IN THIS ISSUE

• Alternative Parental Notice Bill Won't Protect Teens; Judical Bypass System Fraught with Problems, Expert Says
• Ms. Magazine's "I Had an Abortion" Campaign Puts Politics Before Women's Rights
• Selected Resources -- Don't Miss Out!
Last Chance to Educate Voters Before the November Elections -- Special Offer Ends Oct. 27!

Alternative "Parental Notice" Bill Won't Protect Teens; Judicial Bypass System Fraught With Problems, Expert Says

Efforts by abortion advocates to introduce an alternative to a parental notification bill approved by the courts in Illinois will put girls at greater risk, a leading post-abortion expert says.

The Illinois Supreme Court in September issued rules clarifying judicial bypass procedures for a parental notification law that was passed more than a decade ago but was never enforced -- paving the way for the state to ask a judge to lift an injunction against the law and allow it to go into effect. However, abortion supporters are backing an alternative parental notification bill that they want to replace the current law.

A spokesperson for Gov. Rod Blagojevich told the Associated Press reporters that the governor had not yet seen the Fritchey bill but that "it sounds like something that would help achieve Gov. Blagojevich's goal of protecting young women who are victims of rape or incest." But Elliot Institute director Dr. David Reardon, who has studied cases of pregnancy following sexual abuse, believes the alternative bill would actually make it easier abuse to continue.

"If a girl is being abused by an adult brother or uncle, this bill would allow the perpetrator to conceal the abuse from her parents by allowing him to substitute himself into the legal role reserved for her parents," said Reardon.  "This would of course also allow him to continue abusing her after the abortion was done."

Reardon said he was concerned to learn that the Illinois Planned Parenthood Council said that the bill would not require the group to change their current counseling procedures -- a claim he said should make lawmakers wary of supporting the bill.

Life Dynamics, a Texas-based pro-life group, conducted an undercover investigation in 2002 in which a staff member phoned more than 800 Planned Parenthood and National Abortion Federation clinics nationwide, posing as a 13-year-old girl impregnated by her adult boyfriend. According to transcripts and recordings of the calls made by Life Dynamics, the staff at many clinics instructed the caller not to tell them her age or advised her to cross state lines or lie to a judge so that she could have an abortion without telling her parents.

Reardon also pointed to a 2003 case in which a judge found Planned Parenthood of Arizona negligent for failing to report performing an abortion on a 13-year-old girl. The clinic did not report the abortion until the girl returned for a second abortion six months later and it was discovered that her 23-year-old foster brother had impregnated her.

"The fact that Planned Parenthood says that this bill would not force them to alter their practices should make legislators very skeptical, since the evidence suggests that Planned Parenthood's usual policy is to ask no questions or even to conspire to cover up sexual abuse," he said. "The Fritchey bill would remove even the most minimal protections for incest victims."

And while Reardon supports legislation requiring parental notification and consent, he said the judicial bypass system simply doesn't do enough to protect minors.

"In most cases, when a teenage girl seeks a waiver for an abortion, the judge is never presented with any information that might show that abortion is not in her best interest," he explained. "Information about the full medical and psychological risks of abortion is never presented, either to the girl considering the abortion or to the judge.  This is especially tragic sicne research has shown that teens are at even greater risk than older women for both physical and psychological complications.  Nor are the girl and the judge presented with a individualized risk profile which documents any of the risk factors, such as mental health history and situational factors, which are known to place women at even a higher rate of subsequent complications. Without this information, neither the judge nor the girl have enough information to determine if the abortion is more likely to hurt than benefit the girl."

The result, Reardon said, is that a judge will often simply "rubber stamp" abortion waivers which expose teens to harmful abortions, and thereby abortion related complications such as increased risk of suicide, substance abuse, and subquent premature deliveries.

"The system in most cases is slanted in favor of abortion, regardless of whether or not it in a teens' best interest," he said. "While the judicial process is supposed to protect teens who are victims of parental abuse, in practice it simply exposes teens to the abuses of an abortion industry that doesn't provide proper screening or disclosure of risks--to either adults or teens.  This effort to broaden the judicial bypass procedure even further is simply intended to remove a minor obstacle in the way of those who want to pressure and deceive minors into believeing abortion is a safety net instead of a safety hazard."

