly opposes" abortion & recognizes that "teachings of the major religions of the world have [also] opposed abortion of a developing human child until very recent times." "The purpose of abortion of a human child is to destroy the life of the child, in contradistinction to other terminations of pregnancy to save the life of the mother, in which an attempt would also be made to save the life of the child," says the AAPS resolution. [Tucson, AZ LifeNews.com, 6Oct03]

• RU-486 IN MOBILE. On "Sept 16, 2003 [Center for Choice, Sage Ave, Mobile], [we] counted some 12 women, we believe, who left that… facility after receiving the RU-486 Abortion Pill. There was no physician -abortionist at the facility that day, only an RN. We believe that…RU486 has become the primary weapon of choice for the destruction of human life at the Sage facility, due to the shortage of abortionists willing to come to Alabama, and the fact that the RU-486 procedure by-passes the educational requirements of the ‘Woman's Right to Know’ law passed in AL last year. (A huge loophole that must be closed!)…this Chinese-made RU-486…was being utilized (at Sage Ave) to kill American babies of mostly white mothers and some college students (AL/FL tags). Planned Parenthood…[in downtown Mobile was] busy killing mostly black babies…at the hands of a white abortionist...A white doctor… killing black babies in Alabama, and American women maimed and babies killed by a Chinese-made chemical weapon! How could it have all come to this?" [email from JDS, Mobile Mission of Life sidewalk counselor, 20Sept03]

• PREGNANT TEEN'S DEATH INVESTIGATED; SHE TOOK RU-486. an 18-year-old CA woman died days after reportedly taking the abortion pill RU-486. She rec’d the RU-486 prescription at PP to end her 7-week pregnancy. Between 14Sep-17Sep, she was bleeding severely, in acute pain and unable to walk. She died from "massive systemic infection and septic shock." Last year, the deaths of 2 women who took RU-486 prompted the FDA to issue warning letters to physicians. Three women who took RU-486 later suffered bleeding from ruptured ectopic pregnancy; 1 woman died from hemorrhage. Two other women suffered severe systemic bacterial infections after taking the drugs, & 1 died. [Washington Times; 19Sept03 San Francisco Chronicle; http://drudgereport.com/]
• AAPLOG, CMDA, and CWA (Concerned Women of America) submitted a Citizen's Petition to FDA, citing gross irregularities in the RU486 approval process (Mifeprex), & asking the FDA to rescind approval of this drug pending safety studies that meet the FDA's normal criteria for new drug approval. ACOG and other Mifeprex advocates have overtly pushed off label use as safe/effective. [AAPLOG email 20Sept03]

• A WIRTHLIN SURVEY [1/03] found that Americans favor protection for preborn 68% to 25%. And a USA Today/CNN/Gallup poll found: 88% favor laws requiring MDs to inform patients about alternatives to abortion; 78% favor laws to require women to wait 24 hours before the abortion; 73% favor laws requiring women under 18 to get parental consent; 84% think abortion should generally be illegal the last 3 mo. of pregnancy. [Forsythe Esq., AUL ltr 2/03; americansunitedforlife.org]

• MS SUPREME COURT EXPANDS WRONGFUL DEATH LAW TO COVER UNBORN FETUSES stating that a fetus is a "person" under state law and wrongful death claims can be filed on his/her behalf. The justices upheld Tracy Tucker's right to pursue a wrongful death claim after alleged emotional distress and a mistake by her doctors caused her to have a miscarriage in 1997. The fetus was 19 weeks old. The 6-2 ruling expands the definition of a "person" in wrongful death statutes to include an "unborn child." "Tucker's interest is to protect and preserve the life of her unborn child, not in the exercise of her right to terminate that life which has been declared constitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court," wrote Justice Smith. The attorney for the ACLU said she was troubled by the court's definition of a fetus as a "person". "Anytime the fetus is recognizable as a person it chips away at the foundation of Roe," she said. Nik Nikas [Americans United for Life]: "This is simply a recognition that Roe V. Wade does not apply, and was never intended to apply, to any situation outside an abortion. Thus, even under current Supreme Court jurisprudence, except for an abortion, there is no federal constitutional obstacle to any state recognizing that a wrongful death suit may be brought for the tortious or criminal assault on a child in the womb." [http://www.LifeNews.com/state95.html, 22Aug03]

• PLANNED PARENTHOOD CLOSES IN HOUGHTON, MI – this center just opened 2 years ago. STOPP gave a series of talks/interviews at that time, designed to motivate the region to oppose PP & to provide a wide range of legal tactics proven to be successful in closing PP facilities. STOPP Int’l has these legal tactics available on its website http://www.stoppinternational.org/[ ; 28Aug03, ALL, 540-226-9004, 540-659-4171; pl-news #236] [ ; 28Aug03, ALL, 540-226-9004, 540-659-4171; pl-news #236]

• NEW RUSSIAN LAW RESTRICTS ABORTIONS after the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. Russia has long had one of the highest abortion rates and Russian women have suffered as a result. Previously there were essentially no limits on abortions after 12 weeks. Now, women considering abortions can only cite four reasons that can allow them to have one: rape, imprisonment, the death or severe disability of the husband or a court ruling stripping a woman of her parental rights. As before, abortions can still be legal if the baby has severe deformities or the pregnancy endangers the mother's life. Russia has had one of the highest abortion rates in the world. However, abortion, used as the country's primary means of birth control, is finally on the decline, from a high of 4.6 million in 1988 to 1.7 million last year. [LifeNews.com, 27Aug03]

• YOUNG, STRONG AND DETERMINED. 4500-5000 young people made a firm commitment (15Aug03) to stand and fight against any law that legalizes abortion in the disguise of "reproductive rights" and total population control disguised as "sustainable development". Right now, HB4110 & HB6123 are stirring heated debates in the Philippines Congress. Dr. Rene Josef Bullecer delivered a 30-minute pro-life message to the audience [email from Dr. Rene Bullecer, APFLI int’l member, 23Aug03]

