Sen. Blackburn proposes ‘informed consent’ for abortion

  • by:
  • Source: Bob Unruh
  • 04/22/2021

Seeking to correct the American abortion industry's penchant for targeting "vulnerable women" to make "life and death decisions" without knowing the impact, Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., is proposing an "informed consent" requirement.

"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 told the Washington Examiner. "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."

Her proposal is the "Women's Right to Know Act," which would require providers to explain "all medical risks" associated with abortion, as well as the age and development features of the unborn child at the time, at least 24 hours before an abortion.

"There are women that I know that I have encountered through women's groups at churches, women that have experienced abortion, and 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 explained.

Some states already have created such rules, and the senator explained, "We are always looking at what is happening in the states, and we're regularly talking to individuals that are in the pro-life community and people that are in the healthcare community.

"And there are some things that people think are important. If you go to a hospital and you are going to have a procedure, what do they do? They give you the information," she said.

"There just needs to be a more complete process and preparation for that procedure."

The pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute has affirmed that informed consent is important, but it routinely criticizes state requirements. "They do not always measure up to the gold standard of informed consent," the organization has said.

It charged that information sometimes is "out-of-date, biased or both."

The Supreme Court has affirmed such requirements, stating about a Pennsylvania plan that abortion is "an act fraught with consequences … for the woman who must live with the implications of her decision."

Blackburn also had introduced largely similar legislation a year ago.

CBN reported at the time the national proposal was modeled after Georgia's state law.

The report noted that 34 states already require medical counseling for the mother-to-be before an abortion.

The Tennessee senator said then that the consequences of abortion "are grave and irreversible to both the mental and physical health of the mother and child."

She charged then that 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."

The idea has earned the support of Susan B. Anthony List, National Right to Life Committee, March for Life, Georgia Life Alliance, Heritage Action for America, Family Resea4rch Council and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

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