Reardon is the co-author of the book "Victims and Victors: Speaking Out About Their Pregnancies, Abortions, and Children Resulting from Sexual Assault." He has also authored authored an article, "Two Wrongs Won't Make it Right: Incest Case Exposes Shortcomings of Judicial and Medical Reviews of Abortion Cases," which provides more information on the problems with judicial bypass and what can be done to correct them. To read the article, click this link: www.afterabortion.info/PAR/V6/n3/incest.htm.

Ms. Magazine's "I Had an Abortion" Campaign Puts Politics Before Women's Rights

Ms. magazine's "I Had an Abortion" campaign does a disservice to American women by overlooking the realities of the abortion experience, Elliot Institute director Dr. David Reardon said.

The magazine published a cover story on abortion accompanied by a petition with the signatures of 1,000 women who had abortions and say they support the procedure. The magazine also claims an additional 5,000 women asked to sign the petition.

The campaign has drawn criticism from pro-life advocates for presenting only one side of the story. Georgette Forney of the Silent No More Awareness Campaign, which represents women who have been hurt by abortion, says letters from members of her group asking Ms. to include signatures from women who regret abortion were ignored by the magazine.

Elliot Institute director Dr. David Reardon, who has co-authored more than a dozen peer-reviewed studies documenting the negative impact of abortion on women, says that the campaign overlooks the fact that most women do not want abortions. He pointed to a study published in the Medical Science Monitor of American and Russian women who had abortions, in which 64 percent of American women reported feeling pressured by others to abort and 84 percent said they did not receive enough counseling to make an informed decision.

"The evidence suggests that abortion is not a procedure women freely choose and that many abortions result from pressure, coercion, misinformation, and even force," he said. "Ms. has chosen to present a picture of women who wanted and are happy with their abortions, but the reality for most women is quite different from the image they are portraying.

Reardon has been involved in peer-reviewed studies linking abortion to increased rates of psychological complications, including suicide, depression, anxiety, sleep disorders, and symptoms of post-traumatic stress. While more research needs to be done to determine exactly how many women experience negative outcomes after abortion, he said that the numbers dwarf the 5,000 women Ms. cited.

"In addition to our studies, findings from researchers in Finland show that women are six to seven times more likely to commit suicide in the year following abortion compared to those who gave birth, and a team of pro-choice researchers in New Zealand found that rates of depression and other psychological complications increased after abortion even when they controlled for pre-existing conditions," he said. "Planned Parenthood's own web site cites a study published by a pro-choice researcher that found that up to 10 percent of women experience ongoing depressive symptoms after abortion. While our research suggests that the numbers are much higher, even the 10 percent figure would yield approximately 100,000 women per year experiencing symptoms of depression after abortion."

He said that while thousands of women seek post-abortion counseling every year, there are no doubt hundreds of thousands more more who are still struggling with negative outcomes after abortion.

"This campaign puts politics above the rights and well-being of American women," Reardon said. "If Ms. really cares about the rights of women, they would do far better to demand real support and choices for women, rather than the false and harmful 'solution' of abortion."

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SELECTED RESOURCES

Last Chance!! Educate Voters in Time for the November Elections!

VICTIMS AND VICTORS: SPEAKING OUT ABOUT THEIR PREGNANCIES, ABORTIONS, AND CHILDREN INVOLVED IN SEXUAL ASSAULT

Special Offer! Order by Oct. 27 and get 25 percent off!

With the vote on South Dakota's abortion ban now less than a month away, the issue of sexual assault pregnancy and abortion is becoming a key focus of the campaign to stop the harm abortion causes to women and unborn children. This issue is also used by abortion advocates to weaken public support for political candidates who oppose abortion.

Victims and Victors gives pro-life advocates and candidates the resources they need to counter this opposition. Based on the largest survey ever done of women who've experienced sexual assault pregnancy, this book allows women to tell their stories and show why they don't want abortions. Learn the truth about how abortion advocates used the "hard cases" to open the door to abortion on demand--and how to answer the question, "How can you oppose abortion for a woman who becomes pregnant through sexual assault?"

We are continuing to offer Victims and Victors at a special 25 percent off rate in order to give pro-lifers a chance to educate voters in South Dakota and elsewhere with the truth about abortion and the "hard cases." But you need to act quickly! Order by October 27 and get Victims and Victors for our reduced price of only $8.96 plus shipping (a 25% discount).

Find out more about this and other Elliot Institute resources at www.afterabortion.info/

To place an order, call Acorn Books at 1-888-412-2676 or email amy@afterabortion.info.

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