Just the Facts. Abortion Information

Abortions Information Bay Area

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Abortions Bay Area?

YOUR SOURCE FOR RELIABLE RESEARCH

Abortion

What You’ll Find

Comprehensive and meticulously documented facts about abortion. Learn about the science of human development, women’s health, politics, taxpayer funding, parental consent, and more. For example:

Introductory Notes

A major aspect of the debate over abortion concerns the use of terminology. In keeping with Just Facts’ Standards of Credibility, this research uses language that is clear and precise. Thus, expressions such as “pro-life” and “pro-choice” are replaced by words that articulate specific positions.

Perhaps the largest point of contention involving terminology is the label applied to what or who is being aborted. Those who think abortion should be generally illegal often use the terms “unborn child” and “unborn baby.” According to Webster’s College Dictionary and Black’s Medical Dictionary, the word “child” can apply prior to birth,[1][2]but both of these sources employ the word “baby” only from the point of birth onwards.[3][4]In contrast, those who think abortion should be generally legal often use the word “fetus,” a clinical term derived from a Latin word meaning “offspring” or “newly delivered.”[5]As explained by Dorland’s Illustrated Medical Dictionary, afetus is:

the unborn offspring in the postembryonic period, after major structures have been outlined, in humans from nine weeks after fertilization until birth.[6]

Hence, when referring to humans, the words “fetus” and “fetal” are applicable from nine weeks after fertilization until birth.[7][8]Yet, numerous major news organizations have misapplied these terms to both before and after this period.[9][10][11][12][13][14]Although journalism guidelines disparage the use of medical jargon,[15][16][17]journalists selectively employ it in their coverage of this issue. For instance, despite their widespread usage of “fetus,” journalists commonly employ the term “mother” to refer to a pregnant woman, and rarely, if ever, the more specific and clinical term “gravida.”[18][19]Conversely, when the topic is not abortion, reporters sometimes shun “fetus” and use “baby” or “child” in its place.[20][21][22][23]

In accord with the common journalism standard to “never use … a scientific word or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent,”[24]the term utilized by Just Facts to describe the object of an abortion is “preborn human.” This conveys reality in everyday language and is consistent with medical publications. For example, the embryology textbook Before We Are Born: Essentials of Embryology and Birth Defects states:

The zygote and early embryo are living human organisms.[25]

Likewise, another embryology textbook bears the title Human Life Before Birth, and phrases such as “human in utero” and “human females … in utero” appear in creditable medical texts.[26][27][28]Also, it would be scientifically inconsistent to assert that a child born at 24 weeksafter fertilization is a human while one in the womb at 32 weeksis not.

Note that unless otherwise stated, the word “abortion” is used here in the sense of an induced abortion; not a spontaneous one, which is also called a miscarriage.[29]

Science

* The average length of a full-term pregnancy is 38 weeks. Obstetricians normally use a figure of 40 weeks, but this is actually the time between the first day of the last menstrual period and childbirth. On average, the first day of the last menstrual period occurs 2 weeks before fertilization.[30][31][32]

* Following are facts about human development. They are organized according to the number of weeks since fertilization. Weeks after the first day of the last menstrual period (LMP) are shown in parentheses.

Fertilization(2 weeks after LMP):

* Fertilization normally takes place within one day of intercourse but can occur up to six days later.[33][34]At fertilization, the genetic composition of a preborn human is formed.[35]This genetic information determines gender, eye color, hair color, facial features, and influences characteristics such as intelligence and personality.[36]

* Genetically speaking, with the exception of identical twins,[37][38]once a woman conceives a preborn human, the odds against her conceiving the same one again are greater than 10⁶⁰⁰to one.[39][40](For comparison, there are roughly 10⁸⁰atoms in the known universe.[41])

3 Weeks after Fertilization(5 weeks after LMP):

* The eyes and spinal cord are visible and the developing brain has two lobes.[42][43]

4 Weeks after Fertilization(6 weeks after LMP):

* The heart is beating and a circulatory system is in place.[44]Specific brain components and internal organs such as the lungs are beginning to develop and can be identified.[45]

7 Weeks after Fertilization(9 weeks after LMP):

* Muscles and nerves begin working together. When the upper lip is tickled, the arms move backwards.[46]The cerebrum has divided into hemispheres.[47]

[48]

9 Weeks after Fertilization(11 weeks after LMP):

* More than 90% of the body structures found in a full-grown human are present. The medical classification changes from an embryo to a fetus. This dividing line was chosen by embryologists because from this point forward, most development involves growth in existing body structures instead of the formation of new ones.[49][50]The preborn human moves body parts without any outside stimulation.[51]

10 Weeks after Fertilization(12 weeks after LMP):

* All parts of the brain and spinal cord are formed. The heart pumps blood to every part of the body.[52]The whole body is sensitive to touch except for portions of the head. The preborn human makes facial expressions.[53]

11 Weeks after Fertilization(13 weeks after LMP):

[54]

12 Weeks after Fertilization(14 weeks after LMP):

* Electrical signals from the nervous system are measurable. After an abortion, efforts to suckle will sometimes be observed.[55][56]

13 Weeks after Fertilization(15 weeks after LMP):

[57]

14 Weeks after Fertilization(16 weeks after LMP):

* The preborn human makes coordinated movements of the arms and legs.[58]

16 Weeks after Fertilization(18 weeks after LMP):

* The preborn human makes eye movements.[59]

[60]

18 Weeks after Fertilization(20 weeks after LMP):

* The portion of the brain responsible for functions such as reasoning, memory and language (the cerebral cortex) has the same number of nerve cells as a full-grown adult.Pain sensory receptors have spread to all portions of the skin and mucous membranes.[61][62]

[63]

20 Weeks after Fertilization(22 weeks after LMP):

* The preborn human sleeps, awakes and can hear sounds.[64]

[65]

[66]

* For detailed facts about the capacity of humans to feel pain at this stage of development, read the Just Facts Dailyarticle, “When do humans begin to feel pain?“

* Up through approximately this point in time, according to the Supreme Court’s rulings in Roe v. Wadeand Planned Parenthood v. Casey, a pregnant woman can abort at will. (More details in the section on Constitution and Law.)

24 Weeks after Fertilization(26 weeks after LMP):

* The blink-startle reflex and taste buds are functional. The preborn human will swallow more amniotic fluid if a sweetener is added to it.[67][68]The grip is strong enough to hold onto an object that is moving up and down.[69]If born and given specialized care, the survival rate is more than 80%.[70]

28 Weeks after Fertilization(30 weeks after LMP):

* If exposed to an 85 decibel noise while sleeping (about as loud as a blender), preborn humans exhibit the “motor behaviors that accompany the crying state.”[71][72]Premature infants born at this time are more sensitive to pain than infants who are born at 38 weeks, and infants who are born at 38 weeks are more sensitive to pain than infants at 3-12 months after birth.[73][74]

* If born and given specialized care, the survival rate is more than 95%.[75]

32 Weeks after Fertilization(34 weeks after LMP):

(Premature infant – 3 days after birth)

38 Weeks after Fertilization (40 weeks after LMP):

* Average point in time when humans are born. At birth, the medical classification changes from a fetus to a neonate.[76][77]

* At any point prior to birth, according to the Supreme Court’s rulings in Roe v. Wade, Doe v. Bolton, and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, a pregnant woman can abort to preserve her “health.” One example from Roe v. Wadeof what may be considered harmful to a mother’s health is the work of caring for a child. (More details in the section on Constitution and Law.)

Politics and Taxpayer Funding

Party Platforms

* The Democratic Party platform states that abortion should be generally legal and supports the use of taxpayer funding to perform abortions. The platform also states that the Democratic Party:

strongly and unequivocally support a woman’s decision to have a child, including by ensuring a safe and healthy pregnancy and childbirth, and by providing services during pregnancy and after the birth of a child, including adoption and social support services, as well as protections for women against pregnancy discrimination.[78]

* The Republican Party platform states that abortion should be generally illegal and supports a Constitutional Amendment that would assure preborn humans the right to life. It opposes the “use of public funds to perform or promote abortion” and states:

We affirm our moral obligation to assist, rather than penalize, women who face an unplanned pregnancy. …We thank and encourage providers of counseling, medical services, and adoption assistance for empowering women experiencing an unintended pregnancy to choose life.[79]

* The Libertarian Party platform states that “government should be kept out of the matter.”[80]

* The Green Party platform states that abortion should be legal and “available on demand.” It also supports using taxpayer funding to perform abortions.[81]

Constitutional Amendments

* The Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states:

Nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”[82](More details in the section on Constitution and Law.)

* Since 1989, several Democrats including Jim Oberstar of Minnesota have sponsored at least 14 resolutions proposing a Constitutional Amendment that would guarantee preborn humans the right to life, all of them containing an exception to protect the life of the mother.[83]

* Since 1989, several Republicans including Ann Emerson of Missouri have sponsored at least 23 resolutions proposing a Constitutional Amendment that would guarantee preborn humans the right to life, all of them containing an exception to protect the life of the mother.Six of these resolutions also include exceptions for cases of rape and incest.[84]

Advocacy Groups

* In the 2016 U.S. presidential race, the National Right to Life Political Action Committee endorsed Donald Trump for President and stated that Hillary Clinton has “taken the most extreme abortion position.”[85][86]

* In the 2016 U.S. presidential race, the Political Action Committee of NARAL Pro-Choice America (formerly the National Abortion Rights Action League) endorsed Hillary Clinton for President and stated that Donald Trump would be “disaster” for “the future of abortion access in this country.”[87][88]

Donald Trump

* In 1999, during an interview announcing he would be leaving the Republican Party for the Reform Party, Donald Trump stated on NBC’s Meet the Press, “I am very pro-choice.”[89]

* In his 2000 book, The America We Deserve, Trump wrote that he “would support a ban” on partial birth abortion.[90]

* In 2011, speaking before the Conservative Political Action Conference, Trump stated “I am pro-life.”[91]

* During a 2015 Republican Party primary debate, moderator Megyn Kelly asked Trump about his change of position. Trump replied “I’ve evolved on many issues over the years. … I am very, very proud to say that I am pro-life.”[92]

* In 2015, Chuck Todd of NBC’s Meet the Pressquestioned Trump on abortion:

Todd: Should some form of abortion always be legal?

Trump: Well, to me, I have exceptions. Rape, incest, if the mother is going to die. And Ronald Reagan had those same exceptions. And many Republicans have those same exceptions. But I say rape, incest—

Todd: You said life of the mother. What about health of the mother?

Trump: Well, I said actually if the mother’s close to death. And I’m talking about death. You know, because then you sort of say, like, “Well, maybe she’s not feeling so well—”[93]

* In 2016, Chris Matthews of MSNBC asked Trump if there should be a punishment for women who have an abortion. He replied, “The answer is that there has to be some form of punishment. … I have not determined what the punishment would be.”[94]Later on the same day, Trump clarified that “the doctor or any other person performing this illegal act upon a woman would be held legally responsible, not the woman.”[95]

* During the final 2016 U.S. Presidential debate, moderator Chris Wallace asked if Trump would like “to see the court overturn Roe v. Wade?” Trump stated overturning Roe v. Wadewill “happen automatically, in my opinion, because I am putting pro-life justices on the court.”[96]Following the election, Trump said that if Roe v. Wade“ever were overturned, it would go back to the states.”[97]

* In 2017, Trump reinstated Ronald Reagan’s “Mexico City Policy.”[98]This policy directs the Secretary of State “to ensure that U.S. taxpayer dollars do not fund organizations or programs that support or participate in the management of a program of coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization.”[99]

Barack Obama

* At a Democratic Candidates “Compassion Forum” held in April 2008, Barack Obama was asked, “Do you personally believe that life begins at conception, and if not, when does it begin?” Obama replied in part:

This is something that I have not come to a firm resolution on. I think it’s very hard to know what that means, when life begins. Is it when a cell separates? Is it when the soul stirs? So I don’t presume to know the answer to that question. What I know, as I’ve said before, is there is something extraordinarily powerful about potential life that has a moral weight to it that we take into consideration when we’re having these debates.[100]

* Four months later in an interview, Obama was asked, “At what point does a baby get human rights?” He responded in part:

I think that whether you are looking at it from a theological perspective or a scientific perspective, answering that question with specificity, you know, is above my pay grade.[101]

* Barack Obama has voiced support for Roe v. Wadeand stated that this would be reflected in his appointments to the Supreme Court.[102][103][104]He has also stated that he supports a ban on late-term abortions but only with an exception for the “health” of the mother.[105]

* In a July 2008 interview, Obama was asked to clarify his position on late-term abortions, and he stated:

I think it’s entirely appropriate for states to restrict or even prohibit late-term abortions as long as there is a strict, well-defined exception for the health of the mother. Now, I don’t think that mental distress qualifies as the health of the mother. I think it has to be a serious physical issue that arises in pregnancy, where there are real, significant problems to the mother carrying that child to term.[106]

* Four days later, a reporter asked for clarification of these remarks, and Obama responded that late-term abortion bans must have an exception for “serious clinical mental health diseases,” but this does not mean that “if a woman just doesn’t feel good then that is an exception. That’s never been the case.” He also stated:

It is not just a matter of feeling blue. I don’t think that’s how pro-choice folks have interpreted it. I don’t think that’s how the courts have interpreted it and I think that’s important to emphasize and understand.[107]

* The Roe v. Wadeverdict provides several examples of what may constitute a risk the health of the mother. These include the “stigma of unwed motherhood” and the “distress” “associated with the unwanted child.” Roe v. WadeandDoe v. Bolton, which were issued by the Supreme Court on the same day with the order that they “are to be read together,” mandate that abortion be legal up until the point of birth if any one physician willing to perform an abortion says it is necessary to preserve a mother’s health.[108][109](More details in the section on Constitution and Law.)