• IL ABORTIONIST UNDER FIRE FOR ABORTION ON WOMAN NOT PREGNANT the IL Dept of Professional Regulation has filed a formal complaint accusing Shah, a Granite City abortionist of "gross negligence," performing an abortion in 3/98 on Melanie Mills, 29, who was not pregnant. In the affidavit, Shah said he confirmed the pregnancy on the day of the abortion by performing an ultrasound that showed Mills was about 6 weeks pregnant. Shah is scheduled to appear June 30 before the Professional Regulation Dept's medical disciplinary board in Chicago. Hope Clinic, located on the IL side of the IL-MO border, has been criticized often for luring teens for abortions without their parents’ notification. IL has no law requiring parents to be notified about an abortion on a teenage girl while MO's law mandates parental involvement. [prolifeinfo.org; St. Louis Post-Dispatch; 1May03]

• FAMILY OF WOMAN WHO DIED IN BOTCHED ABORTION SUES CA PLANNED PARENTHOOD --The lawsuit in Superior Court alleges Planned Parenthood of LA & abortionist Mark Maltzer are responsible for the death of Diana Lopez, 25. Lopez died 28Feb02, from "a hemorrhage due to traumatic anterior cervical perforation due to dilation and evacuation for elective termination of pregnancy at 18 weeks" [medical examiner, LA County Coroner's Office]. In other words, she bled to death after her cervix was punctured during her abortion. Normally the type of abortion Lopez had takes 30 minutes; the medical record indicated the D&E abortion she had lasted only 6 minutes. Recently the CA Dept of Health Services released a report revealing that Planned Parenthood did not follow established medical procedures & that an abortion should not have been performed on Lopez. [Steven Ertelt, LifeNews.com Editor, 26Jun03]

• MORE CHARGES FILED AGAINST GA ABORTION PROVIDER. Police have filed charges against two staff members of a doctor accused of attempting an illegal abortion. The mother gave birth alone in the doctor's locked, untended office. Jenny Yates, 38, and Charlene Mills, 20 - who worked for abortionist Charles Rossmann - were charged with misdemeanor reckless conduct, and Mills faces a felony charge of false imprisonment. Police also charged Rossmann with 2 additional counts of criminal abortion after 2 more women came forward with reports mirroring the original allegations. He was also charged with 4 counts of having prescription medications in other containers. Rossmann has been missing since May 20, when police attempted to serve the first warrant. He abandoned his practice after a May 9 incident in which a 30 weeks pregnant woman went to him, fearing the baby would be born with Down syndrome. Rossmann gave the woman some pills and left her alone in his office with contact information. When she went into labor and was unable to reach Rossmann, she called 911. Valdosta police had to force their way into the locked office to reach the woman and baby. The baby was rushed to the hospital where he later died. The mother was treated and released. Third trimester abortions are heavily regulated in GA and are illegal unless the mother's life is in danger. Rossmann could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted of criminal abortion. Additional charges against Rossmann are likely. Rossmann's office was not licensed by the state for child births. The GA Medical Board suspended his license to practice medicine in the state on May 15. [Valdosta Daily Times, AP; 6Jun03; Pro-Life Infonet]

• ROE v. WADE. Within days after Norma McCorvey filed a lawsuit asking for the case to be reopened, it was quashed by a judge in Dallas. McCorvey is "Roe". District Court Judge Godbey said that McCorvey's lawsuit was filed too late for her to have the case reopened. Attorney Allan Parker (Justice Fdn) says he has not decided yet whether to appeal this decision to the 5th Circuit Court or file a motion to rehear the case. According to Parker, the case is about changes in the factual situation, not a submission of new evidence. McCorvey: …30-60% of abortions are undergone because the pregnant woman is submitting to the pressure of her male partner, parents, physicians, or other third persons. Secondly, the unanswered question in Roe's former case, "when does human life begin?" was treated by the Court as a philosophical question when the case was first heard in 1973. Since then, an explosion of scientific evidence on human life conclusively answers the question that life begins at conception. Finally, the state of Texas in 1999 enacted a law in which it agreed to provide for any woman's unwanted child with no questions asked. Legally, because the state has agreed to take responsibility for all unwanted children, women should no longer be forced to dispose of "unwanted" children by ending a human life. Forty states have similar Baby Moses laws. [27Jun03, TVC]

• WHY ABORTION? – In a recent survey from Alan Guttmacher Inst., 75% of women said a baby would interfere with their lives; 66% said they couldn’t afford a child; 50% didn’t want to be a single parent or had problems in their current relationship; 4% had a doctor who said their health would worsen; 1% had a fetal abnormality; 1% were victims of rape or incest. [Clark Co Rt to Life Lifelines, 2-3/03; Family Res Ctr News, 6-7/03]

