Late-Term Abortion in Wanted Pregnancies

sharing information, stories and support for this heartbreaking decision

Abortion Policies Watch – 2012 November 3, 2011

Filed under: Legal and Political - late-term abortion — sammi @ 10:47 pm

Sarah Kliff of the Washington Post looks at 3 abortion policies below likely to be shaped this year by Republican control in 19 states and abortion rights opponents coming off of victories in 2011.  The only way to change the tide in all of this backsliding (during the 40th year anniversary of Roe v. Wade!) is to act now!  Click ” Ways to Help” above to find out how.

1. A late-term abortion ban in Washington, D.C.: Five states passed “Fetal Pain” Abortion Laws in 2011, up from just one state with such a law the year before. The restrictions outlaw abortion after 20 weeks on the basis that the fetus could feel pain (the scientific research on this is disputed). On Monday, Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) introduced a version of that law for the District of Columbia, the D.C. Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. The National Right to Life Committee announced Monday that Franks’s legislation, and similar bills across the country, will be its top priority in 2012.

“Enactment of the D.C. Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act will be a top legislative priority for National Right to Life during 2012,” Douglas Johnson, NRLC legislative director, wrote in a memo on Monday. “The capital city of the United States should not also be the capital for causing torment to unborn babies in the sixth month and later.”

2. Restrictions on federal funding for abortion providers. At Monday’s March for Life, Americans United for Life passed out “Defund Planned Parenthood” signs to its supporters. AUL president Charmaine Yoest says that’s meant to signal her group’s priorities for the coming year. “You can’t under emphasize the importance of political pressure,” she told me in an interview last week. “We’ll be calling for more congressional hearings and looking at the funding issue, both at the federal and state level.” Already, abortion rights opponents have seen success on this front: the New Hampshire House of Representative voted to bar abortion providers from receiving government funds, for family planning services they provide, on Jan. 18.

3. No private insurance coverage of abortion. The most common abortion restriction states passed last year had to do with private insurance coverage of abortion. A total of 16 states now ban insurance coverage for abortion, either statewide or on the Affordable Care Act’s insurance exchanges, up from five before the health reform law passed. “As terrible as last year was, and it was very, very bad, as many as 28 states are vulnerable to this type of law,” says Donna Crane, policy director for NARAL Pro-Choice America. At the same time, there may also be a counter-trend developing: Washington State is now considering a law that would require insurers to cover abortion.

 

How to Help a Loved One – DO’s & DON’Ts April 17, 2011

Filed under: Uncategorized — sammi @ 9:04 am
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

THINGS THAT HELPED AND DIDN’T HELP ME–

Do: 

*Acknowledge the death (with the baby’s name if there is one) by writing a letter, emailing, phoning, making donations or visiting your loved ones (both partners, not just the one who carried the baby) saying how sorry you are for their loss and that you are there to help.

*Make offers to help in concrete ways–childcare, shopping, food delivery, driving to appointments, keeping company during the days, notifying family, etc…

*Keep in contact even if just leaving messages or emails that show you care.

*Connect your loved one with resources she would benefit from such as grief support groups, a specialized therapist or informational/supportive websites.

*Continue to be a comforting presence well past the initial weeks of your loved one’s pregnancy loss–the grief can become more pronounced after the initial wave of support subsides.

*Allow your loved one to be very sad and cry a lot around you if she needs to.

*Help the siblings in the family (if requested by the parents), who may be aware of the parents’ grief and trauma, and need support, too.

*Talk openly about the details of what is happening to your loved one (if she seems open to it) in a non-judgmental way.  Give her a chance to process her emotions with you (but don’t force it if she’s doesn’t want to!).

Don’t:

I heard these kinds of things from well-meaning friends and family frequently.  I wished they hadn’t said them, but I know they were speaking from a place of wanting to take away my pain, and not understanding what grieving people need and want to hear.  Not wanting to see a loved one depressed or crying, some friends and family turned to “silver lining” and positive “bright side” comments that usually just made me feel worse.

Don’t say these things:

*”At least you have a healthy child already.”

*”I know how this must feel.” (unless you’ve been through it yourself).

*”You’ll have another baby, don’t worry.” (some women might not know for sure that they can, like in my case)

*”The baby’s in a better place.”

*”God works in mysterious ways.” (don’t assume your loved is comforted by or shares your religious beliefs)

*”It’s for the best.”

*”Are you sure you want to have an abortion?”(trust that your loved one has heavily weighed the pros and cons of this decision)

*”It could have been worse–you could have lost a real baby.”

*”You just have to get out there and try again!”