* Speaking before a Planned Parenthood national conference in July 2007, Obama stated: “I put Roeat the center of my lesson plan on reproductive freedom when I taught Constitutional Law. … On this fundamental issue, I will not yield and Planned Parenthood will not yield.”[110][111]When asked what he would do to “ensure access to abortion” and make certain his judicial nominees are “true to the core tenets of Roe v. Wade,” he stated:

Well, the first thing I’d do as President is sign the Freedom of Choice Act. That’s the first thing that I’d do.[112]

* The Freedom of Choice Act was introduced in the U.S. Senate in April 2007 by 13 Democrats including Barbara Boxer (California), Frank Lautenberg (New Jersey) and Max Baucus (Montana).[113]One month later, Barack Obama signed on as a cosponsor.[114]Its stated objective is to “protect, consistent with Roe v. Wade, a woman’s freedom to choose to bear a child or terminate a pregnancy….” It would invalidate “every Federal, State, and local statute, ordinance, regulation, administrative order, decision, policy, practice” that interferes with the termination of any “pregnancy prior to viability” and any pregnancy “after viability where termination is necessary to protect the life or health of the woman.”[115]

* On the same day this bill was introduced in the Senate, a bill with the same name and parallel verbiage was introduced in the House of Representatives.[116]It gained 109 sponsors (108 Democrats and one Republican) but was not voted upon.[117][118][119]The Senate bill gained 20 sponsors (19 Democrats and one Independent) but was not voted upon.[120][121]

Judicial Appointments

* The President of the United States appoints judges to the Supreme Court. These appointments must be approved by a majority of the Senate.[122]

* Once seated, federal judges serve for life unless they voluntarily resign or are removed through impeachment, which requires a majority vote of the House of Representatives and two-thirds of the Senate.[123]

* For more implications relating to the appointment and approval of judges, see the section on Constitution and Law.

Taxpayer Funding

* In June 2008, Howard Dean, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee stated that the Democratic Party “believes that we ought to significantly reduce the number of abortions in this country.” A reporter asked Dean how he could reconcile this assertion with the party’s support for taxpayer funding of abortions. Dean replied it is “total nonsense” that public funding of abortions increases the abortion rate.[124]

* According to the Guttmacher Institute, an organization whose “Guiding Principles” includes support for legalized abortion:

A 1994-1995 … survey of abortion patients found that in states where Medicaid pays for abortions, women covered by Medicaid have an abortion rate 3.9 times that of women who are not covered, while in states that do not permit Medicaid funding for abortions, Medicaid recipients are only 1.6 times as likely as nonrecipients to have abortions.[125]

* The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) supports the use of taxpayer funding to perform abortions. In making its case for this position, the ACLU poses the following rhetorical question:

What about those who are morally or religiously opposed to abortion?

And answers:

Our tax dollars fund many programs that individual people oppose.[126]

* The ACLU is opposed to taxpayer funded school choice programs. One of their arguments for this stance is:

School voucher schemes would force all taxpayers to support religious beliefs and practices with which they may strongly disagree.[127]

Women’s Health

Deaths from Legal and Illegal Abortions

* The website of Planned Parenthood states:

In the two decades before abortion was legal in the United States, nearly one million women went “underground” each year for illegal operations. Thousands died for lack of medical care.[128]

* No sources are cited for the statements above. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, whose death statistics from legal abortions have been accepted and used by Planned Parenthood,[129][130][131]in the year before Roe v. Wade(1972), there were 39 deaths from illegal abortions. In the year after Roe v. Wade(1974), there were 26 deaths from legal abortions.[132]

* The following three graphs were constructed to discern an effect of Roe v. Wadeon the collective rate of legal and illegal abortion-related deaths:

[133]

* In 1988, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported that the coding system used to classify pregnancy-related deaths “precludes a determination of the real causes of maternal death.”[134]Hence, the graph below was constructed to show the incidence of all pregnancy-related deaths.

[135]

* In 1988, the CDC reported that the coding system used to classify deaths in general is inadequate because only a single code is assigned to each death, but “several factors may contribute to a death.”[136]Hence, the graph below was constructed to show the death rate from all causes for women of reproductive age.

[137]

Accuracy of Statistics

* A fact sheet published by Planned Parenthood states that:

the risk of death associated with childbirth is about 10 times as high as that associated with all abortion (Christiansen & Collins, 2006).[138]

* “Christiansen & Collins, 2006” contains no information about the risk of death associated with abortion or childbirth. It contains figures for the risk of death “once a woman has become pregnant” as compared to the number of live childbirths in the U.S. These figures are not broken down to show abortion or childbirth-related deaths.[139]

* Citing data from the CDC, a previous version of the same Planned Parenthood fact sheet states that the “risk of death associated with childbirth is about 10 times as high as that associated with abortion.”[140][141][142]

* The CDC has reported the following information about the data it provides for pregnancy-related deaths:

Codes placed by individual doctors on death certificates are the “core source” of identifying pregnancy-related deaths.[143][144]
No “single source of information captures all pregnancy-related deaths” because of inadequate physician training and knowledge in filling out death certificates, medical records that “fail to indicate that the events leading to death began with pregnancy,” and “medical and autopsy records that cannot be located or are not available for review.”[145]
“Death certificates alone may not provide adequate information on the sequence of events that led to death. Ultimately a single code is assigned to classify the underlying cause of death. Often, however, several factors may contribute to a death; therefore, the death cannot be adequately described with a unidimensional code.”[146]
The second most common method of identifying pregnancy-associated deaths is “computerized linking of deaths among women of reproductive age with birth certificates and fetal death certificates.”[147]In four cases in which this has been done, the number of pregnancy-related fatalities identified increased by 30%, 68%, 129% and 153%.[148]
One state out of 50 provides information that can be used to link abortion data to computerized death records.[149]
The “coding system used by national vital statistics and states to describe maternal deaths… precludes a determination of the real causes of maternal death.”[150]
“In most cases, the state is the level at which pregnancy-related deaths are reviewed….”[151]
States are not required to report their abortion data to the CDC, and privacy agreements with certain states require confidentiality on abortion-related fatality data.[152][153]

* A 2002 national survey of physicians found that 98% think the reporting of medical practice errors is obstructed due to fear of lawsuits.[154]

* From 1989 through 1992, the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics reported zero abortion-related deaths in the state of Maryland.[155][156][157][158]

* During 1989 in the state of Maryland:

Erica Kae Richardson (16 years-old) was admitted to an emergency room on March 1^stwith a punctured uterus from an abortion carried out earlier that day at a clinic in Laurel, Maryland. She died shortly after midnight on March 2^nd.[159][160][161][162]
Paramedics arrived at an abortion clinic in Suitland, Maryland on July 12^thto find Debra M. Gray (34 years-old) in cardiac arrest after being administered anesthesia without the presence of an anesthesiologist. She was taken to a hospital and died three days later.[163]
Paramedics arrived at an abortion clinic in Suitland, Maryland on September 10^thto find Susanne Renee Logan (32 years-old) in cardiac arrest with an oxygen mask placed upside down on her face. It was found that she had been given anesthesia without the presence of an anesthesiologist, and when she reacted to it, was given another drug not indicated to mitigate the effects of the anesthesia. The paramedics resuscitated Ms. Logan, she stayed in a coma for four months, and was generally paralyzed until her death in 1992.[164][165][166]
Gladys Estanislao, a 28-year-old college student, was found lifeless on a bathroom floor 17 days after undergoing an abortion procedure at a clinic in Bethesda, Maryland. Her autopsy revealed that the pregnancy was not in her womb but in her fallopian tube, which caused it to rupture and resulted in her death.[167][168][169]This condition, called an ectopic pregnancy, is screened by a blood test or ultrasound, has a mortality rate of 1 in 2,000, and is typically diagnosed on the first visit to a gynecologist.[170][171][172]

* In 1987, the New York City Commissioner of Health wrote a letter to abortion clinics warning them to be careful about using too much anesthesia. The letter stated:

During the period between 1981 and 1984, there were 30 legal abortion-related deaths in New York City.[173]

* For the same time period, the CDC’s Division of Reproductive Health reported a total of 42 legal abortion-related deaths in the United States.[174]

* If both of these numbers are accurate, it would mean that 71% of the legal abortion-related deaths in the United States occurred in one city where about 3% of the population lived.[175]

Effects on Future Pregnancies

* An “Abortion Services” page on Planned Parenthood’s website states:

Abortion DOES NOT …

Cause premature birth, birth defects or low infant birth weight in future pregnancies
Increase the chance of infant death in the future[176]

* A 2007 paper in the Journal of Reproductive Medicinecites 59 studies that exhibit a statistically significant association between abortion and the risk of premature births in subsequent pregnancies. In five of the largest and more recent of these studies, all found increases in premature births before 32 weeks gestation in women who had an abortion. All of these studies also found that this risk escalated when more than one abortion was performed.[177]Children born before 32 weeks gestation are at increased risks for early death, cerebral palsy, blindness, deafness and other health complications.[178]

Emotional Health

* The website of Planned Parenthood states:

Serious emotional problems after abortion are much less likely than they are after giving birth.[179]

* A different page on the website of Planned Parenthood states:

Serious, long-term emotional problems after abortion are about as common as they are after childbirth.[180][181]

* Another page on the website of Planned Parenthood states:

Beware of so-called “crisis pregnancy centers” that are anti-abortion. … [They] will lie to you about the medical and emotional effects of abortion.[182]

* The country of Finland has socialized medicine and keeps detailed health records of its citizens.[183]A search of these records over the years 1987-1994 found that 1,347 women of reproductive age (15-49 years old) committed suicide. A 1996 study of this data found that women who had an abortion were about 5.9 times more likely to commit suicide in the year following this event than women who delivered a child:

Events Within the Last

Year of the Woman’s Life

Annual Suicide

Rate Per 100,000

Delivered a child

5.9

Had an abortion

34.7

[184]

* The State of California pays the costs of childbirths and abortions for low income women. A study of 173,279 California women who had a state funded childbirth or abortion in 1989 found that 53 of them committed suicide within eight years of their childbirth or abortion. A 2002 study of this data found that women who had an abortion were about 2.5 times more likely to commit suicide in the eight years following this event than women who delivered a child:

Events in Woman’s Life

From 1989-1997

8-Year Suicide

Rate Per 100,000

Delivered a child

24.9

Had an abortion

62.8

[185]

* In 2008, the Los Angeles Timesreported:

Several studies published in peer-reviewed medical journals suggest that women who have had abortions are more prone to depression or drug abuse. But the research does not prove cause and effect, [said Nada Stotland, president-elect of the American Psychiatric Association]. It may be, she said, that women who have abortions are more emotionally unstable in the first place.[186]

* The California study cited above controlled for mental disorders by eliminating those women who had been treated for a psychiatric problem in the year prior to their childbirth or abortion. When this was done, it was found that women who had an abortion were about 3.3 times more likely to commit suicide in the eight years following this event than women who delivered a child:

Events in Woman’s Life

From 1989-1997

8-Year Suicide

Rate Per 100,000

Delivered a child

19.1

Had an abortion

63.0

[187]

