North Carolina Right to Life is pleased that Reps. Ruth Samuelson and Pat McElraft in the House and Senators Andrew Brock, Kathy Harrington and Warrren Daniel in the Senate have introduced the Abortion-Woman's Right to Know, our top priority for this legislative session. In the House, the bill number is H854; in the Senate, the bill number is S769.
Generally speaking, the decision whether to have an abortion is often a traumatic one. It is not made any easier by ignorance. The question has too often been framed as a choice between a lifetime of misery or a quick fix. The issue is more complicated as many women later sadly realize.
Many women who undergo abortions later face years of psychological pain and trauma. Some experience physical problems. A woman needs to be aware that abortion does not offer an easy escape from her problems. Often, it only complicates them.
Informed consent legislation is not an attack on a personal freedom, but a guarantee of it. It is constitutionally and legally sound. It safeguards a woman's right to know and to make informed decisions, helps protect physicians from lawsuits, and is a reasoned and compassionate response to the needs of concerned pregnant women.
When a pregnant woman is fully informed about abortion and the alternatives, often she will choose to give birth rather than abort her child. Therefore, this legislation has the potential to reduce dramatically the approximately 30,000 abortions performed in our state every year. Based on statistics compiled in other states who have such WRTK laws, there could be several thousand fewer abortions in NC every year with a WRTK in effect. In fact, South Carolina has experienced a dramatic drop in the numbers of abortions in their state since passing pro-life legislation: Click here.
Finally, North Carolina is one of only two Southern states without such a law. Please note: the red states have WRTK laws in effect; the brown states have ineffective laws; and the yellow states are states which do not have WRTK laws.
ACTION ITEM (Please act immediately.):
The bill is in the NC House Judiciary B Committee. If your House member is a member of this committee, ask him or her to vote in favor of the bill and oppose any amendments that would weaken or gut the bill.
If your House member is not a member of the committee, ask him or her to support the bill when it comes to the House floor for a vote and to oppose all amendments offered on the House floor to weaken or gut the bill.
The crossover deadline (the date by which this bill has to pass the House in order to be eligible to be considered in the Senate) is currently May 12.
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