• NUMBER OF TEEN ABORTIONS IN 1999 LOWEST SINCE ROE, 1973. According to the AGI data, there were 835,930 pregnancies among girls ages 15-19 in 1999 -- 475,745 of which ended in birth, 240,940 of which ended in abortion, and slightly more than 119,000 ended in miscarriage. Because of the difficulty in gathering the abortion data needed to calculate pregnancy data, the AGI data lag about 2 years behind birth data reports. In 1973, there were 231,900 abortions in this age group. The fewest teen abortions were 191,000 in 1972. "What I find most encouraging is that the abortion rate for teens is lower than it has ever been since abortion became legal," said O'Bannon of NRLC. "That means that fewer teens are seeing abortion as any kind of solution… And that bodes well for the future." According to the data, there were 85.6 pregnancies for every 1,000 girls ages 15-19 in 1999, 27% lower than the record high of 116.9 pregnancies per 1,000 teens in 1990. Also, there were 24.7 abortions for every 1,000 teen pregnancies, the lowest rate since 1973, when the rate was 22.8 abortions for every 1,000 teen pregnancies. AGI researchers attributed about one-fourth of the decline in the teen pregnancy rate to increased abstinence among teens and the remainder to changes in behavior, including increased use of long-lasting contraceptives, such as Depo-Provera. A study published in the spring issue of Adolescent and Family Health Journal said that among unmarried girls, abstinence accounted for the entire decline in births and 67% of the drop in teen pregnancies could be attributed to teen abstinence (between 1991-1995, the preg rate per 1000 girls fell from 116 to 93), while contraceptive use was responsible for the remainder, said Joanna Mohn, M.D. (NJ), lead author of the study. Pro-life groups say that more parental notification laws have also led to the decline in teen abortions. The law in TX is credited with reducing the number of teen abortions by 30 percent. Mohn and her colleagues found that the number of teens who said they had abstained from sex in the past year rose from 53% in 1991 to 56% in 1995. "Our research was much more sophisticated than all previous research on the subject. We took into account important statistics on girls who are married as well as those who had not been sexually involved for more than a year." The AGI report data consists of statistics from AGI, HHS' National Center for Health Statistics, the CDC and the Census Bureau. The Alan Guttmacher Institute is named for a former Planned Parenthood president and is affiliated with that abortion advocacy group. ["An Analysis of the Causes of the Decline in Non-Marital Birth and Pregnancy Rates for Teens from 1991 to 1994", Adolescent and Family Health, Sprg/03; national data compiled by pro-abortion Alan Guttmacher Institute, AGI; prolifeinfo.org; Pro-Life Infonet, Washington Times; 13May03; Life Dynamics News, 5/03]

• BLACK GENOCIDE. since 1973, over 14 million Black babies have been aborted, equal to the populations of 8 midwestern states. This amounts to 64% of the total number of deaths in the Black Community, 1973-2003. [NRL News, 5/03]

• IN ABORTION CLINIC GETTING NEXT-DOOR COMPETITION. The Women's Care Center encourages pregnant women to seek alternatives to abortion; it will open next door to the Women's Health Organization. The center will offer free pregnancy testing, help in obtaining prenatal care and free maternity clothes for women who need them. "Long before we heard that, we were actively looking for a bigger building," said Susan Hill, of the Nat’l Women's Health Organization. "We won't be in that building very long." [AP, 5May03; Miami Herald; 06May03 Pro-Life E-News]

• HER CHOICE TO OPEN NEAR B’HAM ABORTION CENTERS. A new CPC will open in July near Summit and New Woman abortion centers in Birmingham, AL. Summit was closed in June 2006 and filed bankruptcy 5 October 2006. 

• WOMAN SENTENCED TO 5 YEARS FOR ABORTION. A widow with 3 children in Africa was sentenced 30April to 5 years in prison for aborting. On 7April, the woman, "when she was about to deliver a child, did prevent the child from being born alive by taking local herbs". It is further stated that she killed the unborn child through the abortion and dumped the body in a pit latrine. Passing the sentence, Kabale Chief Magistrate Irene Akankwasa ruled that the act denied the child a right to live and decent burial. [The Monitor (Kampala) NEWS, 5May03; 6May03, Pro-Life E-News http://allafrica.com/stories/200305050782.html]

• ABORTION IN CANADA. Abortion was legalized in the 1988 Supreme Court Morgentaler decision striking down the abortion law. The Canadian Abortion Rights Action League (CARAL) has released a report, "Protecting Abortion Rights in Canada": 17.8 per cent of hospitals in Canada provide abortion services. Access is highly uneven across the country although the Canada Health Act promises universality. In the Prairie Provinces less than 5 per cent of hospitals provide abortion services. In PEI and Nunavut there is no access. Nearly half the provinces refuse to pay for abortions done in private clinics under health insurance. Two-thirds of all abortions are provided in hospitals; but hospital abortions have been steadily declining over the last decade as well. A study, produced in 7/00 by the B.C. Women's Equality Ministry, showing a 20 percent decline in doctors providing abortion since 1994. [5May03 Rabble; 6May03 Pro-Life E-News]

• CANADIAN PARLIAMENT ASKED TO INVESTIGATE ABORTION. it will vote on a motion calling on the gov’t to study the effects of abortion on women and determine whether or not the procedure is medically necessary for women. The motion calls on the Committee on Health to "fully examine, study and report to parliament" on the health risks abortion poses to women and "whether or not abortions are medically necessary for…maintaining health, preventing disease, or diagnosing or treating an injury, illness, or disability." Breitkreuz has said that if his motion is passed, then taxpayers shouldn't be paying for them."[canada.com, 30Apr03; 6May03 Pro-Life E-News http://canada.com/national/story.asp6]

• SOBERING DISPLAY. Outside a church in Peoria IL, 25 children’s chairs line the road; each chair represents the est. number of abortions performed each week at the abortion site near the church. On each chair was placed a symbol of what the aborted child might have been if allowed to live (doctor, lawyer, mechanic, secretary, etc.) [Fam Res Ctr News, 6-7/03]

• CYSTIC FIBROSIS SCREENING LED TO "UNNECESSARY" ABORTIONS, RESEARCHERS SAY. "New Scientist" magazine has reported that a national U.S. screening program to test pregnant women and their partners for cystic fibrosis may have led to unnecessary prenatal tests and abortions. Representatives of the American College of Medical Genetics reported at a conference that in 20 cases, parents had amniocentesis tests - which can cause miscarriages - and some had abortions after being screened/tested for only one of two gene mutations that must be present for cystic fibrosis to occur. The president of the ACMG also told "New Scientist" that he knew of at least 150 cases in which unnecessary prenatal tests were carried out because of mistakes in interpreting the parents' tests. [Elliot Institute News Vol.2, No. 5 -- 19May03 http://www.AfterAbortion.Info]

