Floor debate on bills that protect women and unborn Mainers will soon be going on in the House and Senate. Please pray for passage of:
- LD 924, An Act To Educate Women on the Medical Risks Associated with Abortion;
- LD 116, An Act To Require a 24-hour Waiting Period prior to an Abortion; and
- LD 1457, An Act To Strengthen the Consent Laws for Abortions Performed on Minors and Incapacitated Persons.
Please e-mail your senator and House representative and ask them to support all three bills. Click here to find out who they are as well as how to contact them. They make it easy! You can e-mail them right from the site.
After hearing the arguments against this so called “restriction on abortion” in Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey, the Court found, “The State may take measures to ensure that the woman’s choice is informed. . . . This requirement cannot be considered a substantial obstacle to obtaining an abortion, and, it follows, there is no undue burden” (Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey).
In Gonzales v. Carhart, the Supreme Court recognized the deep pain a woman can experience when she has not been properly educated. In writing the majority opinion, Justice Kennedy wrote:
“It is self-evident that a mother who comes to regret her choice to abort must struggle with grief more anguished and sorrow more profound when she learns, only after the event, what she once did not know” (Gonzales v. Carhart).
Maine’s current laws require abortionists to verbally explain the procedure and the gestation age of the unborn baby. This is not enough. Maine women have a right to know-
- The name of the physician who is to perform the abortion;
- A description of the procedure to be used;
- The risks of the abortion procedure and the risks of childbirth;
- Scientifically accurate information about the fetus;
- The availability of medical benefits;
- The father’s liability for support.
Women in the State of Maine are hurting today because for too long we have allowed those who profit from abortions to withhold this vital information. Maine women must be empowered!
Click here to read CWA of Maine’s testimony given before the Judiciary Committee on May 3, 2011.