* In 2013, the journal Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciencespublished an analysis of 30 scientific studies examining abortion and subsequent mental health. Reporting “a general convergence of the data,” the authors found that among studies that compared:

induced abortion versus childbirth:
- 13 “showed a clear risk for at least one of the reported mental problems in the abortion group versus childbirth.”
- five showed “no difference” in mental disorders.
- one “reported a worse mental outcome for childbearing.”
induced abortion versus unplanned pregnancies leading to childbirth:
- four “found a higher risk in the abortion groups.”
- three found “no difference.”
induced abortion versus miscarriage:
- three “showed a greater risk of mental disorders due to abortion.”
- four “found no difference.”
- two “found that short-term anxiety and depression were higher in the miscarriage group, while long-term anxiety and depression were present only in the abortion group.”[188]

Media

Terminology

* In October 2001, The Society of Professional Journalists, “the nation’s most broad-based journalism organization,”[189]adopted “Diversity Guidelines” reaffirming “their commitment” to use “language that is informative and not inflammatory.” These guidelines state that it is “misleading” to use “word combinations” such as “Islamic terrorist” or “Muslim extremist” “because they link whole religions to criminal activity.” The same document states:

When writing about terrorism, remember to include white supremacist, radical anti-abortionists and other groups with a history of such activity.[190]

* In April of 2007 at a Republican “Unity Dinner” in Iowa, John McCain stated:

I have a steadfast and strong advocacy and voting record in support of the rights of the unborn.[191]

* At the same event, Mike Huckabee stated:

I’m not late in declaring that I believe life begins at conception and that we ought to protect human life….[192]

* In a New York Timesarticle about this event, reporter Adam Nagourney wrote that John McCain and Mike Huckabee “presented themselves as lifelong opponents of abortion rights.” Four times in this article, Nagourney characterized the speakers as opponents of abortion rights and never as supporters of rights for the unborn.[193]

* Media phraseology:

“opponent(s) of …	Number of times phrase was used
“opponent(s) of …	*New York Times* (1981–2016)	*Washington Post* (1987–2016)	Associated Press (1982–2008)
abortion rights”[194]	140	41	61
gun rights”[195]	3	2	1
property rights”[196]	0	0	0
parental rights”[197]	0	0	0
individual rights”[198]	0	0	1
states’ rights”[199]	2	0	0
religious rights”[200]	0	0	0

[201]

*Melloni’s Illustrated Medical Dictionarydefines “partial-birth abortion” as follows:

Common term for termination of a late pregnancy with a breech presentation [feet facing downward instead of the head]. Labor is induced by conventional methods; the cervix is widely dilated and delivery is expedited by evacuating the cranial contents with a suction catheter, then compressing the cranium.[202]

* Official policy of the American Medical Association:

The term ‘partial birth abortion’ is not a medical term. The AMA will use the term “intact dilatation and extraction” (or intact D&X)….[203]

* The American Medical Association’s Manual of Style states:

During an interview [with the news media], authors should avoid use of medical/scientific jargon, acronyms….[204]

* On the television show NOW with Bill Moyers, PBS journalist Brenda Breslauer stated:

The term “partial birth abortion” was invented by the anti-abortion community to describe a procedure in which a fetus is partially delivered outside the womb. Doctors don’t even use the term.[205]

* The book English for Journalistsstates that medical literature is a “common source” of jargon and:

If you write for a newspaper or general magazine you should try to translate jargon into ordinary English whenever you can.[206]

* A 2005 house editorial in the Chicago Tribune uses the term “intact dilation and extraction” to identify “certain late-term abortions.” It does not contain the term “partial-birth” and provides no description of the procedure.[207]

*The New York Public Library Writer’s Guide to Style and Usage states:

When writing for a lay audience or the general public, a writer should use jargon only when necessary and define it carefully. Where plain English serves equally well, it should be used instead.[208][209]

Accuracy

*Roe v. Wadeand its accompanying ruling, Doe v. Bolton, mandate that abortion be legal up until the point of birth if any one physician willing to perform an abortion says it is necessary to preserve a mother’s health.[210][211]

* In January 2002, the Gallup polling organization reported:

If Roe v. Wadeis presented only as legalizing abortion in the first three months, support for the decision is much higher than if it is characterized as making abortion legal throughout pregnancy or for any reason.[212]

* Since this time, the Associated Press, Quinnipiac University, the Pew Research Center, NBC News, the Wall Street Journal, and Harris Poll have all conducted polls in which they characterized Roe v. Wadeas making abortion legal in the first “three months of pregnancy.”[213]

* In three articles published by the Associated Press in 2007 and 2008, it is asserted that the United States “permits abortions within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.”[214]Media outlets that carried one or more of these stories include ABC, CBS, MSNBC, Fox News, Yahoo News, AOL News, USA Today, the Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, Washington Post, and more than 50 other local, state, national and international publications.[215]

* In July 2000, Nina Totenberg, National Public Radio’s “award-winning legal affairs correspondent” stated:

Third-trimester abortions are banned in every state except to save the life and the health of the mother.[216][217]

* In an October 2003 house editorial, the Washington Poststated that:

most states already bar abortions after the point of viability, unless the procedure is necessary to preserve the life or health of the mother….[218]

* None of the news items cited above mention that “health,” as defined by Roe v. Wadeand Doe v. Bolton, can include circumstances such as the “stigma of unwed motherhood” and the “distress” “associated with the unwanted child.”[219][220](More details in the section on Constitution and Law.)

* In 1987, Republican President Ronald Reagan asked his Surgeon General, Dr. C. Everett Koop, to prepare a “comprehensive report” concerning “the health effects of abortion on women.”[221]

* In 1989, Koop wrote a letter to Reagan stating that he and the staff people in several Public Health Agencies reviewed almost 250 studies and found that each had flaws which prevented them from drawing “scientifically sound conclusions.”[222]

* That evening, Peter Jennings of ABC News reported:

A new report by the Surgeon General concludes that abortion causes little if any physical or emotional harm to women.

Dan Rather of CBS News reported:

Surgeon General C. Everett Koop … reportedly concluded that a woman who has an abortion suffers little if any physical or emotional harm from the experience.

Tom Brokaw of NBC News reported:

Koop reports he has not found conclusive evidence that abortions have harmful psychological effects on the women who have them, but Koop found that there is a whole segment of the population that says, quote, “the best thing that happened to me was my abortion.”[223]

* Koop’s letter did not state what Jennings, Rather, or Brokaw said it did. It stated:

[T]here are almost 250 studies reported in the scientific literature which deal with the psychological aspects of abortion. All of these studies were reviewed and the more significant studies were evaluated by staff in several of the Agencies of the Public Health Service against appropriate criteria and were found to be flawed methodologically. In their view and mine, the data do not support the premise that abortion does or does not cause or contribute to psychological problems. …

… [I]n spite of a diligent review on the part of many in the Public Health Service and in the private sector, the scientific studies do not provide conclusive data about the health effects of abortion on women. (Click for full text of letter.)

Perspective

* In 1985, the Los Angeles Timespolled 3,165 newspaper reporters and editors working at 621 newspapers. It found that approximately 85% were in favor of abortion being generally legal. The same poll found that 51% of the general public were in favor of abortion being generally legal.[224]

* In December 2001, Hal Bruno, the former political director of ABC News, was asked what percentage of people at ABC News were “pro-choice.” He replied:

Well, we have a tremendous number of women that have come into journalism in the last 20 years … and most women tend to be pro-choice.[225]

* Below are the results of a Gallup poll conducted 6 months before the interview:

Statement	Women Who Agree	Men Who Agree
Abortion should be legal under any circumstances	28%	23%
Abortion should be legal in most circumstances	14%	15%
Abortion should be legal in only a few circumstances	40%	43%
Abortion should be illegal in all circumstances	15%	16%

[226]

* A Zogby poll conducted about a year before the interview asked people if they agreed with the following statements:

Statement	Women Who Agree	Men Who Agree
Abortion destroys a human life and is manslaughter	51%	51%
Abortion does not destroy a life and is not manslaughter	33%	37%

[227]

* In the same interview, Bruno stated:

I’d say a majority of the people who work in the news, not just at ABC, but who work in the news, are pro-choice. But I think a majority of the country probably is pro-choice, too.[228]

* Four months prior to the interview, Gallup conducted a poll which found:

46% of Americans consider themselves to be pro-choice.
46% of Americans consider themselves to be pro-life.[229]

Parental Consent & Notification

State Laws

* As of February 1, 2017:

26 states have a law in effect that requires parental consent for a minor to have an abortion.[230]
3 states have a parental consent law that is blocked by a court order or ruling.[231]
11 states have a law in effect that requires parental notification for a minor to have an abortion.[232]
3 states have a parental notification law that is blocked by a court order or ruling.[233]
7 states have no laws requiring parental consent or notification for abortions.[234]

* In the state of Washington, it is against the law to apply a tattoo to anyone under the age of 18.[235]

* In the state of New Jersey, it is against the law to engage in a body piercing of anyone under the age of 18 without written consent from his or her parent or legal guardian.[236]

* In the state of California, it is against the law for anyone under the age of 18 to use a tanning machine.[237]

* In Washington, New Jersey, and California, it is legal for a girl of any age to get an abortion without her parent’s consent or knowledge.[238]

Politics

* Five Gallup polls conducted from 1992 through 2011 found that 69-74% of Americans favor “a law requiring women under 18 to get parental consent for any abortion.” Opposition to this view ranged from 23-28%.[239]

* A 2005 CBS poll found 80% support for requiring that “at least one parent be told before a girl under 18 years of age could have an abortion.” Opposition to this view was 17%.[240]

* A 2009 Pew poll found 76% support for “requiring that women under the age of 18 get the consent of at least one parent before they are allowed to have an abortion.” Opposition to this view was 19%.[241]

* In 1996, Barack Obama’s Illinois Senate campaign completed a candidate questionnaire and then resubmitted it with amended answers on the following day. In response to the question, “Do you support parental consent/notification for minors seeking abortions?” the answers were:

No.[242](9/9/96)

Depends on how young—possibly for extremely young teens, i.e. 12 or 13 year olds.[243](9/10/96)

* When these questionnaires were published by Politico.com during the 2008 Presidential contest, Obama’s campaign asserted that a staffer filled them out and some of the responses did not and do not reflect Obama’s views.[244][245]

* An investigation by Politico found that one of the questionnaires contains written notes that appear to be in Obama’s hand, and the other questionnaire has a cover sheet indicating that Obama supplied the answers in a face-to-face interview at the house of a board member of the organization that issued the questionnaire. The board member has confirmed that Obama personally sat for this interview.In response to these revelations, Obama’s presidential campaign wrote:

He may have jotted some notes on the front page of the questionnaire at the meeting, but that doesn’t change the fact that some answers didn’t reflect his views. His 11 years in public office do.[246][247][248]

* On a 2001 vote in the Illinois Senate for a parental notification bill, Barack Obama voted “Present.”[249][250]

*Illinois Senate rules state that “a majority of those elected” (30 Senators) must vote in favor of a bill for it to pass. Thus, a vote of “Present” has the same result as a vote of “No.”[251]

* With regard to Obama voting “Present” on this and other abortion-related bills, Pam Sutherland, the president and CEO of the Illinois Planned Parenthood Council stated:

We at Planned Parenthood view those as leadership votes. We worked with him specifically on his strategy. … A “present” vote was hard to pigeonhole which is exactly what Obama wanted. What it did was give cover to moderate Democrats who wanted to vote with us but were afraid to do so. A “present” vote would protect them. Your senator voted “present.” Most of the electorate is not going to know what that means.[252][253]

* In response to a 2004 candidate questionnaire that asked, “Do you support parental … notification or consent to obtain an abortion?” Barack Obama’s U.S. Senate campaign answered:

Regarding parental notification, I would oppose any legislation that does not include a bypass provision for minors who have been victims of, or have reason to fear, physical or sexual abuse.[254]

* The 2001 parental notification bill on which Obama voted “Present” had bypass provisions for “sexual abuse,” “neglect,” “physical abuse,” and cases where notification “would not be in the best interests of the minor.”[255][256]

* In response to a 2007 candidate questionnaire asking if minors should “be required to seek their parents” consent before having an abortion, Barack Obama’s presidential campaign did not explicitly answer the question and stated that:

most parental consent bills that come before Congress or state legislatures criminalize adults who attempt to help a young woman in need and lack judicial bypass and other provisions that would permit exceptions in compelling cases.[257]