• TAIWANESE OFFICIAL PROPOSES ABORTIONS FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS. A Taiwanese official has proposed that free "goodwill abortions" be offered to pregnant illegal immigrants from China who are being detained in Taiwan. [Elliot Institute News Vol.2, No. 5 -- 19May03 http://www.AfterAbortion.Info]

• A NEW GALLUP POLL. "on the moral compass of America" – 53% said abortion was morally wrong; 37% said it’s acceptable. Re doctor-assisted suicide, 49% said it’s morally wrong; 45% acceptable. For human cloning, 90% said it’s morally wrong; however, for human embryonic stem cell research, 54% feel it is morally acceptable, probably because the media has caused great confusion in this arena. [NRL News, 6/03]

• ABORTION ON MILITARY BASES. U.S. Senate defeated this in May, 51-48. The House defeated it 227-201. All AL Senators/Reps voted against this abortion amendment except Cramer (5th) & Davis (7th). [NRL News, 6/03]

• UVVA GAINS MOMENTUM – the Unborn Victims of Violence Act (S1019, HR 1997) would recognize as legal crime victims unborn babes injured/killed during violent federal crimes. UVVA excludes from prosecution abortion, medical procedures, self-inflicted injuries. It has twice passed the House with strong bipartisan support (1999, 2001). A Newsweek poll in late May found 84% believe homicide charges should be brought on behalf of a fetus. A national Fox news/Opinion Dynamics poll in late April also found that 84% of registered voters said a double homicide charge is right in the Peterson case. Santorum: "Federal law should accurately reflect our need to protect the most vulnerable members of society from hostile attack." NRLC asks people to "contact your Senators". [NRL News, 6/03; www.nrlc.org/Unborn_Victims/index.html]

• HOUSE PASSES PARTIAL-BIRTH ABORTION BAN ACT - 4Jun03, the U.S. House of Reps passed the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act (H.R. 760) by the vote, 282-yes, 139-no. The House bill is identical to the Senate version (S.3), except the Senate bill affirms Roe v. Wade. House Reps James Sensenbrenner (R-WI), Henry Hyde (R-IL), and Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) are House conferees. After the conference report is agreed to, the measure goes to the president, who has promised to sign the bill. [Michael Taylor, Executive Director, NCHLA, 5June03]

• ADOPTION – A bill to require abortion/family planning facilities to provide info about adoption to women considering abortion is sponsored by Rep. JoAnn Davis. Nearly 5000 clinics nationwide that receive "family planning" federal money do not provide adoption info. [HLA Action News, Spring 03]

• SLOVAKIA POLITICIANS DEBATE LEGALIZING LATE-TERM ABORTIONS the liberal New Citizen's Alliance (ANO) party said it was determined to go ahead with its draft amendment to the abortions law, because if it did not, it would "lose face" with its voters. The amendment includes the possibility of aborting babies up to the 24th week of pregnancy when serious genetic disorders are suspected. Christian Democrats (KDH) strictly oppose the draft amendment, and have called on ANO to withdraw it from parliament. The legislators were expected to vote on the draft on June 17. [prolifeinfo.org; Slovakia Spectator; June 9, 2003]

• ABORTION/PRO-LIFE PHOTOS - the majority of Americans…firmly believe that abortion is the killing of a human being; they also believe it is sometimes necessary and almost always beneficial to the woman. Because the middle majority is uncomfortable with the truth about abortion, they have a psychological need to push out of their minds any arguments or evidence on behalf of the unborn… The truth must enter in a roundabout way. This way is through the testimony of women who grieve over their lost children…Clearly, the most powerful witnesses to the humanity of the unborn are not scientists, but mothers who mourn. All can see that these mothers weep not over the destruction of "products of conception," but over the deaths of their children…Wherever facts of fetal biology will not change hearts, facts of familial relationship will: "It was my innocent little daughter who died that day!"…

In the final analysis, the humanity of the unborn child is revealed to be the only explanation for why abortion causes women so much grief and suffering. Thus, for those of us who have not had an abortion, the best way that we can draw attention to the humanity of the unborn is by drawing attention to the testimony of those who can speak of this loss from personal experience. By our advocacy for women's rights, we draw attention to wounded mothers…

Looking at this same issue from another perspective, we must remember that the interests of a mother and child are permanently intertwined. This means that the morality of abortion is built right into the psychological effects of abortion. Everyone knows there is no psychological trauma associated with the discarding of menses. But the discarding of an unborn child's life? That is inherently traumatic.

Therefore…by focusing public attention on the symptoms of post-abortion trauma, we will inevitably draw the middle majority back to understanding the cause of the problem: the injustice of killing unborn children and the guilt of weakness and betrayal which haunts the mother's heart.

