Sen. Marsha Blackburn introduced a bill Tuesday to ensure that women receive information about their unborn baby’s development and the risks of abortion before going through with the life-ending procedure.
Her bill, the Women’s Right to Know Act, would require abortion facilities throughout the U.S. to provide informed consent to women at least 24 hours before an abortion, the Washington Examiner reports. This information would include the gestational age and development of the unborn baby and the medical risks of abortion.
Blackburn, a Republican from Tennessee, said she has heard from many women who learned too late the pain and regret that comes from aborting an unborn baby.
“They have commented that if they had known the physical, mental, emotional impact of what was happening, they would have made a different decision,” she told the Examiner.
The pro-life senator criticized the abortion industry for prioritizing financial gain over women’s well-being.
“For far too long, organizations like Planned Parenthood have targeted vulnerable women and pressured them to make life and death medical decisions without informed consent,” she continued. “The Woman’s Right to Know Act protects the sanctity of life for women and children across the nation by establishing long-overdue standards for the predatory abortion industry.”
Informed consent is a basic practice in medicine, but many post-abortive women say they did not receive any information about risks and alternatives before their abortions. Some mothers also have accused abortion facilities of refusing to show them ultrasound images of their unborn babies.
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Abortion risks include excessive bleeding, infection, hemorrhage, increased risks of future preterm births, infertility, breast cancer and death, as well as mental health problems including depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and suicide.
According to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control, more than 400 women have died from abortions in the U.S., though the agency admits that its data is limited and the number likely is higher.
Earlier this month, an autopsy revealed that a 29-year-old Alabama woman died in 2020 after an abortion at the West Alabama Women’s Center. The autopsy found that the woman’s cervix had been perforated, and her unborn baby’s body had not been removed from her womb.
Another woman also died in 2020 after an abortion by New York City abortionist Ronald Blatt. According to Operation Rescue, the woman’s husband filed a medical malpractice suit and settled out of court for $1.25 million.
Blackburn said women deserve to know the life-and-death consequences of abortion.
“The consequences of an abortion are grave and irreversible to both the mental and physical health of the mother and child,” she told CBN News last year. “Tragically, the abortion industry sees a financial incentive to encourage a mother to have an abortion. By requiring that physicians and expectant mothers have a discussion about the lasting effects of elective abortion, we can ensure that women are well-informed before choosing to proceed.”
Currently, 28 states have informed consent laws that protect a woman’s right to know the risks of abortion, facts about their unborn baby’s development and alternatives to abortion, according to the National Right to Life Committee. Additionally, 25 of these states require a waiting period, typically 24 hours, between the informed consent counseling and the abortion, according to the Guttmacher Institute.
These laws empower women and save unborn babies from abortion. A survey by the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates found that 78 percent of mothers who were considering abortion chose life after they saw an ultrasound image of their unborn baby.