* As of 2008, all of the 35 states with a parental consent or notification law in effect had a bypass provision that permits exceptions in various circumstances such as when notifying a parent not be in a “minor’s best interests.” This is also the case with a Congressional bill that Obama filibustered. Six of the seven states with a parental consent or notification law blocked by a court order or ruling have similar bypass provisions. The one exception was New Mexico, which has a 1969 law on its books that the state attorney general ruled unenforceable in 1990.[258][259][260]

* The Democratic Party Platform makes no explicit reference to parental consent or notification laws.[261]The Republican Party Platform supports parental notification and consent laws.[262]

Becky Bell

* On September 16, 1988, 17-year-old Rebecca Suzanne Bell of Indianapolis, Indiana was admitted to a hospital with pneumonia and suffered a fatal cardiopulmonary arrest that night.[263]During her autopsy, “evidence of recent pregnancy with recent partial abortion” was discovered. The “cause of death” listed on the autopsy report is “Septic Abortion with Pneumonia” and the “manner of death” as “Undetermined.”[264]According to Merriam-Webster’s Medical Dictionary, a “septic abortion” is a “spontaneous or induced abortion associated with bacterial infection …” and pneumonia is “a disease of the lungs … that is caused especially by infection.”[265][266]

* Indiana had (and has) a parental consent law in effect.[267][268]According to a receipt from a local Planned Parenthood and Becky’s friend Heather Clark, the two of them visited Planned Parenthood, where it was suggested that Becky travel 100 miles to Kentucky to circumvent the Indiana law.[269][270]

* Heather Clark stated that Becky chose not to tell her parents about the pregnancy because she was recently hospitalized with a drug problem and thought that they would kick her out of the house if they knew she was pregnant.[271]Ms. Clark also stated that after she and Becky went to Planned Parenthood, Becky wavered about having an abortion and considered running away and putting the baby up for adoption.[272][273]

* The county coroner (who did not perform the autopsy and is now deceased[274]) told Becky’s parents that she had died from pneumonia and the source of the infection was an illegal abortion performed with unsterile instruments.[275][276][277]Her parents came to blame Becky’s death on Indiana’s parental consent law.[278]This led to media attention and Becky’s parents embarking on a speaking tour of 23 states with an advocacy group to lobby against parental involvement laws.[279][280][281]

* Since this time, Becky Bell’s case has been cited as an argument against parental consent laws on 60 Minutes,[282]ABC News,[283]CNN’s Larry King Live,[284]in the magazines Seventeen, Rolling Stone,[285]Newsweek,[286]an American Civil Liberties Union pamphlet,[287]and an original HBO movie named “Public Law 106: The Becky Bell Story.”[288]From 2005 through 2008, this argument was repeated in at least 13 different publications including a legal journal.[289][290][291][292]When a parental notification law was put on the ballot in Oregon in 1990, polls found opposition to it at 22%. After Becky’s parents toured the state appearing at rallies and on television and talk shows, the measure was defeated with 52% voting against it.[293]

* Around the time that the Becky’s parents appeared on 60 Minutes,[294]James A. Miller, the research director of an organization dedicated to “promot[ing] and defend[ing] the sanctity of life,”[295]corresponded several times with Dr. Jesse Giles, the author of the autopsy report and one of two pathologists who signed it.[296]In an editorial published in the Baltimore Evening Sunand in a press release, Miller wrote that Giles said:

He used word “abortion” on the autopsy report in the sense of a spontaneous abortion (i.e., miscarriage[297]); not an induced abortion.
He was “astounded” that 60 Minutesand Becky’s parents “would assert that my (autopsy) report proves that there was an instrumented, illegal abortion.”
He did not write the word “septic” on the autopsy report. Another pathologist placed the word “septic” in front of the word “abortion” on the report’s cover page.[298][299]

* When contacted by Just Facts, Dr. Giles refused to answer any questions.[300]

* The other pathologist who signed the autopsy report was Dr. John Pless. He supervised the autopsy, as Dr. Giles was a fellow in training at the time.[301]In a 1990 newspaper article, Dr. Pless is quoted as stating, “I cannot prove she had anything but a spontaneous abortion [i.e., miscarriage],” but that he found evidence of infection in Becky’s reproductive system, and thus it seemed probable that an induced abortion was performed.[302]

* The description of the reproductive system in the autopsy report contains no mention of an infection.[303]

* When contacted by Just Facts, Pless confirmed his view as quoted above and stated that the “same micro-organism” that caused the pneumonia “was cultured in the uterus and the lung.”[304]When Just Facts pointed out the autopsy report contains a list of “Specimens for Culture” that does not include the uterus,[305]Pless said his memory may be faulty, but “the only possible source of the infection was the uterus” because there “was no upper airway disease—so the only possibility was spread from the uterus.”[306][307]

* When Just Facts informed Dr. Pless that:

a 2006 paper in the Journal of Medical Microbiologystates that the type of bacteria found in Becky’s lungs exists in various strains that selectively infect specific body tissues,[308][309]
two recent medical texts indicate that the type of pneumonia Becky had is typically preceded (not accompanied) by mild upper airway disease,[310][311]
and therefore, the absence of upper airway disease does not indicate that the bacteria did not enter through the upper airway, he responded:

I suppose that you could make an argument for almost anything. … I have no reason to modify the report.[312]

* The HBO movie cited above shows Becky going with a friend to obtain an illegal abortion.[313][314]All primary sources researched for this case contain no testimony or documentation of such an event. This includes the coroner’s report,[315]autopsy report,[316]Becky’s mother’s written account,[317]and an article in the Cleveland Plain Dealerin which the reporter quotes Becky’s father and her “closest friend” Heather Clark. Ms. Clark, who accompanied Becky to Planned Parenthood, told the reporter that Becky did not have an induced abortion. She also said that when she visited Becky (four days after she had gotten sick and the night before she passed on), Becky asked her to schedule an abortion in Louisville, Kentucky for two days later.[318]

*Events in the Week Prior to Becky’s Death (as reported in the coroner’s report, autopsy report, Becky’s mother’s written account, and Cleveland Plain Dealer)*
Sunday 12:45 AM	Becky comes home from a party and says she thinks someone put cocaine or speed in her drink and that she feels like she’s “got the flu like Dad.”[319][320]
Tuesday	Becky faints.[321]
Wednesday	Becky stays home from school and develops a 104 fever. Her parents try to take her to the doctor, but Becky resists and they relent.[322][323] [324]
Thursday PM	Heather Clark visits Becky, and Becky asks her to schedule an abortion in Kentucky on Saturday.[325]
Friday	Becky starts bleeding and tells her Mom. Becky agrees to go a doctor, who diagnoses her with pneumonia and sends her to the hospital, arriving at 4 PM.[326][327] [328]
Friday PM	The doctor says to Becky’s family: “We don’t know if we can save the baby.”[329]11:29 PM: Becky passes on.[330]

Erica Richardson

* In March 1989, six months after Becky Bell’s death, 16-year-old Erica Kae Richardson of Cheltenham, Maryland was assisted by her aunt in obtaining an abortion without her mother’s consent or knowledge. Erica’s aunt, a registered nurse, first took her to Washington Hospital Center, which would not perform the abortion because the pregnancy was 19 weeks along. She then took her to the Metropolitan Women’s Center in Laurel, where Dr. Gene Crawford carried out the abortion, puncturing her uterus in the process. Erica died several hours later from “rupture of [her] lower uterus and cervix with complications, including hemorrhage into the pelvic cavity surrounding the uterus and air embolism.”[331][332][333][334]

* The current Maryland notification law allows abortion providers to bypass notifying a parent if, in their opinion, the minor is “capable of giving informed consent to an abortion.” The law also stipulates that abortion providers cannot be prosecuted or sued for failing to notify a girl’s parents.[335]

Rape and Federal Legislation

* A 2000 U.S. Department of Justice study of crimes reported to law enforcement agencies in twelve states from 1991-1996, found that the incidence of forcible rape peaked at the ages of 14 and 15.

[336]

* A 1987 survey of U.S. woman aged 18-22, found that of those who had intercourse at 15 years of age or younger, 40% had been forced to have sex against their will or were raped.[337][338]

* A 2006 U.S. Department of Justice study found that 58% of female forcible rape victims were raped before their 18^thbirthday.[339]

* Since 2005, Arkansas law has required written consent from a parent (not a step-parent) before an abortion is performed upon a female who is less than 18 years of age.[340][341][342]In 2006, a 15-year-old Arkansas girl accused her 41-year-old stepfather of raping her, getting her pregnant, forcing her to have an abortion in Illinois (where there was no parental consent or notification law at the time), and continuing to rape her afterwards.[343][344][345][346]

* The girl’s claim that she was taken to an abortion clinic in Granite City, Illinois was corroborated by a photo of her stepfather’s car at this facility.[347]He was arrested, charged with a dozen counts of rape and committed suicide before trial.[348][349]

* In 2006, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would have made it illegal to take a minor across state lines to circumvent state laws that require parental involvement in a minor’s abortion. It required that abortion providers in states without parental involvement laws give at least 24 hours’ notice to a parent before performing an abortion on a minor who resides in another state. This provision included exceptions for parental abuse, neglect, and if the physical health of the minor is endangered.[350]93% of Republicans voted for it and 71% of Democrats voted against it. (Click for a record of how each Representative voted.)

* After being approved by the House, the bill was sent to the Senate where it was blocked by a filibuster conducted by 37 Democrats, 4 Republicans, and 1 Independent. Participants in the filibuster included Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, Barack Obama, Robert Menendez, and Susan Collins. (Click for a record of how each Senator voted.)

Statutory Rape and Abortion

* A sexual relationship between a 22-year-old man and a 13-year-old girl is illegal in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.[351]All states have laws requiring healthcare and other workers who interact with children in a professional capacity to report suspected cases of child abuse, which in 29 states and the District of Columbia, explicitly includes a sexual relationship between a 22-year-old man and a 13-year-old girl.[352]

* In 2002, Life Dynamics, an organization dedicated to ending legal abortion,[353]phoned more than 800 Planned Parenthood and National Abortion Federation abortion clinics and offices. In these calls, a woman from Life Dynamics told workers at these facilities that she was 13-years-old, had been impregnated by her 22-year-old boyfriend, and wanted to get an abortion to hide the situation from her parents.[354]

* In more than 90% of the phone calls, the Planned Parenthood and National Abortion Federation workers did not act to report the matter.[355]

* Some workers encouraged the caller to come in for the abortion and lie about the age of the person who impregnated her.[356]

* Some workers told the caller that they were required to report the situation, but weren’t going to do so.[357]

* In states that have parental notification laws, some workers told the caller to find a person who was old enough to impersonate one of her parents and have them sign the required paperwork. In one state that requires a notarized signature from a parent, a worker told the caller that the facility had a notary public who would notarize a fraudulent signature for her.[358]

* After Life Dynamics released the recordings, Planned Parenthood issued the following statement:

Planned Parenthood questions the reliability of staged tapes of supposed telephone conversations surreptitiously prepared by Life Dynamics, an organization with a notorious anti-Planned Parenthood agenda.[359]

* A Connecticut TV station (WTIC – Fox 61) scrutinized the recordings of the phone calls to the abortion clinics in Connecticut. They found that the dial tones recorded on the tapes matched the phone numbers of the facilities, the names of the people on the tapes matched the names of the workers at the facilities, and the content of the conversations matched what was reported by Life Dynamics.[360]

Adolescent Decision-Making

* In briefs submitted to the United States Supreme Court regarding a Minnesota parental consent law,[361]the American Psychological Association asserted that the law should be struck down on the grounds that:

Psychological theory and research about cognitive, social and moral development strongly supports the conclusion that most adolescents are competent to make informed decisions about important life situations.[362]

In fact, by middle adolescence (age 14-15) young people develop abilities similar to adults in reasoning about moral dilemmas, understanding social rules and laws, reasoning about interpersonal relationships and interpersonal problems, and reasoning about custody preference during divorce.[363]

In sum, the unvarying and highly significant findings of numerous scientific studies indicate that with respect to the capacity to understand and reason logically, there is no qualitative or quantitative difference between minors in mid-adolescence, i.e., about 14-15 years of age, and adults.[364]

* In a brief submitted to the United States Supreme Court regarding a death penalty sentence in Missouri for a person who committed a capital murder at the age of 17,[365]the American Psychological Association asserted that crimes committed by minors should never be subject to the death penalty on the grounds that:

Adolescent decision-makers on average are less future-oriented and less likely to consider properly the consequences of their actions.