In helping [the middle majority] to recognize the psychological suffering abortion causes women, we will lead them to rediscover the horror of abortion for themselves. [Excerpts from "Making Abortion Rare: A Healing Strategy for a Divided Nation," by David C. Reardon, Ph.D. Copyright 1996, $14.95; Acorn Books, 1-888-412-2676. Elliot Institute News Vol.2, No. 5 -- 19May03 www.AfterAbortion.Info; www.afterabortion.org]

Resources

• Astounding new teen pro-life website – www.GravityTeen.com (since 1/03, it has had over 29 million hits!! please publicize!)
• Pro-Life Personal Checks – www.lifechecks.com, 1-888-478-9537
• Pro-Life/Abstinence Bumper Stickers, Pins, Mailing Labels, etc. – www.VictoryWon.com, 1-800-767-7258
• www.hh76.com 800-858-3040
• "Silent No More Campaign – Women Speak Out About Their Abortion Experience" www.helpafterabortion.com. www.silentnomoreawareness.org
• White Paper - "The United Nations Population Fund: Assault on the World’s Peoples" – by Douglas Sylva, Ph.D., head of Int’l Organizations Research Group; publ by C-Fam, 212-754-5948,

Legal

• WV WRTK ACT BECOMES LAW -- After 15 years, the WV Senate passed the bill by a 30-2 vote, and the governor let it become law w/o his signature. [Nat Rt to Life news, 3/03]
• Recently, VA State senators opened their mail to find a pink plastic model of a first-trimester unborn child & a note: "Would you kill this child?" [Life Dynamics News, 3/03] A WY abortionist, 73, died 2/03. He said he delivered 8500 babies in his 40+ years as an OBG. He did not boast of the number he had aborted. [Life Dynamics News, 3/03]

• COMPARED to delivering women, women who abort have an elevated risk of death from all causes that persists for at least 8 years. Projected on the national population, this effect may contribute to 2000-5000 additional deaths among women each year. [Southern Medical Journal study reported in 3/03 Lifelines; Elliot Inst 02 Year End Report]
• LEGAL ABORTION LEADS TO MORE STDs- a 35% increase in gonorrhea & a 38% increase in syphilis – the only diseases for which reliable data exist. "Legalizing abortion provides extra incentives to engage in risky sexual activity." mason.gmu.edu/~jklick/std.pdf. ["The Effect of Abortion Legalization on Sexual Behavior," The Journal of Legal Studies, Lifesite News.com/CWN, 4/1/03; Abstinence Clearinghouse, 9Apr03; George Mason Univ, Prof T. Stratmann, Prof J. Click, Schools of Economics/Law; The Interim 10/02; Rt to Life Cincinnati bulletin, 3/03]
• NEW WEB SITE EXPOSES "POOR CHOICE" RHETORIC ON ABORTION --"Pro-choice" rhetoric implies that abortion and childbirth are equal options. http://www.PoorChoice.org challenges this. It offers post-abortion educational/healing resources, research, personal testimonies, free posters and poor-choice fact sheets that can be displayed on church bulletin boards, college campuses, laundromats etc., or distributed via email, or through published newsletters. Site AfterAbortion.org, & PoorChoice.org are good resources on the dangers of abortion. [Pro-Life Infonet; 7Apr03]

• TEXAS LAWSUIT OVER ABORTION DAMAGE GOES TO MEDIATION. A TX judge has ordered mediation to resolve a class action lawsuit filed by 145 women who were injured from abortions because the state failed to enforce its own abortion regulations. District Court Judge Coselli, Jr., heard testimony from 4 women pointing to a variety of physical & emotional injuries, including ruptured uterus, ruptured colon, and sterility, as well as guilt and depression, from abortions done at sites regulated by the state. The suit also alleges that the state failed to adequately investigate unlicensed abortion facilities; adequately inspect & examine licensed facilities; cooperate with other state agencies attempting to prosecute illegal activity in abortion facilities; prevent the unauthorized practice of medicine by unlicensed individuals in abortion facilities; and require abortion businesses to report child abuse that resulted in pregnancy. "We're also asking that the state inform women of emotional & physical consequences of abortion. It is the taking of the life of a human under Texas law, and it has long-term emotional consequences." Parker added that the suit seeks enforcement of the Texas parental notification statute.[prolifeinfo.org; Cybercast News Service; 14Apr03]

• FL ABORTION REGULATION BILL would regulate abortion facilities and require them to raise the level of safety comparable to medical standards required in ambulatory surgical centers and doctor's offices. Currently, FL only requires the rules to conform to health standards for first-trimester abortions; but abortion sites advertise in the yellow pages/elsewhere in FL for abortion services up to the third-trimester 28 wks. of pregnancy. [ ; FL Right to Life; 14Apr03] More than 25,000 people each week find pregnancy help/info: http://www.pregnancycenters.org

• U.S. SUPREME COURT AGAIN REFUSES TO REVIEW DECISION UPHOLDING CONSTITUTIONALITY OF SC ABORTION CLINIC REGULATIONS The denial of certiorari ends 7 years of challenges by SC abortion providers and allows a lower court’s ruling that the regulations are constitutional to stand. "This decision will have far-reaching, positive implications for women’s health and the right of individual states to ensure that women are not receiving substandard medical care at abortion clinics," said Denise M. Burke, staff counsel with Americans United for Life (AUL).

  "It is unconscionable that this case has dragged on this long and women have continued to be subject to unregulated and, all too often, substandard care," continued Burke. "South Carolina’s abortion clinic regulations are based, in substantial part, on national abortion care standards championed and promulgated by the abortion industry itself. So why has there been a seven-year battle to invalidate this law and, in the process, to undermine the abortion care standards developed by groups such as Planned Parenthood? Clearly, many abortion providers and abortion advocates are desperate to avoid meaningful oversight and are not the champions of women’s health they claim to be." Said Burke, "Veterinarians are more regulated than most abortion providers, and women have suffered the consequences. Each year, untold numbers of American women are injured at abortion clinics. Some require emergency hysterectomies or transfusions—and some die. States have the right to ensure that women receive safe, competent medical care, and that is exactly what abortion clinic regulations are designed to do."

  In their petition for certiorari, abortion providers principally alleged that allowing state officials to inspect patient medical records to ensure compliance with regulatory and record-keeping requirements was a violation of patient informational privacy rights. Abortion providers alleged, without a shred of supporting evidence, that state officials might "leak" patient information to third parties and therefore subject women to harassment and violence.

