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Pro-Life Update When determining public policy regarding medical procedures, we must remember that the policies should always protect our citizens. Unfortunately, many people are not mindful of this—as they endanger women’s health to promote their own agendas. One example is the “morning-after” pill, which will soon be approved for over-the-counter use. A product that can cause abortion should never be taken without a doctor’s supervision. The Child Custody Protection Act also addresses these concerns, by recognizing that parental notice laws are in place to protect minors and should never be circumvented by transporting a minor to a state that does not have such protective laws. In Texas, too, we recognize that it is vitally important to women’s health to track abortion statistics, judicial bypasses for minors, and abortion complications. This will be one step towards a more thorough understanding of abortion in our state, so that we can better address the needs of women.
Please read this issue of the Pro-Life Update carefully to understand some of the challenges we now face and how you—an educated Pro-Lifer—can advance the Culture of Life. Please share this information with your family, friends, and church congregations. Make copies. Spread the news.
“Morning-After” Pill to be Approved for Over-the-Counter Use After years of delays, U.S. health officials have announced that non-prescription sales of emergency contraception, i.e. the “morning-after” pill, could soon be approved for women 18 years or older. The drug would be kept behind pharmacy counters, and women would need to ask for it—without, however, a prescription. (Young women under 18 would still need a prescription.)
According to Reuters, an unnamed FDA official stated: "If the conversations go smoothly and everyone works expeditiously through this, we think this is something that could be wrapped up in a matter of weeks, not months."
Pro-Life advocates have been calling attention to the fact that the “morning-after” pill can cause an early abortion. Also known as “Plan B,” it works “by stopping ovulation, fertilization, or implantation”, according to Planned Parenthood. Because life begins at fertilization—not implantation—the pill can prevent an already existing human from implanting into the uterine wall, resulting in a chemical abortion.
Abortion advocates have been aggressively lobbying the FDA for the “morning-after” pill to be sold over-the-counter. Removing the safety net of a doctor’s familiarity with his patient and his guidance on medication, by allowing women to self-administer this powerful drug, puts women at risk. In no other medical situation could a patient autonomously determine that a drug as powerful as the “morning-after” pill is an appropriate course of action and then procure the drug for herself without a prescription. Because the “morning-after” pill can cause a chemical abortion, the basic health standards and requirements for its usage (i.e., doctor supervision, warning labels, patient information, contraindications, etc.) should not be ignored or lowered to a level that further endangers women.
The Child Custody Protection Act Stalled The Child Custody Protection Act (S. 403) was approved 65-34 by the U.S. Senate in July 2006. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) expressed his approval: “What opponents of this bill forget is that no parent wants anyone to take their children across state lines… without their permission. This is a fundamental right, and the Congress is right to uphold it in law.”
The U.S. House of Representatives had already passed such legislation four times. The Senate let the bill languish due to the Senate Democratic caucus each time.
The Child Custody Protection Act still faces a challenge, however. Since the Senate’s version of the bill differs from that of the House, these bills must proceed to a conference committee to reconcile the differences. However, when Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) moved to appoint a conference committee (a routine and frequent move in the Senate), assistant Democratic leader Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) led a pro-abortion opposition to block the appointing the conference committee.
“Fourteen Democratic senators voted to pass the bill, but only minutes later the Democratic leaders began a new effort to kill the bill by objecting to the routine, necessary step of sending the bill to a conference committee,” said NRLC Legislative Director Douglas Johnson. “The Senate Democratic leadership is now doing the bidding of the abortion lobby, obstructing legislation supported by 80 percent of the public that believes parental notification laws protect vulnerable minors and the rights of parents.”
At a July 26 press conference, Republican Leader Frist said that he found the Democratic leadership tactic “very offensive.” As a result of Senator Durbin’s unfair tactics, this bill that has passed through both houses is now stalled.
Abortion Reporting The Alan Guttmacher Institute (the research arm of Planned Parenthood) estimates that about half of all abortions are not reported, which means that abortion complications and judicial bypasses for minors are also underreported. In order to establish effective and relevant regulatory policy regarding abortion, lawmakers and public health officials must know the state of abortion in Texas and across the country. Such reporting requirements and regulations will also protect women’s health by establishing a reporting procedure for abortion-related complications, which are currently often reported as “pregnancy complications”.
Reporting requirements will also assess the effectiveness of parental notification by requiring the reporting of the judicial bypass court proceedings and parental notice. Judicial bypass is currently the only secret court proceeding in Texas. (Although maintaining the anonymity of the minor should always be a priority, there is no need to conceal the data regarding frequency by county and outcomes of each proceeding.) In Texas, the data would be collected by the Department of State Health Services (DSHS) when legislation is passed to mandate its collection and publication. Yours for Life, Dr. Joseph M. Graham President |