In another analysis of decision-making competence … the researchers concluded “it is clear that important progress in the development of decision-making competence occurs sometime during late adolescence” [and] “these changes have a profound effect on their ability to make consistently mature decisions.[366]

Partial-Birth

* A partial-birth abortion, as described in American Medical News(a publication of the American Medical Association[367]), entails:

the extraction of an intact fetus, feet first, through the birth canal, with all but the head delivered. The surgeon forces scissors into the base of the skull, spreads them to enlarge the opening, and uses suction to remove the brain.[368][369][370][371][372]

* According to the executive director of the National Coalition of Abortion Providers, this procedure was typically performed at 20+ weeks (not specified if this is after conception or last menstrual period).[373]

* Preborn human at 20 weeks gestation (22 weeks after last menstrual period):

[374]

Politics

* In June 1995, Republican Congressman Charles Canady of Florida sponsored a bill to ban the use of the partial-birth abortion procedure on live preborn humans except if “necessary to save the life of a mother.”[375]It was cosponsored by 19 Democrats and 96 Republicans.[376]This bill passed Congress with 90% of Republicans voting for it and 62% of Democrats voting against it. It was vetoed by Democratic President Bill Clinton. A vote to override the veto passed in the House and failed in the Senate by 8 votes.[377][378]

* In March 1997, Republican Congressman Gerald Solomon of New York sponsored a bill to ban the use of the partial-birth abortion procedure on live preborn humans except if “necessary to save the life of a mother.”[379]It passed Congress with 95% of Republicans voting for it and 62% of Democrats voting against it. It was vetoed by Democratic President Bill Clinton. A vote to override the veto passed in the House and failed in the Senate by 3 votes.[380][381]

* During the period in which these bills were being debated:

The executive director of the National Abortion Federation told the press that the partial-birth abortion procedure “is not taking place on live fetuses, the way it’s being portrayed. The fetal demise has already occurred….”[382]
Martin Haskell, who is credited with inventing the procedure,[383]sent a letter to Congress asserting, “Statements that fetuses are not dead until nearly the end of the procedure are not accurate. Death occurs early in the procedure if not before.”[384]
Two years earlier, American Medical News interviewed Dr. Haskell and reported:

Dr. Haskell and another doctor who routinely use the [partial-birth] procedure for late term abortions told AMNewsthat the majority of fetuses aborted this way are alive until the end of the procedure.[385]

After it was pointed out that this article conflicted with his assertion to Congress,[386]Haskell and the National Abortion Federation wrote letters to Congress stating that he and the other doctor had been “quoted out of context.”[387][388]Consequently, the publication, which had tape-recorded the interviews, released a transcript of the contested quotes. When the interviewer said, “Let’s talk first about whether or not the fetus is dead beforehand,” Haskell responded:

No it’s not. No, it’s really not. A percentage are for various numbers of reasons. … In my case, I would think probably about a third of those are definitely dead before I actually start to remove the fetus. And probably the other two-thirds are not.[389]

James McMahon, the other doctor interviewed for the American Medical News article, sent a letter to Congress affirming that a preborn human “feels no pain through the entire series of procedures” because the mother is given an anesthetic beforehand, which induces “a medical coma” and “neurological fetal demise.”[390]
Afterwards, the President of the American Academy of Anesthesiologists, the President-Elect of the Society for Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology, the Chair of the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Alabama Birmingham Hospital, and an Associate Professor at the Department of Pediatrics and Anesthesiology at Emory University testified before Congress regarding the effects of anesthesia given during partial-birth abortions. A monthly newsletter of the American Academy of Anesthesiologists summarized the hearing as follows:

Testimony of all the anesthesiology witnesses was consistent, disputing at length the claim that anesthesia given to the mother during a late-term abortion caused neurological demise of the fetus. All of the witnesses expressed concern that widespread dissemination of this false claim by the media has caused many women to question whether to undergo necessary surgery during pregnancy, for fear of injuring the unborn child.[391]

The transcript of the interview with Dr. Haskell also revealed that he stated:

And I’ll be quite frank: most of my abortions are elective in that 20-24 week range…. In my particular case, probably 20% are for genetic reasons. And the other 80% are purely elective….[392][393][394]

One week after this information was released in a congressional report,[395]the American Civil Liberties Union, National Organization for Women, People For the American Way and 50 other organizations sent a joint letter to Congress stating that partial-birth abortions were “most often performed” in cases “of severe fetal anomalies or a medical condition that threatens the pregnant woman’s life or health.”[396]
One month after this, Planned Parenthood issued a press release asserting that partial-birth abortions are performed “only in cases when the woman’s life is in danger or in cases of extreme fetal abnormality.”[397]
One week after this, the executive director of the National Coalition of Abortion Providers appeared on ABC’s Nightlineand stated that partial-birth abortions were done only in extreme situations of danger to a woman’s life and fetal anomalies.[398][399][400]
Four months after this, the national policy director of Planned Parenthood testified to Congress: “The truth is that the procedure is only used when the woman’s life or health is in danger or in cases of extreme fetal anomaly.”[401]
Six months later, two doctors at a New Jersey abortion clinic spoke with a local newspaper under condition of anonymity. They independently stated that their clinic was performing roughly 1,500 partial-birth abortions per year, most of which are elective and not for medical reasons.[402][403]
Six months after this, the executive director of the National Coalition of Abortion Providers told the New York Timesand American Medical News that he “lied through [his] teeth” when he appeared on Nightlinebecause he was afraid that the truth would erode public support for abortion. Disowning his previous statements, he asserted that partial-birth abortions are “primarily done on healthy women and healthy fetuses….”[404][405]
The same week this information was published, Renee Chelian, president of the National Coalition of Abortion Providers stated:

The spin out of Washington was that it was only done for medical necessity, even though we knew it wasn’t so. I kept waiting for [the National Abortion Federation] to clarify it and they never did. I got caught up: What do we do about this secret? Who do we tell and what happens when we tell? But frankly, no one was asking me, so I didn’t have to worry.[406]

* In February 2003, Republican Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania sponsored a bill to ban the use of the partial-birth abortion procedure on live preborn humans except if “necessary to save the life of a mother.”[407]It was cosponsored by 2 Democrats and 43 Republicans.[408]Congress passed this bill with 95% of Republicans voting for it and 62% of Democrats voting against it. It was then signed into law by Republican President George W. Bush.[409][410](Click for a record of how each Congressman voted.)

* This law does not ban late-term abortions; only the partial-birth procedure.[411]It does not prohibit giving a lethal injection to a preborn human and performing a partial-birth abortion afterwards.[412]It does not prohibit dismemberment abortions, in which “the fetal limbs are pulled off the body in utero, sometimes while the fetus is still alive.”[413][414][415]

* After this law was enacted, several abortion providers challenged it in court.[416]In April 2007, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the law in a 5-4 vote.[417]Of the five Supreme Court justices who ruled to uphold the law, Barack Obama voted against the nomination of two of them and identified two of the others as judges he would not have nominated.[418][419][420]

* The day after the Supreme Court ruling was issued, 13 Democrats in the U.S. Senate and 57 in the House of Representatives introduced legislation that would overturn the ban on partial-birth abortions.[421][422][423][424]Barack Obama stated that the “first thing” he would do as President is sign this bill into law.[425]

Constitution & Law

Roe v. Wade

* In March of 1970, a pregnant woman by the name of Norma McCorvey sued the state of Texas to challenge the constitutionality of a state law that prohibited abortion except to save the life of the mother. McCorvey wanted to keep her identity secret and assumed the fictitious name Jane Roe. The name of the Dallas County district attorney responsible for enforcing the law was Henry Wade. Thus, the case was entitled Roe v. Wade.[426][427][428]

* Before the United States Supreme Court, the attorney for Roe argued that the Texas law was unconstitutional because it violated the Ninth and Fourteenth Amendments.[429]The Ninth Amendment reads:

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.[430]

The clause of the Fourteenth Amendment relevant to the argument reads:

No State shall … deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law….[431]

* In support of this view, the attorney for Roe stated that “liberty to these women would mean liberty from being forced to continue the unwanted pregnancy.”[432]

* During oral arguments, one of the judges asked the attorney for Roe if her case was dependent on the assertion that pre-born humans have no Constitutional rights. After some back and forth, the attorney for Roe responded:

Even if the Court at some point determined the fetus to be entitled to constitutional protection, you would still get back into the weighing of one life against another.

After more back and forth, another judge said to Roe’s attorney:

[To take this position], you’d have to say that this would be the equivalent after the child was born if the mother thought it bothered her health any having the child around, she could have it killed. Isn’t that correct?

The attorney for Roe responded:

That’s correct. That …

At this point, the Chief Justice cut her off and started to ask another question. He then interrupted himself and asked:

Did you want to respond further to Justice Stewart? Did you want to respond further to him?

The attorney for Roe stated:

No, Your Honor.[433]

* The attorney for the State of Texas argued that preborn humans are protected under the Fifth Amendment.[434]The portion relevant to the argument states:

No person shall be … deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law….[435]

* During oral arguments, one of the judges contested this viewpoint by asserting that the Fourteenth Amendment defined what the term “person” meant, and that it did not include preborn humans.[436]The relevant clause reads:

All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.[437]

* After some back and forth, the judge retreated from this position and said:

[I suppose] that’s not the definition of a person but that’s the definition of a citizen.[438]

* The attorney for the State of Texas responded that the only way to understand what the Constitution means by the word “person” was to go to “the teachings at the time the Constitution was framed.” He then quoted from William Blackstone, who is described in Simon & Shuster’s New Millennium Encyclopedia as a “British jurist and legal scholar, whose work Commentaries on the Laws of Englandwas used for more than a century as the foundation of all legal education in Great Britain and the U.S.”[439]In this work, Blackstone wrote that life is a “right” that:

is inherent by nature in every individual, and exists even before the child is born.[440]

* To further support his position, the attorney for the state of Texas appealed to the Declaration of Independence and started to quote the following sentence from it, but he was cut off by one of judges: [441]

WE hold these [cut off] Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.[442]

* On January 22, 1973, the Supreme Court released its ruling. Seven of the judges ruled in favor of Roe and two of the judges opposed the ruling. The ruling overturned the laws of 30 states that generally prohibited abortion except to save the life of the mother.[443]

* The majority ruled these laws unconstitutional on the basis that they violated the Fourteenth Amendment, stating that it protects “the right to privacy,” and that this includes “a woman’s qualified right to terminate her pregnancy.”[444]The relevant portion of the Fourteenth Amendment reads:

No State shall … deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law….[445]

* The Fourteenth Amendment does not contain the word “privacy” or any synonym for it.[446][447]It was adopted in 1868 to address a number of issues relevant to the Civil War, such as ensuring constitutional rights for black people.[448]

* The majority wrote that they were “not in a position to speculate” as to “when life begins” and criticized the State of Texas for “adopting one theory of life,” namely, that life begins at conception.[449]

* They also:

Used the term “potentiality of human life” in reference to preborn humans who are capable of living outside the mother’s womb.[450]
Ruled that preborn humans have no Constitutional rights.[451]

*The majority created rules regarding the types of abortion legislation that states could enact based upon the three trimesters of a typical pregnancy:

First trimester: States cannot prohibit abortions. They can require that abortions be done by licensed physicians, but other than this, they cannot regulate the manner in which they are performed.[452]In an internal court memo written before the ruling was issued and made public 15 years later, the author of the decision (Justice Harry Blackmun) wrote that the ruling contains “dictum,” and this first trimester timeframe is “arbitrary.”[453][454](Click for full text of letter.)
Second trimester: States cannot prohibit abortions. They can regulate the manner in which they are performed for the purpose of protecting the mother’s health. The ruling cites examples of the types of regulations that are permissible. These include establishing “qualifications [for] the person who is to perform the abortion” and setting rules regarding “the facility in which the procedure is to be performed.”[455]
Third trimester: States can prohibit abortions after “viability” (meaning the point where a preborn human is capable of living outside their mother’s womb), but they cannot prohibit abortions “where it is necessary, in appropriate medical judgment, for the preservation of the life or health of the mother.”[456]The ruling cites examples of what may be considered harmful to a woman’s health. These include the “stigma of unwed motherhood,” the work of caring for a child, and the “distress” “associated with the unwanted child.”[457][458]

* After listing these examples and others, the majority wrote that this portion of their ruling does not permit abortions “at whatever time, in whatever way, and for whatever reason” a woman chooses.[459]They repeated this assertion four times using varying words but listed no example of a circumstance where abortion could be prohibited.[460]