  "As the lower court recognized, constitutional challenges must be based on actual evidence," said Burke. "In fact, the evidence clearly demonstrated that the regulations themselves and other provisions of South Carolina law provide extensive protection for patient privacy. Clearly, the abortion providers’ allegations were not based in reality, but were the product of fevered imaginations and an extreme political position on abortion." Burke, along with AUL general counsel, Nikolas T. Nikas, is defending Arizona’s abortion center regulations vs. constitutional challenges similar to those made in the SC litigation. In October 2002, the U.S. District Court in Tucson substantially upheld AZ’s regulations, rejecting multiple constitutional challenges by abortion providers. The case is being appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. Arizona’s regulations were passed in direct response to a tragic 1998 death in a Phoenix abortion clinic. On April 17, 1998, Lou Anne Herron bled to death after Dr. John Biskind punctured her uterus during a late-term abortion. Later, Biskind left the clinic while Ms. Herron, in need of immediate emergency care, was bleeding heavily in the recovery. In February 2001, Biskind was convicted of manslaughter and is currently serving a five-year prison sentence. "If Arizona’s clinic regulations had been in place in 1998, Lou Anne Herron would not have died," said Burke. "Regulations such as those passed in South Carolina and Arizona are necessary to ensure that minimal health and safety standards are followed."

In 1995, the South Carolina Legislature began requiring the licensing of facilities performing abortions. The legislature further directed the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) to promulgate specific regulations for these facilities. The resultant regulations cover such matters as staff qualifications, procedures to provide emergency care, sanitation, infection control, quality assurance, and maintenance of patient records. DHEC officials were also authorized to inspect facilities and records for compliance, and violations of the regulatory requirements could result in criminal and civil liability. The case is Greenville Women’s Clinic v. Commissioner, South Carolina Dept of Health & Environmental Control, U.S. Supreme Court No. 02-1235. [Denise Burke, Esq., (210) 495-8515; Nikolas T. Nikas, Esq., (480) 483-3597; Americans United for Life release 29Apr03; .]

MINNESOTA GOVERNOR SIGNS WOMEN'S RIGHT TO KNOW ACT which had passed the MN Senate hours earlier by a 41-24 margin; it took 9 years to pass. Women considering an abortion in MN will now be empowered with the latest facts about abortion, fetal pain and the developing unborn child. The MN Dept of Health will provide both printed and Web site facts about abortion by Oct. 1, 2003. The WRTK law also ensures that prior to the abortion, a pregnant woman will have access to information about the probable gestational age of her baby, medical/financial assistance that may be available to her and the facts about abortion's risks - such as permanent infertility. [prolifeinfo.org; Pro-Life Infonet; 14Apr03]

NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE STILL WRONG ON ABORTION-BREAST CANCER - While the February workshop sponsored by National Cancer Inst (NCI) was to "comprehensively evaluate the abortion-breast cancer (A/BC) research and debate its merits", the reality is that an evaluation and debate never took place. The workshop simply was not organized in such a way as to allow for it. Only one viewpoint was invited-- that abortion is unrelated to increased risk of breast cancer--and this was the conclusion presented to the world at the end of the 3-day workshop. In keeping with its half century long practice of concealing the A/BC research from the American people, the NCI posted minimal information on an updated web page, dated March 25, 2003, which shows that an unnamed scientist dissented against the workshop statement. The web page is entitled, "Summary Report: Early Reproductive Events and Cancer Workshop." The dissenter, however, is Joel Brind, Ph.D. His Minority Report is not included on the NCI's web page. By concealing Brind's identity and failing to post his report, the NCI creates a stumbling block for women wanting to learn the rationale behind his dissent. Furthermore, the NCI's web page states that the agency's Board of Scientific Advisors and Board of Scientific Counselors, "unanimously approved the workshop findings." In addition, Dr. Brind's Minority Report wasn't given to either board for their consideration. "It appears the NCI is shilling for the abortion industry and offering political cover for abortion supporters in Congress." http://www.cancer.gov/cancerinfo/ere-workshop-report. The legal profession takes a dim view of the methods used by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to determine a causal relationship between exposure and outcome. Nancy Dreyer authored an article for the International Association of Defense Counsel in 1994 entitled, "An epidemiologic view of causation: how it differs from the legal." NCI uses consensus panels to decide whether an exposure is causally related to a disease. She specifically labeled this practice as a "spurious method…The truth isn't reached by consensus." [Dreyer N, "An epidemiologic view of causation: how it differs from the legal." Visited 10Apr03; http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/implants/legal/defensejournal2.html]

• John Kindley Esq. found a relevant quote from Albert Einstein which calls into question the NCI's use of a consensus panel to determine whether abortion causes breast cancer. In the 1930s, 100 scientists wrote a collection of essays which disparaged Einstein's theory of relativity. When a reporter asked the esteemed scientist for his comment, Einstein cleverly replied, "Why 100? If I were wrong, one would have been enough." Similarly, the NCI "needed 100 grant dependent scientists to disparage the A/BC link, but not one of them has ever refuted the biological explanation for it. Why not? Scientists know that estrogen overexposure is linked with most of the known risk factors for breast cancer and that it promotes the growth of tumors. They also know that pregnant women--if they are carrying normal pregnancies not destined to miscarry--are exposed to more estrogen starting early in their pregnancies than at any other time during their lives. Scientists hypothesize that only a third trimester process corrects that estrogen overexposure and transforms cancer vulnerable breast cells into cancer resistant cells. This is why women who bear more children, starting early in their childbearing years, have a lower lifetime risk for the disease. Dishonest scientists will continue to design phony epidemiological studies…in an effort to falsely persuade women of the safety of abortion. However, they cannot change the biological evidence of a link or disprove the rationale behind it. Einstein's quote demonstrates that the NCI's efforts to debunk the research cannot withstand the test of time. Ultimately, the truth will be told to women. [by Karen Malec, prolifeinfo.org; Pro-Life Infonet; 29Apr03; Pro-Life Infonet Note: Karen Malec is the President of the Coalition on Abortion/Breast Cancer.]