*”You got pregnant easily so you’ll get pregnant again.”

 

Emotional Support After Abortion March 16, 2011

Filed under: Emotional Support Resources — sammi @ 2:01 pm

t02200330_0427064013127597055

Exhale After-Abortion Support Talkline – a free, confidential, national talk line providing emotional support, resources and information in English, Spanish, Tagalog, Cantonese, Mandarin and Vietnamese for women and girls (and their partners and friends) who have had abortions.

1-866-4-EXHALE

Monday-Friday 5-10PM

Saturday & Sunday 12-10PM

http://exhaleprovoice.org/after-abortion-support

 

Timeline of US Abortion Laws and Events November 16, 2010

Filed under: Uncategorized — sammi @ 7:31 am

From the Chicago Tribune:

TIMELINE OF US ABORTION LAWS AND EVENTS

The earliest anti-abortion laws were intended to protect women from untrained abortionists. Records indicate abortions occurred unregulated during the 1800s, and the number of deaths caused by complications from illegal and unsafe abortions is impossible to determine. By the end on the 19th century, abortion was criminalized

  • 1821 — America’s first statutory abortion regulation is enacted in Connecticut in order to protect women from abortion inducement through poison administered after the fourth month of pregnancy.
  • 1856 — Leading pro-life advocate Dr. Horatio Storer establishes a national drive by the American Medical Association (AMA) to end legal abortion. First trimester abortion at this point (in most states) is legal or a misdemeanor.
  • 1873 — The Comstock Act bans access to information about abortion and birth control.
  • 1890 — Abortion is regulated by statutes advocated by the AMA, and abortion is permitted upon conferral of one or more physicians who believe the procedure is necessary to preserve the life of the mother.
  • 1961 — Vacuum aspiration-style abortion spreads throughout Europe and is considered safer than traditional methods
  • 1963 — The Society for Human Abortion is established in San Francisco. SHA challenges the law by openly providing information on abortion and contraception.
  • 1967 — Abortion is classified a felony in 49 states and Washington D.C. Dr. Leon Belous is convicted for referring a woman to an illegal abortionist — a case leading to a 1969 California Supreme Court decision in favor of the right to choose abortion.President Kennedy creates the Presidential Advisory Council on the Status of Women and calls for the repeal of abortion laws.
  • 1970 — Abortion activist Dr. Jane Hodgson is convicted in Minnesota for performing an abortion on a 23 year-old woman. The judge does not submit the case to the state supreme court.Hawaii becomes the first state to allow abortions performed before 20 weeks of pregnancy, thereby repealing its criminal abortion law. Soon after, New York State repeals its criminal abortion law.
  • 1971 — The Comstock Act prohibiting information on abortion is repealed. (State laws banning contraception remain.) Abortion under “certain” conditions is allowed in 14 states; four states guarantee a woman the choice of pregnancy termination.Norma McCorvey, an unmarried pregnant woman in Texas, challenges a state law that makes it a crime for a doctor to perform an abortion unless a woman’s life is at stake. To protect her privacy, McCorvey is listed as “Jane Roe” in all court documents.The Supreme Court, in Roe vs. Wade, grants women the right to terminate pregnancies through abortion. The ruling is based on a woman’s right to privacy.In a separate case, Doe vs. Bolton, the Supreme Court votes 7-2 to invalidate Georgia law that required a woman to get approval from three physicians before having an abortion.
  • 1974 — Federally funded research using fetal tissue is prohibited through the National Science Foundation Authorization Act.
  • 1976 — Congress passes the Hyde Amendment, banning the use of Medicaid and other federal funds for abortions. The legislation is upheld by the Supreme Court in 1980.
  • 1979 — A Missouri requirement that abortions after the first trimester be performed in hospitals is found unconstitutional. Another law mandating parental consent is upheld.
  • 1981 — In Bellotti vs. Baird, Supreme Court rules that pregnant minors can petition court for permission to have an abortion without parental notification
  • 1983 — The court strikes down an Akron ordinance that requires doctors to give abortion patients antiabortion literature, imposes a 24-hour waiting period, requires abortions after the first trimester to be performed in a hospital, requires parental consent and requires the aborted fetus to be disposed of in a ‘human’ manner.
  • 1989 — In Webster vs. Reproductive Health Services, a law in Washington State declaring that “life begins at conception”; and barring the use of public facilities for abortions is found unconstitutional. It marks the first time the Supreme Court does not explicitly reaffirm Roe vs. Wade.
  • 1992 — In Planned Parenthood vs. Casey, the court reaffirms Roe’s core holding that states may not ban abortions or interfere with a woman’s decision to have an abortion. The court does uphold mandatory 24-hour waiting periods and parental-consent laws.
  • 1993 — Abortion protestor Michael Griffin shoots Dr. David Gunn outside a clinic in Pensacola, Fla., during a March demonstration; he is later sentenced to life in prison. In August, Dr. George Tiller is shot in the arm while leaving clinic in Wichita, Kan.; Rachelle ‘Shelley’ Shannon is convicted and sentenced to 11 years in prison.
  • 1994 — In July, Dr. John Bayard Britton and bodyguard are slain outside clinic in Pensacola, Fla., by former minister Paul J. Hill; Hill is convicted of murder and sentenced to death. In December, John Salvi walks into two Boston-area abortion clinics with a rifle and opens fire, killing two receptionists and wounding five others; he is sentenced to life in prison without parole, but he kills himself in prison in 1996.
  • 1995 — Norma McCorvey (“Jane Roe”, who didn’t have an abortion because the court ruling came too late, is befriended by the national director of the anti-abortion group Operation Rescue, who baptizes her upon her conversion to Christianity. McCorvey declares that she is pro-life and regrets her role in the landmark case.
  • 1996 — The abortion debate shifts to state bans on “partial-birth abortions” which generally include late-term abortions performed with the “dilation and evacuation” method. 104th Congress passes HR 1833, a bill to outlaw such procedures; President Clinton vetoes the bill.
  • 1997 — Two bombs blast outside an Atlanta building containing an abortion clinic; six people injured; the clinic is left in ruins and the blast blows out windows across the street.