Doe v. Bolton

* On the same day that the Supreme Court released Roe v. Wade, it issued another ruling in a case entitled Doe v. Bolton. The same seven judges who ruled in favor of Roe also ruled in favor of Doe, and the same two judges opposed the ruling.[461]The majority wrote that this ruling and Roe v. Wade“are to be read together.”[462]

* In this case, the State of Georgia had a law prohibiting abortions unless the pregnancy would “seriously and permanently” injure the health of the mother.[463]A lower court struck down this law and the majority of the Supreme Court agreed. The ruling stated that abortion laws with exceptions for the health of the mother must allow for factors such as emotional health, psychological health, familial concerns, and the woman’s age.[464]

* The Georgia law also required that the doctor who would perform the abortion, two other doctors, and a committee of the medical staff at the hospital where the abortion was to be done needed to agree that the abortion was necessary to preserve the health of the mother.[465]The lower court upheld this law and the Supreme Court struck it down. The majority ruled that only the doctor who would perform the abortion needs to determine that the abortion was necessary to preserve the health of the mother. Any abortion provider could make this decision based solely on their “best clinical judgment.”[466]

* Dr. Warren Hern is a late-term abortion practitioner, author of “the nation’s most widely used textbook on abortion standards and procedures,” a participant in crafting “the first version of the National Abortion Federation Program Standards for Abortion Services,” and “one of the experts in late abortion sought out by the national media….”[467][468]In May 1997, he stated:

I say every pregnancy carries a risk of death.[469]

I will certify that any pregnancy is a threat to a woman’s life and could cause grievous injury to her physical health. [470]

Planned Parenthood v. Casey

* In 1992, the Supreme Court decided a case entitled Planned Parenthood v. Casey. In this case, the majority reaffirmed the central element of Roe v. Wade, but did away with the “rigid trimester framework.”[471]

* As in Roe v. Wade, the majority ruled that states cannot prohibit abortions prior to viability, and laws that prohibit abortion after viability must include an exception for the “health of the mother.”[472](With regard to viability, as of 2007, the youngest premature baby to survive was born at 21 weeks and 6 days gestation.[473])

* Contrary to Roe v. Wade, the majority ruled that states could enact laws that regulated abortion throughout pregnancy, as long as they did not create a substantial obstacle to obtaining an abortion. An example of what would be acceptable is a law requiring that doctors provide women with certain information before they perform abortions.[474]

Live Births

* A 2007 British study found that 3.2% of preborn humans aborted on the basis of diagnoses for conditions such as Down’s Syndrome, heart defects, and kidney problems, survived for a median time of 80 minutes after birth, 36% of them for an hour or less, 6% for six hours or more.[475]

* The Encyclopedia of Human Biologystates:

Attempts to suckle have been seen … in aborted fetuses of 3 months.[476]

* In 2003, a child was born in Britain at 24 weeks gestation following three abortion procedures. As of 2005, he is healthy and is the “first long-term abortion survivor” to be born this prematurely.[477][478]

* In 2007, twin brothers Ieuan and Gabriel Jones were born at 31 weeks gestation. Eleven weeks before this, it was found that Gabriel was underweight and his heart three times normal size. Doctors thought he would die and suggested an abortion to protect the life of his twin. An attempt was made to sever his umbilical cord, but doctors were unable to cut through it. Subsequently, the mother’s placenta was cut in half to isolate the twins from one another. The boys were delivered via caesarian section, and as of November 2007, were seven months old and both healthy.[479](Click for photos.)

* In 2007, Finely Crampton was born three weeks premature after an attempted abortion at 8 weeks. His mother previously gave birth to two boys with kidney disorders, one of whom died after 20 minutes, and another who has one kidney. She was on the birth control pill when she became pregnant and decided to abort because she “couldn’t cope with the anguish of losing another baby.” At 19 weeks, she discovered the abortion was not successful and decided to carry to term. As of June 2008, Finley is 6 months old, “has minor kidney damage,” and is “expected to lead a normal life.”[480](Click for photo.)

* Gianna Jessen was born in 1977 after surviving an abortion at seven-and-a-half months gestation. She has cerebral palsy as a result of the procedure but has run marathons and has traveled “the world to campaign against abortion.”[481][482][483][484]

Politics

* In July 2000, two registered nurses who worked in the labor and delivery unit of Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn, Illinois testified before a U.S. Congressional subcommittee. Both described instances at the hospital in which they had personally seen babies who were born alive after an abortion and left to die without any care or comfort provided.[485][486]A spokesman for the hospital’s parent corporation estimated that 10-20% of the abortions it performs on preborn humans with genetic defects result in live births for short periods of time.[487]

* In 2001 and 2002, identical bills were introduced in the Illinois legislature with three paragraphs of operative text stating that anyone “born alive at any stage of development” is considered a “person” under Illinois state law including those born as a result of “abortion.”[488][489]Barack Obama, as an Illinois state senator, voted against both of these bills.[490][491]

* In 2002, the U.S. House of Representatives passed by a voice vote, the U.S. Senate passed by unanimous consent, and President Bush signed a bill stating that anyone “born alive at any stage of development” is considered a “person” under federal law including those born as a result of “abortion.”[492][493][494]This bill contained the same operative language as the Illinois bill except for the following paragraph.

Federal bill:

(c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to affirm, deny, expand, or contract any legal status or legal right applicable to any member of the species homo sapiens at any point prior to being ‘born alive’ as defined in this section.

Illinois Bill:

(c) A live child born as a result of an abortion shall be fully recognized as a human person and accorded immediate protection under the law.

* At a debate in October 2004, Barack Obama was criticized for voting against the Illinois bills and replied:

At the federal level there was a similar bill that passed because it had an amendment saying this does not encroach on Roe vs. Wade. I would have voted for that bill.[495]

* In 2003, an amendment was proposed to an Illinois bill to make the operative language the same as the federal bill that Obama said he would have voted for.[496][497]The amendment was referred to a committee chaired by Obama, where it was unanimously passed. The bill was then voted down by Obama and five other Democrats on the committee.[498][499][500][501]

Footnotes

[1] Entry: “child.” Merriam-Webster. Accessed February 08, 2017 at <www.merriam-webster.com>

Definition 1a: “an unborn or recently born person.”

[2] Entry: “fetus.” Black’s Medical Dictionary(41st edition). Edited by Dr. Harvey Marcovich. Scarecrow Press, 2006. Pages 269-270.

Page 269: “The name given to the unborn child after the eighth week of development.”

[3] Entry: “baby.” Merriam-Webster. Accessed February 08, 2017 at <www.merriam-webster.com>

Definition 1a: “an extremely young child; especially: infant.”

[4] Entry: “neonatal intensive care.” Black’s Medical Dictionary (41st edition). Edited by Dr. Harvey Marcovich. Scarecrow Press, 2006.

Page 487: “The provision of a dedicated unit with special facilities, including one-to-one nursing and appropriate technology, for caring for premature and seriously ill newborn babies.”

[5] Entry: “fetus.” Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Encyclopædia Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite, 2004.

The etymology of this word is: “Middle English, from Latin, act of bearing young, offspring; akin to Latin fetusnewly delivered, fruitful—more at feminine.”

[6] Entry: “fetus.” Dorland’s Illustrated Medical Dictionary (29th edition). W. B. Saunders Company, 2000. Page 661.

[7] Entry: “fetal.” Dorland’s Illustrated Medical Dictionary(29th edition). W. B. Saunders Company, 2000.

Page 661: “of or pertaining to a fetus; pertaining toin utero development after the embryonic period.”

[8] Textbook: Langman’s Medical Embryology. By T. W. Sadler. Ninth edition. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2004.

Page 117: “The period from the beginning of the ninth week to birth is known as the fetal period.”

[9] For example, in April of 2001, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the “Unborn Victims of Violence Act.” This bill would make it a crime for someone to harm a “child in utero.” (It does not apply to any situation relating to an abortion with the consent of the mother.) The bill defines a child in utero as “a member of the species homo sapiens, at any stage of development, who is carried in the womb.” In their coverage of this vote, CNN, Reuters, the New York Times, Washington Post, ABC, USA Today, MSNBC, and CBS all used the word “fetus” or “fetal” as a blanket phrase for humans at any stage prior to birth. As shown by Black’s Medical Dictionaryand Dorland’s Illustrated Medical Dictionary, their application of this term is inaccurate.

[10] Commentary: “Where’s the Baby? The AP misses the point.” By Kathryn Jean Lopez.National Review, March 13, 2002. <www.nationalreview.com>

NOTE: This column criticizes the Associated Press for misapplying the word “fetus” to humans who are born alive after an abortion. As shown by Black’s Medical Dictionaryand the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, their application of this term is inaccurate. The same applies to the next example.

[11] Article: “Obama’s View on Abortion May Divide Catholics.” By John M. Broder. New York Times, August 6, 2008. <www.nytimes.com>

“Republicans are gearing up campaigns to depict Mr. Obama as a radical on the question of abortion, because as a state senator in Illinois he opposed a ban on the killing of fetuses born alive.”

[12]Press Release: “RCOG Statement on the article ‘One baby in 30 left alive after medical termination’ (London Daily Mail, 20 April 2007).” Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, April 20, 2007. <www.rcog.org.uk>

“If the fetus has had a lethal injection, it will normally die. However, there are some instances when there are signs of life at birth. All babies must be treated with dignity and respect. Palliative care should be provided till the baby dies where relevant.”

NOTE: Observe that the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists utilizes the word “baby” after the point of birth.

[13] Commentary: “Fetus or Baby?” By Christine Chinlund. Boston Globe, February 17, 2003. <www.boston.com>

“Some pretty impartial sources, from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists to Webster’s Dictionary, say that any unborn child is considered a fetus.”

NOTE: Later in the column, the author quotes the following definition of “fetus” from Webster’s, which does not support the assertion she made: “An unborn offspring, especially in its later stages and specifically in humans, from about the eighth week after conception until birth.” The author did not attempt to substantiate the claim about the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and Just Facts could find no such information on their website.

[14] Press release: “States May Provide SCHIP Coverage for Prenatal Care.” United States Department of Health and Human Services, September 27, 2002. <archive.hhs.gov>

“The final regulation, which will be published in the Federal Register on Wednesday, October 2, allows states to file a state plan amendment to use existing SCHIP funding for coverage for children from conception to birth and up to age 19.”

NOTE: As the quote above explains, the regulation is applicable from the point of conception onwards, yet the following three articles use the word “fetus” to describe the beneficiaries:

Article: “HHS Proposes Insurance for Fetuses; Opponents Call It a Ploy to Pave Way for Ban on Abortion.” By Alan Cooperman & Amy Goldstein. Washington Post, February 1, 2002. Page A-01.
Article: “ ‘Unborn child’ coverage moves ahead: Abortion rights advocates oppose the new regulation.” By Catherine Berger. CNN, September 27, 2002. <cnn.com>

“The regulation allows states to expand eligibility to cover a fetus under the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) without having to receive a waiver from HHS.”

Article: “Government Gives Fetuses ‘Unborn Child’ Status.” Fox News (with contribution from the Associated Press), February 1, 2002. <foxnews.com>

[15] Book: English for Journalists(2nd edition). By Wynford Hicks. Routledge, 1998.

Page 73: “Jargon is specialized vocabulary, familiar to the members of a group, trade or profession. If you write for a newspaper or general magazine you should try to translate jargon into ordinary English whenever you can. … A common source of jargon is scientific, medical, government and legal handouts.”

[16] Book: The New Oxford Guide to Writing. By Thomas S. Kane. Oxford University Press, 1988.

Page 199: “Jargon is technical language misused. Technical language, the precise diction demanded by any specialized trade or profession, is necessary when experts communicate with one another. It becomes jargon when it is applied outside the limits of technical discourse.”

[17] Book: The New York Public Library Writer’s Guide to Style and Usage. Edited by Andrea J. Sutcliffe. Stonesong Press/Harper Collins, 1994.

Page 586: “When writing for a specialized audience—one familiar with the topic or field—a writer must use jargon; it is the common idiom. When writing for a lay audience or the general public, a writer should use jargon only when necessary and define it carefully. Where plain English serves equally well, it should be used instead.”

[18] Entry: “gravida.” Dorland’s Illustrated Medical Dictionary (29th edition). W.B. Saunders Company, 2000.