• TEXAS STATE HOUSE OKS WAITING PERIOD BILL – TX women seeking abortions will be offered materials detailing the dev’t stage of their unborn children prior to a mandated 24-hour "reflection period" under legislation adopted by the TX House, 96-41 vote. The bill now goes to the TX Senate. The bill requires signed proof that she has been offered the state-produced literature and color photos of fetal dev’t, been informed of the liability of the father to pay child support, rec’d medical assistance available for prenatal care, childbirth, and neonatal care and that women receive information on the link between abortion and breast cancer, all before the waiting period. The bill also requires that abortions performed after the 15th week of pregnancy can only be performed at an ambulatory surgical center or hospital licensed to perform the procedure -- not a freestanding abortion business. Similar bills in other states have proven effective in reducing the number of abortions. [prolifeinfo.org;AP; 29Apr03]
• MICHIGAN WOMEN NO LONGER MUST PREPAY FOR ABORTIONS -- The settlement, reached by the New York-based Ctr for Reproductive Rights and the MI Attorney General's Office, is "a victory for women", providing consumer protection for them. Right to Life of MI Pres Barbara Listing said, "Women will no longer be forced to invest financially in an abortion while they are considering their options. Women will now be protected from the added pressure of financial obligation when making a decision about an unplanned pregnancy… Abortion is a for-profit business, a business which ends the lives of unborn children and leaves many women with physical, emotional and mental complications." Payments cannot be collected by abortionists during the 24-hour waiting period for abortions. [prolifeinfo.org; Pro-Life Infonet; 29Apr03]

• TWO MAJOR MEDICAL JOURNALS have recently published research that abortion increases the risk of premature delivery, "mood disorders substantial enough to provoke attempts of self-harm" & placenta previa. "Whatever the effect of induced abortion on breast cancer risk, a young woman with an unintended pregnancy clearly sacrifices the protective effect of a term delivery should she decide to abort and delay childbearing." [Obstetrics & Gynecological Survey, "Long-Term Physical & Psychological Health Consequences of Induced Abortion" Jan03]. "Compared with women who delivered, those who aborted had a significantly higher age-adjusted risk of death from all causes (1.62 – 62%), from suicide (2.54 – 154%), and from accidents (1.82 – 82%), as well as a higher relative risk of death from natural causes (1.44 – 44%), including the AIDS (2.18), circulatory diseases (2.87), and cerebrovascular disease (5.46). Results are stratified by age and time." This study came from CA Medicaid records for 173,270+ women who had an induced abortion or a delivery in 1989, linked to death certificates for 1989 to 1997. Their rates of death are similar to the pattern observed in the major Finland study. Previous psychiatric history does not appear to explain the higher relative death rates. [Southern Medical Journal, vol.95, no.8, "Deaths Associated with Pregnancy Outcome", 8/02]

• COURTS WAIVE PARENTAL CONSENT - Teenage girls who want an abortion without a parent's permission must go to juvenile court first, to get permission from a judge. Such petitions waive a state law requiring that at least one parent consent to an abortion for a girl under 18. Judge Anderson started appointing a lawyer in 1998 known as a guardian ad litum, to represent the fetus in each hearing. A doctor testified about what he said were the potential complications, including psychological trauma, sterility, breast cancer and death. The lawyer also questioned the girl. After the 4-hour hearing, Judge Anderson granted the girl's request. Court observers said the lawyers always asked the girls whether they realized that by having abortions they were ending a life. The Alabama appellate courts have allowed the use of the guardian ad litum. In 1999, 18 girls sought waivers in the county's courts. Last year 6 did. Thirty-two states are enforcing laws requiring a minor to get the consent of a parent - or at least notify one - before an abortion. [20Jan03 New York Times, By S. A. Holmes; Pro-Life E-News , 21 Jan03 www.nytimes.com/2003/01/20/national/20ALAB.html?ex=1043730000&en=3635]

• THE POLITICS OF ABORTION - As encouraging as it was that the bill to ban partial-birth abortion passed the Senate, it is as equally shocking that 33 senators voted for this procedure that is indistinguishable from infanticide, and 3 Republicans - Olympia Snow & Sue Collins [ME] and Lincoln Chafee [RI] - joined 29 Democrats to defend partial-birth abortion in the USA. [FRC, 14Mar03]

• WHAT DO YOU SAY TO SOMEONE WHO TELLS YOU SHE HAS HAD AN ABORTION? Gentleness and care with which you respond can make all the difference. Then, be prepared by reading about Post-Abortion Stress Syndrome (PASS) and how to help women get started on the road to healing. Locate a PASS group in your area, or help start one. Read current research on abortion and its medical effects. At the pivotal moment when the woman acknowledges her abortion, "a voice of empathy & compassion with a simple ‘Oh, I’m so sorry. Can I be of any help?’ may help open a long-locked door just a bit". Listen, don’t try to "solve" all her problems. Make a "safe place for her to begin her journey of healing…you may be the very first person she has ever spoken to about [her abortion]. You can assure her that it is normal to find it very hard to talk about this…Introducing that idea may act as a kind of permission slip for some women to open up a little bit more. She may find it hard to believe that a pro-life person could love the broken person in front of him or her and still hate the tragedy that made her that way…Most of her defensiveness is only a mask that hides deep pain." If you find yourself confronted in a public setting by an uninvited, "angry young woman", gather yourself and your wits and say ‘thank you’ for her honesty. Yes, thank you! Tell her that you are sorry that she has been down that road but that you are grateful that she was willing to tell you what she truly feels about her experiences…A word of caution: never allow yourself to be drawn into an argument. You will not win this one! Calmly tell your angry ‘opponent’ that you are deeply sorry that she felt that her only option was to have an abortion. Focus only on the woman at such a moment…Is it OK to gently ask questions? Yes. Ask her how long ago it all happened. And be sure you listen carefully to the answers. Let your discussion become a person-to-person moment. Help her to understand that you see her as a human being, not an abstraction… Then remind her that there are many women with similar experiences…"[Nat. Rt to Life News, Dec02, "Finding Just the Right Words" by Olivia Gans, American Victims of Abortion]

