Oregon Abortion Bills Get Hearing in State House Committee 
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
March 25, 2005
Salem, OR (LifeNews.com) — Four Oregon bills that address abortion received a hearing on Thursday in an Oregon state House committee. While the bills may make it past the Oregon House, they will face an uphill battle in the Senate and Democratic Gov. Ted Kulongoski, an abortion advocate, will likely veto them.
One bill would require abortion practitioners to tell the parents of a minor girl that their daughter is considering an abortion.
Another bill requires abortion facilities to make information available to women thinking about an abortion detailing the procedure’s risks and alternatives 24 hours beforehand.
Planned Parenthood and other abortion advocates told members of the House Judiciary Committee to oppose the bills because they would harm women, even though similar legislation is on the books in more than two dozen other states.
Republican lawmakers said the bills make good sense, according to an Associated Press report.
"Would you support a law allowing your teenaged daughters to receive cosmetic surgery without your notification and consent?" asked Rep. Donna Nelson (R-McMinnville). "Most parents would never dream of allowing their minor children to undergo invasive and possibly dangerous elective surgery without notification and consent."
Esther Ripplinger, who volunteers with a group of post-abortion women who regret their abortions testified along with other post-abortive women in favor of the bill, according to the AP story.
"I want all women to have the opportunity to have the facts about abortion, and to be offered pregnancy resources prior to choosing an abortion," Ripplinger said.
Another of the four bills would require abortion practitioners to let women know that late-term abortions cause significant pain to the unborn child and a fourth bill would make sure abortion businesses are properly regulated to protect women’s health.
Gayle Atteberry, executive director of Oregon Right to Life says that surveys taken of Oregonions on abortion show that there is support for these kinds of proposals.
Still, she realizes the fight to pass the bills is more difficult in the Democrat-controlled state Senate.
"I know the support is there, except among the Senate Democrats," Atteberry told AP.
Related web sites:
Oregon Right to Life – https://www.ortl.org