Page 770: “a pregnant woman”

[19] For example, the following searches performed on February 10, 2017 yielded thousands of results for “fetus” and one result for “gravida” that refers to a pregnant woman in English:

Organization	Search Results			Notes
Organization	“fetus”	“abortion” AND “mother” AND “fetus”	“gravida”	Notes
New York Times	5,615	975	11 †	Current
Washington Post	3,087	667	15 ‡	1987-Current
ABC	898	87	6 §	All available
NBC	1,440	444	6 #	All available

NOTES:

† None of these results use “gravida” to describe a pregnant woman. Some refer to a publication of the Westchester Women’s Poetry Collective entitled Gravida.

‡ One of these results uses “gravida” to describe to a pregnant woman.

These articles are not written in English. “Gravida” is the Portuguese translation of the English word “pregnant.”

# None of these results use “gravida” to describe a pregnant woman. Some refer to “hyperemesis gravidarum,” a rare pregnancy complication.

[20] Article: “A Woman Married a Paroled Murderer. Years Later, He Killed All Her Children.” By Kristine Phillips. Washington Post, March 8, 2017. <www.washingtonpost.com>

“In 1991, Michigan man Gregory Green stabbed his wife in the face and chest, killing her and their unborn child.”

[21] Article: “Parents of Slain Pregnant Woman Forgive Suspect.” By Dan Nephin. Associated Press. July 25, 2008. <usatoday30.usatoday.com>

“The parents of a slain pregnant woman said Friday they have forgiven the suspect charged with killing their daughter and cutting her baby out of the womb.”

[22] Article: “Passenger Shot, Her Fetus Dies As Men Clash On T.” By Michael S. Rosenwald. Boston Globe, February 6, 2003. <www.boston.com>

NOTE: In February 2003, the Boston Globepublished an article about a pregnant woman who was shot on a subway in the abdomen, entitling it: “Passenger shot, her fetus dies as men clash on T.” Readers of the Globe sent letters objecting to the use of the word “fetus” in this context because they felt the clinical language was dehumanizing. The paper’s ombudsman responded, stating that the Boston Globe was “technically correct and wrong at the same time.”

[23] Article: “Baby Saved as Heroes Lift Bus Off Crushed Mom.” Associated Press, August 15, 2008. <www.nbcnews.com>

“Dozens of strangers converged from all directions to lift a 5-ton bus off the body of a pregnant woman—a heroic effort that managed to save the life of her child but was too late for her.”

[24] Book: Writing for Journalists. By Wynford Hicks, Sally Adams & Harriet Gilbert. Routledge, 1999.

Page 125: “This emphasis on plainness and simplicity has been repeated by those who lay down the law about journalistic style. The Economist Pocket Style Book, first published in the 1980s, quotes George Orwell’s ‘six elementary rules’ from his famous essay, ‘Politics and the English Language’, written in 1946. … 5. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.”

[25] Textbook: Before We Are Born: Essentials of Embryology and Birth Defects(5th edition). By Keith L. Moore & T.V.N. Persaud. W.B. Saunders Company, 1998. Page 500.

[26] Textbook: Human Life Before Birth. By Frank J. Dye. Harwood Academic Publishers, 2000.

[27] Textbook: Pediatric Toxicology: Diagnosis and Management of the Poisoned Child. By Timothy B. Erickson, William R. Ahrens, Steven E. Aks, Carl R. Baum, Louis J. Ling. McGraw-Hill, 2005.

Page 46: “The categories of human in utero exposure consist of maternal drugs of abuse, maternal environmental exposure, and maternal prescription drug use.”

[28] Textbook: Review of Medical Physiology(22nd edition). By William F. Ganong. McGraw Hill, 2005.

Page 259: “Exposure of human females to androgen in utero does not change the cyclic pattern….”

[29] Entry: “abortion.” American Heritage Dictionary of Science. Edited by Robert K. Barnhart. Houghton Mifflin, 1986.

Page 2: “a birth that occurs before the embryo or fetus develops enough to live on its own, usually during the first twelve weeks of pregnancy (spontaneous abortion) … SYN: miscarriage.”

[30] Textbook: Before We Are Born: Essentials of Embryology and Birth Defects(5th edition). By Keith L. Moore & T.V.N. Persaud. W.B. Saunders Company, 1998.

Page 109: “The expected date of delivery (EDD) of a fetus is 266 days, or 38 weeks, after fertilization; that is, 280 days, or 40 weeks, after LNMP (Table 7-1).”

[31] Book: Color Atlas of Life Before Birth. By Marjorie A. England. Year Book Medical Publishers, 1983.

Page 12: “Most clinicians do not know the fertilization date; the only date available to them is the first day of the last menstrual period. They use this date to define a menstrual age stretching from time 0, which is usually 14 days before fertilization….”

[32] Book: How Life Begins. By Christopher Vaughn. Random House, 1996.

Page 8: “In other words, most obstetricians figures are based on a forty-week pregnancy when you’re actually pregnant for only thirty-eight weeks.”

[33] Book: Color Atlas of Physiology(5th edition). By Agamemnon Despopoulos & Stefan Silbernagl. Thieme, 2003.

Page 308: “Fertilization usually takes place on the first day after intercourse….”

[34] Textbook: Langman’s Medical Embryology. By T. W. Sadler. Ninth edition. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2004.

Page 122: “The oocyte is normally fertilized within 12 hours of ovulation. However, sperm deposited in the reproductive tract up to 6 days prior to ovulation can survive to fertilize oocytes. Thus, most pregnancies occur when sexual intercourse occurs within a 6-day period that ends on the day of ovulation.”

[35] Book: Psychological Development and Early Childhood. By John Oates, Clare Wood & Andrew Grayson. Blackwell, 2005.

Page 217 states that a “genotype” is: “The complete set of genes present in an individual. The genotype is determined at fertilization when genetic information from the egg and sperm is combined.”

[36] Book: Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy. By the Mayo Clinic. Collins, 2004.

Page 45 (section on fertilization): “This genetic material will determine your baby’s sex, eye color, hair color, body size, facial features and – at least to some extent – intelligence and personality. … Your baby’s sex is determined at the moment he or she is conceived.”

[37] Book: Genetic Destinies. By Peter Little. Oxford University Press, 2002.

Page 34: “Identical twins have exactly the same DNA and it so follows that any feature that is defined by gene differences should be identical between them.”

[38] Note that even though identical twins have the same genes, they vary in certain biological respects because of epigenetic differences. This is explained in the paper: “The marks, mechanisms and memory of epigenetic states in mammals.” By Vardhman K. Rakyan & others. Biochemical Journal, May 15, 2001. <www.biochemj.org>

Page 1: “These modifications interfere with the DNA–protein interactions that facilitate transcription, resulting in transcriptional silencing of the epigenetically modified allele. Epigenetic modifications can, therefore, cause phenotypic variation in the absence of genetic differences.”

[39] Teaching guide: “Human Genetic Variation.” By BSCS and Videodiscovery under a contract from the National Institutes of Health, National Human Genome Research Institute, 1999. <science.education.nih.gov>

Page 7: “The human genome comprises about 3 × 10⁹base pairs of DNA, and the extent of human genetic variation is such that no two humans, save identical twins, ever have been or will be genetically identical.”

[40] Calculation performed with information and data from the following sources:

a) Book: The Developing Human: Clinically Orientated Embryology(7th edition). By Keith L. Moore & T. V. N. Persaud. Saunders, 2003.
Page 16: “Human developmentbegins at fertilizationwhen a male gamete or sperm (spermatozoa) unites with a female gamete or oocyte (ovum) to form a single cell – a zygote.”
Page 33: “The zygote is genetically unique because half of its chromosomes come from the mother and half from the father.The zygote contains a new combination of chromosomes that is different from that in the cells of either of the parents. This mechanism forms the basis of biparental inheritance and variation of the human species.”
b) Book: Population and Evolutionary Genetics: A Primer. By Francisco J. Ayala. Benjamin Cummings Publishing Company, 1982.
Page 53: “Considerable genetic variation exists in most natural populations. … Consider humans with a 6.7% heterozygosity detectable by electrophoresis. If we assume there are 30,000 structural gene loci in a human being, which may be an underestimate, a person will be heterozygous at 30,000 X 0.067 = 2010 loci. Such an individual can theoretically produce 2²⁰¹⁰≈ 10⁶⁰⁵different kinds of gametes [reproductive cells].”
c) Book: Human Reproductive Biology(3rd edition). By Richard E. Jones & Kristen H. Lopez. Academic Press, 2006.
Page 46 states that women living in developed countries experience about 450 ovulation cycles in a lifetime.

CALCULATION:10⁶⁰⁵possible genetically unique reproductive cells per woman / 450 ovulation cycles = 2.2X10⁶⁰². This figure only accounts for the genetic variation of the female. Therefore, the odds against a woman conceiving the same preborn human twice (with or without the same mate) are actually much higher than this.

[41] Determined with data from the following sources:

a) Textbook: Foundations of Modern Cosmology. By John F. Hawley & Katherine A. Holcomb. Oxford University Press, 1998.
Page 454: “There are perhaps 10⁸⁰baryons in our visible universe, and about 10⁹photons per baryon.”
b) Book: The Inflationary Universe. By Alan Guth. Helix Books, 1997.
Page 108: “Since we believe that the observed universe has a baryon number of 10⁷⁸, the conservation of baryon number would imply that it alwayshad a baryon number of 10⁷⁸.”
c) Book: Six Easy Pieces: Essentials of Physics Explained By Its Most Brilliant Teacher. Addison-Wesley, 1995.
This book is comprised of six chapters taken from the book Lectures on Physicsby Richard Feynman. Page 85: “There are a number of strange particles, a neutron and a proton are examples, which are called baryons.”
d) Article: “Atom.” World Book Encyclopedia, 2007 Deluxe Edition.
“Tiny as atoms are, they consist of even more minute particles. The three basic types are protons, neutrons, and electrons. Each atom has a definite number of these subatomic particles.”

NOTE: As shown above, all atoms contain at least one baryon, and thus 10⁸⁰represents a rough maximum for the number of atoms in the visible universe.

[42] Book: The First Nine Months of Life(2nd edition). By Geraldine Lux Flanagan. Simon & Shuster, 1962.

Page 35 states that in the third week, “the brain has two lobes,” and “the early spinal cord is bordered by the future vertebrae and muscle segments.” A picture shows the brain lobes and spinal cord.

[43] Book: Gray’s Anatomy: The Anatomical Basis of Medicine and Surgery. Churchill Livingstone, 1995.

Page 329 states that at 19-21 days, “The cranial half of the groove, representing developing brain, begins to develop cephalic flexure, optic primordia become visible….”

[44] Textbook: Biology: Investigating Life on Earth(2nd edition). By Vernon L. Avila. Jones and Bartlett, 1995.

Page 693: “First, the embryo has its own circulatory system, complete with a heart that started beating only 24 days after conception….”

[45] Book: Gray’s Anatomy: The Anatomical Basis of Medicine and Surgery. Churchill Livingstone, 1995.

Page 329 states that at 21-27 days, “primary cerebral vesicles appear. … Rudimentary limb buds appear and the heart tubes fuse into a common loop in which contractile activity commences. The primordia of the thyroid gland, lungs, liver, pancreas, and mesonephric tubules are all identifiable.”

[46] Book: The First Nine Months of Life(2nd edition). By Geraldine Lux Flanagan. Simon & Shuster, 1962.

Page 52: “In the sixth and seventh weeks, nerves and muscles work together for the first time. If the area of the lips, the first to become sensitive to touch, is gently stroked, the baby, who then is still an embryo, responds by bending the upper body to one side and making a quick backward motion with the arms. This is called a ‘total pattern’ response because it involves most of the body rather than the approximate local part.”

NOTE: The details above are documented by photos. Page 52 notes, “All of the photographs in this book that show the movement of the baby are taken from” films made by Davenport Hooker at the University of Pittsburgh.

[47] Book: Gray’s Anatomy: The Anatomical Basis of Medicine and Surgery. Churchill Livingstone, 1995.

Page 329 states that in the 6^thand 7^thweeks, “The pontine flexure, cerebral hemispheres and cerebellum are developing.”

[48] Seven weeks after fertilization. Intrauterine picture taken under the direction of Professor Andrzej Skawina of Collegium Medicum JagiellonianUniversity (Krakow, Poland) and Antoni Marsinek of the Czerwiakowski Gynecological and Obstetrics Hospital (Krakow, Poland); Photographers: Andrzej Zachwieja and Jan Walczewski. Copyright: Life Issues.

NOTE: A number of different photographers have published intrauterine photos. Just Facts asked several of these individuals for permission to reproduce their pictures, and Life Issues was the only one who consented. The pictures from Life Issues look similar to those taken by the other photographers.

