On April 8, the Tennessee House Health Committee passed House Bill 0977, which would require abortion facilities to provide accurate information about the development of the baby, alternatives and resources available to assist the mother, and possible physical and psychological risks of the abortion. Rep. Matthew Hill (R- Jonesborough) and Rep. Debra Moody (R-Covington) sponsored the legislation.
But during the hearing on the legislation, an abortion practitioner who testified said something shocking.
Earlier this year, Rep Moody explained why she is sponsoring HB 0977.
She said, “Women deserve to have all the facts about any surgical or medical procedure they are contemplating and abortion should not be treated any differently. We are here today because we are pro-woman, pro-child and pro-life. We must encourage an environment that ensures no woman is left to regret an abortion decision because she wasn’t provided adequate information or resources.”
Rep. Hill also explained why he sponsored the bill.
He said: “This legislation is specifically a response to the approval by a majority of voters of Amendment 1. Amendment 1 was presented to the voters of Tennessee and to the citizens, and they were told clearly time and time again that if Amendment 1 was adopted that informed consent, 48-hour waiting period, and the inspection of facilities would be what the Legislature brought forth. That’s why this legislation specifically deals with two of the three things that were specifically delineated during the campaign of Amendment 1.”
However, prior to the vote representatives from four abortion facilities spoke in opposition to the legislation. According to Tennessee Right to Life, abortionist Susan Dodd from Knoxville argued that abortion is a safe procedure and feels that it is too cumbersome for abortionists to meet with patients and answer questions they have about the procedure.
Ed Albin of Tennessee Right to Life was at the hearing and said that Dodd also compared having an abortion to getting a face-lift or having a colonoscopy. In fact, she even argued that abortion is safer than carrying a pregnancy to term.
Unfortunately, Dodd isn’t the first to claim that abortion is safer than childbirth even though it is completely untrue.
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As LifeNews previously reported, during the first six months after an early abortion (12 weeks or less), a woman has double the risk of death compared to giving birth; and during the first year following a late abortion (after 12 weeks) a woman has over three times the risk of death compared to giving birth. Additionally, since abortion complications are largely underreported, there is no way for data to accurately show information concerning the safety of abortion compared to childbirth.
Furthermore, hospital emergency rooms, not abortion facilities, usually handle serious health complications arising from abortion that threaten the life of the woman. Despite being the result of physical complications of the abortion procedure, these abortion-related deaths are reported as maternal deaths.
Listen to Dodd’s remarks in the video below. Her comments start around 2:23 – just move the slider to that time to see her remarks.