Sources: The Chicago Tribune, California Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League, National Right to Life

From CNN’s “Before and After Roe vs. Wade”–

1994: President Bill Clinton signs the Abortion-Clinic Protection Bill into law, which is designed to protect abortion clinics from attacks, blockades and acts of intimidation by pro-life protesters.

2000: The Food and Drug Administration approves the abortion pill RU-486. The drug enables a woman to terminate a pregnancy within seven weeks from her last menstrual period, without the need for a surgical abortion.

2003: President George W. Bush signs the “partial-birth abortion” bill, outlawing the procedure known as intact dilation and extraction (D&X). Federal judges quickly issue injunctions that temporarily nullify the law’s effect for many abortion providers.

2004: About 800,000 demonstrators gather in Washington for the “March for Women’s Lives,” a protest against Bush’s reproductive rights policies. This is the largest abortion-rights demonstration since a 1992 rally that drew at least 500,000 participants.

2007: The Supreme Court upholds the partial-birth abortion law 5-4 in the first federal restriction on a particular abortion method since Roe v. Wade.

In a bitter dissent read from the bench, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg says the majority’s opinion “cannot be understood as anything other than an effort to chip away a right declared again and again by this court.”

Pararmedics work on George Tiller after he was shot outside his clinic in 1993.
Pararmedics work on George Tiller after he was shot outside his clinic in 1993.

2009: President Barack Obama ends a banon the use of U.S. foreign aid funds by international family planning programs that provided abortions or advice on obtaining one. The ban had first been instituted in 1984 by President Ronald Reagan.

George Tiller, a physician who performed late-term abortions, is shot and killed in Wichita, Kansas. Tiller, who had been subject to antiabortion protests and harassment for more than 20 years, was the first abortion provider killed since 1998.

2011: Voters in Mississippi reject the “personhood” amendment, which would have outlawed all forms of abortion, including for cases of rape, incest and life-threatening pregnancies.

Research from the Alan Guttmacher Institute finds the number of abortions is at its lowest level since Roe v. Wade, remaining steady at about 1.2 million reported procedures in 2011, down 25% since the all-time high in 1990.

2012: Susan G. Komen for the Cure announces it will cut off fundingto affiliates of Planned Parenthood. The organization reverses the decision three days later amid a public outcry.

Rally participants support Planned Parenthood at the National Mall in Washington on April 7, 2011.
Rally participants support Planned Parenthood at the National Mall in Washington on April 7, 2011.

The Supreme Court upholds President Obama’s Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare. Starting in 2014, the level of abortion coverage each woman will receive will depend on their state’s policy, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

The ACA prohibits states from including abortion in any essential benefits package and no plan in an insurance exchange is required to offer abortion coverage. In addition, states can bar all plans participating in the exchanges from covering abortions.

Sources: “When Abortion Was A Crime,” by Leslie Reagan; Kaiser Family Foundation; 4,000 Years For Choice; NPR; National Right to Life.