Dear ProLife Colleague, One of our issues with the “prochoice” medical establishment is that informed consent, which might actually help the pregnant woman make an informed “choice,” is generally abysmal in abortion clinics. The major long term complications, depression, substance abuse (to cover the emotional pain), Suicide (for pain that can’t be “covered”), increase in subsequent preterm births, and the possibility of some increase in breast cancer risk, are generally glossed over if they are mentioned at all. To begin to correct this breach in pre-abortion counseling, there is now a unique new law in Nebraska. Will it be effective? Time will tell. But it is a start in an otherwise vacant lot. See below: Nebraska First to Allow Women to Sue for Psychological Injury After Abortion. Doctors Must Screen for Coercion and Other Risk Factors for Abortion Complications Springfield, IL (April 13, 2010) — A new Nebraska law will allow women to sue doctors for psychological injuries related to unwanted, coerced or unsafe abortions, according to the Stop Forced Abortions Alliance. “This is the first law in the country that allows women to hold abortionists accountable for negligent pre-abortion screening and counseling,” said Paula Talley, one of the organizers of Stop Forced Abortions. “If it had been in place in 1980, I would have been spared the years of grief, depression, and substance use which followed my own unwanted abortion.” Judicial rules normally do not allow women to sue for psychological injuries after abortion unless the injuries stem from a physical injury. The new Nebraska law is the first law in the country to eliminate the requirement that the woman must prove that psychological injuries from an abortion stemmed from a physical injury. The law also puts into place a specific standard of care for appropriate pre-abortion screening. Abortion providers may be sued for negligence if they fail to ask a woman if she is being pressured, coerced or forced to have an abortion. They may also be held liable if they fail to screen women for other statistically significant risk factors that may put them at higher risk for psychological or physical complications following an abortion. Research has found that as many as 64 percent of women feel pressured by others to have an abortion. In addition, one study found that even though more than half of women reported feeling rushed or uncertain about the abortion, 84 percent said they did not receive adequate counseling and 67 percent said they weren’t counseled at all. The measure easily sailed through Nebraska’s Unicameral Legislature with a 40-9 majority. Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman is scheduled to sign the bill today. The law will go into effect on July 15. Will this law help correct the “non-informed consent” that many abortion victims experience? It is certainly a step in the right direction. We applaud the Stop Forced Abortion coalition and the Nebraska legislature for plowing new ground! Jdc/aaplog
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