• NEW BLACK GENOCIDE WEBSITE SET UP BY CBR (Center for Bio-Ethical Reform) is very committed to working with African American leaders on the abortion issue. The parallels between the civil rights movement and the pro-life movement are powerful. The new website for LEARN (an AfricanAmerican pro-life group): www.blackgenocide.org [6 Mar03, Pro-Life E-News, Center for Bio-Ethical Reform www.abortionNO.org]
• PRO-LIFE RALLIES: In 3/03, 2 Philippines Rallies for Life vs. the proposed Reproductive Health Bill: "in Cebu, we gathered 4,000 people mostly young people. But in the second day, we gathered 50,000 people…in Malaybalay." [APFLI member Dr. Rene Bullecer from Philippines, email 3/03]

• IPPF Urges Nordic Countries to Attack US Citing a grave "moment of peril" posed by the USA, the Int’l Planned Parenthood Fed (IPPF) Director-General Steven Sinding told northern European gov’t leaders that they must redouble their efforts to promote population control, the provision of reproductive services, esp. for children (even if it means going against the wishes of governments in the developing world, stating that "Africa simply cannot wait for good governance.") and his "final priority" is worldwide legalization of abortion, "making abortion safe." According to Sinding, "There are still far too many unwanted pregnancies." Sinding said that the demographic fear that drove funding "from the mid-1960s to the mid-1990s is to all extents and purposes gone." Without this demographic fear, Sinding worries that talk about reproductive rights is not "compelling" enough. Sinding also claimed that that governments possess too much authority in establishing their own nations' health needs. Sinding urged Nordic officials to "Engage the US and other critics head on…to show the absurdity of their 'abstinence only' and anti-condom crusades. We must discredit their pseudo-science and unmask their ideological motives." However, it now appears open to debate what parties are truly motivated by ideology. According to the UN Population Division, massive efforts by IPPF & UN Population Fund (UNFPA) to promote condom use in Africa have failed, and according to a study published by the US Agency for Int’l Dev’t (USAID), the only successful AIDS-prevention program in Africa is in Uganda, where abstinence and fidelity have been heavily promoted for over a decade. [Nordic Meeting on Sexual/Reproductive Health/Rights; FRIDAY FAX, C-FAM, 14Mar03]

• NEW UNC STUDY REVEALS NEGATIVE IMPACT OF 30 YEARS OF ABORTION ON WOMEN’S HEALTH -- Abortion increases risks of premature delivery, maternal depression and suicide, and other serious health consequences, reports a new medical study by prominent medical researchers. The authors further conclude that more research is required, and that women need to be informed of these and other major long-term health risks of abortion.

  The study, published in the January 2003 issue of the Obstetric & Gynecological Survey (OGS), assesses the long-term physical and psychological health consequences of abortion. The researchers, professors of medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Michigan, reviewed and analyzed 30 years of medical studies on the long-term medical risks of abortion. Their research reveals a critical need for "a detailed study of the health effects of this common procedure." Acknowledging that current data is sparse, and that current studies are flawed, the researchers recommend further studies to meet "the clear need for women to have accurate information" about the risks and potential complications of abortion.

  Denise Burke, staff counsel for Americans United for Life (AUL), notes, "The current lack of comprehensive and trustworthy studies revealing the long-term effects of abortion is reminiscent of the lack of information we had about the dangers of smoking 30 years ago. Women deserve to know how abortion will affect their lives and health." The study notes that 26 of every 100 known pregnancies end in abortion. Dorinda Bordlee, AUL staff counsel, says, "Twenty-eight states currently require some level of informed consent for abortion. Given the prevalence of this procedure, we are hopeful that this new study will encourage the remaining states to enact laws that give women considering abortion complete and accurate medical information." Bordlee continues, "Women have been at the center of a 30-year social and medical experiment, and we should unapologetically insist on mandatory reporting of abortion complications for the sake of women’s health, and in the interest of preventing a public health crisis."

  The abstract and study are published in Obstetrical & Gynecological Survey 2003; 58(1):67-79 and may be found at http://www.obgynsurvey.com.

  The study’s authors: John Thorp, Jr., M.D., Mcallister Distinguished Professor, OBG, Dept of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, and Dept OBG, School of Medicine, Univ of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599 (for reprints) Katherine Hartmann, M.D., Ph.D., Assist Prof, Dept of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, and Dept of OBG, School of Medicine, UNC, Chapel Hill. Elizabeth Shadigian, M.D., Assoc Professor, Dept OBG, School of Medicine, Univ of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Thorp and Hartmann Co-Direct the Women’s Health Research Project at UNC. [AUL, 15Jan03, ]

• The Coalition on Abortion/Breast Cancer applauds this study which called for physicians to inform women about increased breast cancer risk associated with induced abortion and about the existence of research examining abortion as an independent risk factor for breast cancer. "A young woman with an unintended pregnancy clearly sacrifices the protective effect of a term delivery should she decide to abort and delay childbearing," wrote the authors. "Thus, we conclude that informed consent before