Ky Senate committee advances abortion restrictions by Joe Arnold WHAS11.com Posted on January 26, 2012 at 6:25 PM
Updated Friday, Jan 27 at 12:25 AM Related:
(WHAS11) -- A pair of bills advanced out of a Kentucky Senate committee on Thursday that would require both an ultrasound and a face-to-face consultation before a woman could get an abortion.
Senate Bill 102 clarifies Kentucky's "informed consent" statute to require abortion counseling 24 hours in advance of the procedure, while Senate Bill 103 would impose the ultrasound requirement.
"I think too often they've been told or been told to accept the fact that it's just 'so much tissue,' and that's not the case. Those are people," said Sen. Jack Westwood (R-Erlanger), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans, Military Affairs and Public Protection and a co-sponsor of SB 102.
"Women are no fools," countered Carol Savkovich, Chairwoman of Kentucky Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice. "If they're getting an abortion, they know there is a fetus inside of them. They know if they don't get an abortion, it will become a baby, they will have another child in the world and in many cases they already have several children and don't feel they can raise another one."
Though the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld a right to an abortion, individual states can enforce some restrictions.
"These individuals that are considering abortion need the information up front," argued Kathy Rutledge, a member of Silent No More, a Christian awareness campaign that shares stories of abortion regret.
If the bills being considered in Frankfort had been the law in 1977, Rutledge says she never would have had an abortion.
"I had a mid-term abortion," Rutledge explained. "I was told that it was not a baby yet. It was a shock because the type of procedure I had I actually got to see things that other women don't get to see. It is not a shock that any woman, especially young women should have to experience."
The differences of opinion underscore the points of contention. What does a woman need to know before she chooses to have an abortion? What business is it of the state to decide that question? And, when does a human life begin?
"I don't mind what anyone decides for themselves," Savkovich said "but leave me to make my own decision. And, I think most women feel that way. Trust women."
"We have an awful lot of people who are having abortions," Westwood said, "but I don't think they understand or even have an opportunity to see that what is growing inside them is a real living human being."
"It's obvious to me that our legislators in Frankfort do not trust Kentucky women to know their own mind," Savkovich said.
It's at least the fourth try for the Kentucky ultrasound bill. Six other states already have the requirement - with bills on the move in several other states including Virginia and Pennsylvania.
This month, a federal appeals court upheld a Texas law that requires a woman to listen to the heartbeat of the fetus.
"They are whittling away, whittling away in all fifty states at our rights," Savkovich said.
On Wednesday, an Indiana Senate committee advanced a bill that requires a doctor's examination and the explanation of risks before a woman can get RU-486, the so-called 'morning after pill.' The bill also requires a follow up ultrasound.
"What we do know is that last year there were more anti-choice bills that were passed than ever before," said Derek Selznick, the ACLU of Kentucky's Reproductive Freedom Project Director. "It was a record number of year."
Sen. Mike Wilson (R-Bowling Green), a co-sponsor of SB 102, said abortion clinic staff often use a recording to satisfy the current informed consent requirement. The proposed law would require two visits to the medical office, one to learn about the abortion procedure and options and the second for the abortion itself.
The 24 hour waiting period imposes an unfair hardship, Selnick argued.
"She has to arrange for child care," he explained. "If she works an hourly job, she's out of two days wages instead of just one day's wages. If she's from rural Kentucky, she may have to get a hotel. All of these things are just a way of punishing poor women for getting abortions."
Rutledge, however, said the bills address critical information that she was deprived from receiving when she terminated her pregnancy.
"Not only was my family trying to conceal it from me, but the physicians and medical personnel," Rutledge said. "They think that's what the woman wants, so they want to make it as easy as possible for her. But, what they don't consider is that perhaps this woman might consider other options if she knew they were available or if she had all the truth."
