Moreover, the DPH forms fail to mention any psychological risks of abortion even though women may suffer afterwards from stress, depression, and even suicide. Also, the physical risks described in the forms fail to include the risk of breast cancer. The Woman's Right to Know bill before this Committee is pro-woman. It requires that women be treated with the respect and dignity they deserve as decision-makers facing the most important choice of their and their unborn child's life. Abortion is a surgical procedure with medical risks and the potential for long-lasting negative effects on women.
Abortion also involves killing.
So information about fetal development is directly relevant to the abortion decision. Just as organ recipients have a right to know how the organ transfer will affect the organ donor, women have a right to know about the status of the unborn child at the time of the abortion. To say that information about the child is irrelevant is like saying that tonsils are irrelevant to a tonsillectomy. I urge this Committee to favorably report the Woman's Right to Know bill because it empowers women to make informed choices, recognizes that abortion is a serious medical procedure, and affirms that the life of an unborn child is at stake in every abortion choice. For too long, the abortion providers in this state have maintained power over women by controlling information about the nature of abortion, its risks, the baby's development, and alternatives to abortion.