Because these procedural barriers are incompatible with governments' duties to respect the human rights of women, they should not appear in legislation or regulations affecting access to abortion. The abortion laws of a number of countries, including Germany and Italy, require that a pregnant woman be provided with counseling prior to undergoing an abortion. 1 Such counseling is often intended to discourage women from having abortions. At these sessions, women may receive information about the risks of abortion, sources of support for married and unmarried mothers, adoption, and ways to get help with social problems resulting from pregnancy. Mandatory counseling requirements undermine a woman's autonomy in decision-making about matters significantly affecting her life and health.
Patients have a right to neutral counseling prior to undergoing any medical procedure.
However, counseling that is intended to discourage a woman from having an abortion provides a skewed picture of the options available to her. Where voluntary counseling is offered to the pregnant woman, information about the risks of abortion should be accompanied by information about the risks to women's health posed by pregnancy and childbirth. Biased counseling amounts to interference in the personal deliberations of women facing unwanted pregnancy. Waiting Periods Second-Guess Women and Put Them at Risk Counseling requirements are usually accompanied by waiting periods. After undergoing counseling, women may have to wait several days before being permitted to undergo an abortion.