Two pro-life female lawmakers introduced a bill Wednesday in the U.S. Senate to make sure women know that an abortion destroys the life of their unborn child.
The Women’s Right to Know Act is informed consent legislation that would require abortion facilities all across the country to tell women basic information about abortion risks and their unborn baby’s development at least 24 hours before the abortion, CBN News reports.
“The consequences of an abortion are grave and irreversible to both the mental and physical health of the mother and child,” said U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, a Tennessee Republican who is sponsoring the bill.
Blackburn said the abortion industry has a financial incentive to encourage mothers to have abortions, so ensuring women receive accurate information is important.
Fellow sponsor U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler, R-Georgia, said the legislation is modeled after the Georgia Women’s Right to Know Act, which provides accurate medical information and counseling to women prior to an abortion.
“A patient’s ability to give informed consent is a core principle of modern medical practice,” Loeffler said. “Without it, we are unable to ensure that every woman is fully informed of the consequences of their potentially life-altering decision.”
Scientifically, it is well established that human life begins at conception, and modern medical advancements have provided amazing details about an unborn baby’s development. For example, an unborn baby’s own unique fingerprints begin forming at just 12 weeks of pregnancy, and the baby’s heartbeat is detectable by about six weeks.
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Mounting evidence also shows that abortions can have long-lasting consequences on women. This winter, a new study from the Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica in Finland confirmed that abortions can lead to an increased risk of preterm birth and low birth weight for future babies. Studies also have found increased risks of breast cancer, psychological disorders, suicide and other health problems among women who have had abortions.
Leading pro-life advocates praised the senators for introducing the legislation.
“Numerous states have established laws ensuring that a mother is given a chance to consider all of her options and receive important information to help her make an informed decision,” said Carol Tobias, president of the National Right to Life Committee. “We support the effort to make this a nation-wide protection – one critical in saving the lives of innocent children and ensuring that women have a right to know the facts about their unborn child.”
Joshua Edmonds, executive director of Georgia Life Alliance, said basic informed consent requirements should not be controversial.
“Withholding facts about the very serious health risks associated with abortion procedures and the scientific truth about the baby developing in their womb benefits no one except abortion businesses who prey on women making life-altering decisions,” he said. “If the argument that abortion should be ‘safe, legal, and rare’ is a genuine one, then we look forward to supporting the Woman’s Right to Know Act from senators on both sides of the aisle.”
The Honorable Marilyn Musgrave, Susan B. Anthony List vice president of government affairs, also thanked Loeffler and Blackburn advancing the common-sense bill.
“Women deserve to be notified of the medical risks involved in abortion and receive a full disclosure regarding the development of the child within them,” Musgrave said. “We wholeheartedly support the Woman’s Right to Know Act and urge Senators to stand behind this commonsense legislation that sets reasonable standards for the abortion industry.”
Informed consent legislation is vital because women have said abortion facilities deceived them about their unborn babies’ development and refused to allow them to see their unborn babies via ultrasound.
Tegra Little, a former Planned Parenthood patient, said she did not receive counseling and was not allowed to look at her baby’s ultrasound before her abortion.
“I asked her if I could see the screen, and she said, ‘No.’ I asked, ‘Why not?’ She said, ‘It’s against our policy.’ Then she told me, ‘There’s nothing to see, it’s just tissue,’” Little said.
Other women have described similar experiences.
For years, the abortion industry has been working against informed consent legislation, keeping women in the dark about their unborn babies. This important information can help change women’s minds and encourage them to choose life for their unborn babies. It also cuts into the abortion industry’s bottom line.
