_______________
From http://lifenews.com/state3020.html
Pro-Life Group Says Twelve States Now Have Abortion-Ultrasound Laws in Place
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
March 14, 2008
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- A leading pro-life group says it's excited South Dakota has become the twelfth state to implement an abortion-ultrasound law. These kinds of laws provide women with an opportunity to see an ultrasound of their unborn child -- a tool long useful in pregnancy centers to persuade women to keep their baby.
The measures don't require women considering an abortion to see the ultrasound, but require the abortion practitioner to give mothers a chance to see one if they wish.
Mary Spaulding Balch, a pro-life attorney who is the director of state legislation for National Right to Life, tells LifeNews.com that abortion rates will continue to decline as more states put these ultrasound provisions in place.
"This bill is reflective of a national trend that recognizes the ability of ultrasound technology to provide mothers with the opportunity to see the development of their unborn child in real-time," she said.
Balch said the bill does a good job at giving women contemplating an abortion the kind of information abortion businesses don't normally give them.
According to National Right to Life, eleven other states have similar laws in place. Those include Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Michigan, Oklahoma, Utah and Wisconsin.
Louisiana requires allowing women to see an ultrasound in cases when the mother is considering an abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy.
"The abortion decision is one which cannot be undone and women deserve to have all the facts," Balch told Lifenews.com. "We continue to urge other states to join in this trend and protect women and their unborn children."
Ohio could become the next state to join the list. As LifeNews.com has reported, the state legislature approved an ultrasound requirement and pro-abortion Gov. Ted Strickland has the measure on his desk to sign or veto.
National Right to Life - http://www.nrlc.org
______________________
From http://lifenews.com/int660.html
British Psychiatrist Group Warns Abortions Can Cause Mental Health Problems
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
March 16, 2008
London, England (LifeNews.com) -- The national organization in England for psychiatrists says women should be told that abortions can cause mental health problems. The organization says abortion businesses should tell women that abortions present numerous mental health risks such as depression.
The Royal College of Psychiatrists went as far as saying that abortions shouldn't be done unless women are counseled on the possible risks.
"Healthcare professionals who assess or refer women who are requesting an abortion should assess for mental disorder and for risk factors that may be associated with its subsequent development," the group says.
"If a mental disorder or risk factors are identified, there should be a clearly identified care pathway whereby the mental health needs of the woman and her significant others may be met," it adds.
The group's determination goes against the assumption some make that a pregnancy has worse mental health ramifications or that it alone generates mental health concerns while abortion is risk free.
That impacts the 90 percent of the 200,000 abortions that take place in England annually in part on mental health grounds.
According to a London Times report, the group says brochures given to women considering an abortion need to be updated to reflect the mental health problems so many women encounter.
“Consent cannot be informed without the provision of adequate and appropriate information regarding the possible risks,” the group said.
Dr. Peter Saunders, general secretary of the Christian Medical Fellowship, said doctors who do abortions need to reevaluate the majority of abortions they do.
“How can a doctor now justify an abortion [on mental health grounds] if psychiatrists are questioning whether there is any clear evidence that continuing with the pregnancy leads to mental health problems," he said.
As recently as December, a new Australian study showed women who have abortions are more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol compared with those who carry a pregnancy to term.
Kaeleen Dingle, of the University of Queensland, found that women who have abortions were three times more likely to abuse hard drugs like heroin or meth than women who were never pregnant or kept their baby.
The women who had abortions were also twice as likely to be an alcoholic or engage in binge drinking and 1.5 times more likely to suffer from depression.
"So these women, from my findings, seem to be definitely more affected in some ways," Dingle concluded.
Her study follows on a January 2006 one from a New Zealand professor who found women who have abortions are more likely to become severely depressed.
Some 42 percent of the women who had abortions had experienced major depression within the last four years. That's almost double the rate of women who never became pregnant. The risk of anxiety disorders also doubled.
The group's comment comes after one woman said she regretted her abortion 40 years later and another who committed suicide after having an abortion of her twin babies.
_____________
http://lifenews.com/nat3802.html
http://lifenews.com/state3018.html
No comments:
Post a Comment