[49] Book: Gray’s Anatomy: The Anatomical Basis of Medicine and Surgery. Churchill Livingstone, 1995.

Page 95: “When mammalian embryos reach a certain size, growth rather than morphogenesis occurs. The embryo is referred to as a fetus; this occurs at 56-57 postovulatory days in humans when the onset of bone marrow formation in the humerus can be seen (Streeter 1949); at this stage more than 90% of the named structures of the adult body have appeared.”

[50] Book: The First Nine Months of Life (2nd edition). By Geraldine Lux Flanagan. Simon & Shuster, 1962.

Page 48: “The appearance of the first bone cells marks the end of the embryonic period. This criterion was chosen by embryologists because the beginning bone formation coincides with the essential completion of the body.”

[51] Book: The First Nine Months of Life (2nd edition). By Geraldine Lux Flanagan. Simon & Shuster, 1962.

Pages 52-53: “By the beginning of this third month the baby moves spontaneously, without being touched, for the first time.”

[52] Article: “Fetus.” By Frank D. Allan. Encyclopedia of Human Biology. Academic Press, 1997. Volume 3.

Page 955 states that in the tenth week, “Division of the heart into chambers is complete, and a definitive vascular system carries blood to and from all parts of the body. … All components of the brain and spinal cord are formed, and nerves link the stem of the brain and the spinal cord to all tissues and organs of the body.”

[53] Book: The First Nine Months of Life (2nd edition). By Geraldine Lux Flanagan. Simon & Shuster, 1962.

Pages 53-54: “In the ninth and tenth weeks, if the baby’s forehead is touched, he may turn his head away and pucker up his brow and frown. … [T]he entire body becomes sensitive to touch with a notable exception: the sides, back and top of the head.”

[54] Eleven weeks after fertilization. Intrauterine picture taken under the direction of Professor Andrzej Skawina of Collegium Medicum Jagiellonian University (Krakow, Poland) and Antoni Marsinek of the Czerwiakowski Gynecological and Obstetrics Hospital (Krakow, Poland); Photographers: Andrzej Zachwieja and Jan Walczewski. Copyright: Life Issues.

[55] Article: “Fetus.” By Frank D. Allan. Encyclopedia of Human Biology. Academic Press, 1997. Volume 3.

Page 962 states that in the third month, “Electrical activity of the nervous system is discernible…. Attempts to suckle have been seen in utero and in aborted fetuses of 3 months.”

[56] Textbook: Human Genetics: Concepts and Applications (3rd edition). By Ricki Lewis. McGraw Hill, 1998.

Page 56: “By week 12, the fetus sucks its thumb, kicks, makes fists and faces, and has the beginnings of baby teeth.”

[57] Ultrasound taken on November 25, 1997. Gestational age (GA) is 14 weeks and 4 days counted from the LMP. This falls under the category of 15 weeks after LMP and 13 weeks after fertilization.

[58] Textbook: Before We Are Born: Essentials of Embryology and Birth Defects (5th edition). By Keith L. Moore & T.V.N. Persaud. W.B. Saunders Company, 1998.

Page 106: “Limb movements, which occur at the end of the embryonic period (8 weeks), become coordinated by the 14^thweek, but are too slight to be felt by the mother.”

[59] Book: Embryology: Board Review Series (2nd edition). By Ronald W. Dudek & James D. Fix. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 1998.

Page 246 states that in weeks 13-16, “Eye movements begin.”

[60] Sixteen weeks after fertilization. Intrauterine picture taken under the direction of Professor Andrzej Skawina of Collegium Medicum JagiellonianUniversity (Krakow, Poland) and Antoni Marsinek of the Czerwiakowski Gynecological and Obstetrics Hospital (Krakow, Poland); Photographers: Andrzej Zachwieja and Jan Walczewski. Copyright: Life Issues.

[61] Paper: “Pain and its Effects in the Human Neonate and Fetus.” By K.J.S. Anand & P.R. Hickey. New England Journal of Medicine, November 19, 1987.

Page 1322:

Cutaneous sensory receptors appear in the perioral [mouth] area of the human fetus in the 7th week of gestation; they spread to the rest of the face, the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet by the 11th week, to the trunk and proximal parts of the arms and legs by the 15th week, and to all cutaneous and mucous surfaces by the 20th week. …

Development of the fetal neocortex begins at 8 weeks of gestation, and by 20 weeks each cortex has a full complement of 10⁹neurons.

NOTE: This article uses the obstetric method of counting from the last menstrual period as evidenced by the chart on page 1322, which uses a gestation of 40 weeks for pregnancy. Two weeks must be subtracted to provide the actual time since fertilization.

[62] Article: “Brain.” New Millennium Encyclopedia. Simon and Shuster, 1999.

“The cerebrum is the largest part of the human brain, making up approximately 85 percent of the brain’s weight; its large surface area (cortex) and intricate development account for the superior intelligence of humans, compared with other animals. … A large part of the human cortex, the frontal area, is used for awareness, intelligence, and memory.”

[63] Ultrasound taken on December 24, 1997. Gestational age (GA) is 19 weeks and 4 days counted from the last menstrual period. This falls under the category of 20 weeks after LMP and 18 weeks after fertilization.

[64] Article: “Fetus.” American Medical Association Complete Medical Encyclopedia. Random House, 2003.

Page 558: “At 20 weeks, the fetus … now sleeps and wakes and hears sounds.”

[65] Twenty weeks after fertilization. Intrauterine picture taken under the direction of Professor Andrzej Skawina of Collegium Medicum Jagiellonian University (Krakow, Poland) and Antoni Marsinek of the Czerwiakowski Gynecological and Obstetrics Hospital (Krakow, Poland); Photographers: Andrzej Zachwieja and Jan Walczewski. Copyright: Life Issues.

[66] Ultrasound taken on May 31, 1999. Gestational age (GA) is 21 weeks and 5 days counted from the last menstrual period. This falls under the category of 22 weeks after LMP and 20 weeks after fertilization.

[67] Book: Embryology: Board Review Series (2nd Edition). By Ronald W. Dudek & James D. Fix. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 1998.

Page 247 states that in weeks 21-24: “Blink-startle reflexis demonstrable on vibroacoustic stimulation of mother’s abdomen.”

[68] Entry: “fetus.” Encyclopedia of Human Biology. Volume 3. By Frank D. Allan. Academic Press, 1997.

Page 962: “Taste buds are functional at 6 months, and the modality for sweetness is well differentiated. Increased ‘drinking’ of the amniotic fluid is effected when sweet substances are introduced.”

[69] Book: The First Nine Months of Life(2nd Edition). By Geraldine Lux Flanagan. Simon & Shuster, 1962.

Page 71: “In the fifth and sixth months the grip becomes strong. This baby is holding a rod and moves his arm up and down as the rod is moved.”

NOTE: The statement above is documented with a photo.

Page 52: “All of the photographs in this book that show the movement of the baby are taken from” films made by Davenport Hooker at the University of Pittsburgh.

[70] Paper: “Very Low Birth Weight Outcomes of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Neonatal Research Network, January 1995 Through December 1996.” By James A. Lemons et al., including Avroy A. Fanaroff. Pediatrics, January 2001. <pediatrics.aappublications.org>

NOTE: Figure 3 is a bar graph of “Mortality before discharge by gestational age as estimated by best obstetrical estimate….” The term “obstetrical estimate” implies that the weeks are counted from LMP. To confirm, I wrote Dr. Fanaroff, and he replied: “We do not try to get to the issue of day of conception hence when we refer to gestational age we are always going back to the Last Menstrual Period.” The graph indicates that the mortality rate at a gestational age (LMP) of 26 weeks is less than 20%. Hence, the survival rate at 24 weeks after fertilization is more than 80%.

[71] Paper: “Fetal Homologue of Infant Crying.” By J L Gingras and others. Archives of Disease in Childhood: Fetal and Neonatal Edition, April 27, 2005. Pages F415-F418. <www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov>

Page F415: “[I]n a stable state (quiet or active sleep), the fetus was challenged with … [vibroacoustic stimulation]. [This] … was provided by an artificial larynx (model 5c; Western Electric) that emits fundamental tones of about 100 Hz and 95 dB and was mechanically altered to provide exactly 0.5 second of stimulation. … The physiological intrauterine noise intensity has been reported to be about 85 dB.⁵”

Page F418: “The behaviors were seen in all gestational ages studied, indicating that the behavior occurs as early as 28 weeks gestation, and possibly earlier.”

[72] Advisory: “Hearing Conservation Program.” University Health Services, University of Cincinnati, Revised June 11, 1999. <ehs.uc.edu>

Noise Source	Decibels
Lawn mower, food blender	90

[73] Paper: “Pain and its Effects in the Human Neonate and Fetus.” By K.J.S. Anand & P.R. Hickey. New England Journal of Medicine, November 19, 1987.

Page 1325:

Most recently the motor responses of 124 healthy full-term neonates to a pinprick in the leg were reported to be flexion and adduction of the upper and lower limbs associated with grimacing, crying, or both, and these responses were subsequently quantified. Similar responses have also been documented in very premature neonates, and in a recent study, Fitzgerald et al. found that premature neonates (<30 weeks) not only had lower thresholds for a flexor response but also had increased sensitization after repeated stimulation. …

In other studies of the cry response to painful procedures, neonates were found to be more sensitive to pain than older infants (those 3 to 12 months old)….

NOTE: This article uses the obstetric method of counting from the last menstrual period, as evidenced by the chart on page 1322, which uses a gestation of 40 weeks for pregnancy. Two weeks must be subtracted to provide the actual time since fertilization.

[74] Paper: “Symptom Management: Acute Pain, Chapter 3—Pain in Preverbal Children.” United States National Institutes of Health, Publication Number 94-2421. June 1994. <www.nih.gov>

Page 2 cites one possible reason why younger humans are more sensitive to pain: “Serotonin (5HT) is a biogenic amine transmitter that serves an important role in pain modulation. … Serotonin levels in the young infants are low and may limit the effectiveness of the endogenous pain control mechanisms (Fitzgerald 1991b).”

[75] Paper: “Very Low Birth Weight Outcomes of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Neonatal Research Network, January 1995 Through December 1996.” By James A. Lemons et al., including Avroy A. Fanaroff. Pediatrics, January 2001. <pediatrics.aappublications.org>

NOTE: Figure 3 is a bar graph of “Mortality before discharge by gestational age as estimated by best obstetrical estimate….” The term “obstetrical estimate” implies that the weeks are counted from LMP. To confirm, I wrote Dr. Fanaroff, and he replied: “We do not try to get to the issue of day of conception hence when we refer to gestational age we are always going back to the Last Menstrual Period.” The graph indicates that the mortality rate at a gestational age (LMP) of 30 weeks is a little less than 5%. Hence, the survival rate at 28 weeks after fertilization is more than 95%.

[76] Textbook: Before We Are Born: Essentials of Embryology and Birth Defects(5th edition). By Keith L. Moore & T.V.N. Persaud. W.B. Saunders Company, 1998.

Page 109: “The expected date of delivery (EDD) of a fetus is 266 days, or 38 weeks, after fertilization; that is, 280 days, or 40 weeks, after LNMP (Table 7-1).”

[77] Entry: “neonate.” Dorland’s Illustrated Medical Dictionary (29th edition). W. B. Saunders Company, 2000.

Page 1184: “a newborn infant.”

[78] 2016 Democratic Party Platform. Democratic National Committee, July 2016. <www.democrats.org>

The section entitled “Securing Reproductive Health, Rights, and Justice” states:

Democrats are committed to protecting and advancing reproductive health, rights, and justice. We believe unequivocally, like the majority of Americans, that every woman should have access to quality reproductive health care services, including safe and legal abortion—regardless of where she lives, how much money she makes, or how she is insured. We believe that reproductive health is core to women’s, men’s, and young people’s health and wellbeing. We will continue to stand up to Republican efforts to defund Planned Parenthood health centers, which provide critical health services to millions of people. We will continue to oppose—and seek to overturn—federal and state laws and policies that impede a woman’s access to abortion, including by repealing the Hyde Amendment. We condemn and will combat any acts of violence, harassment, and intimidation of reproductive health providers, patients, and staff. We will defend the ACA, which extends affordable preventive health care to women, including no-cost contraception, and prohibits discrimination in health care based on gender.

We will address the discrimination and barriers that inhibit meaningful access to reproductive health care services, including those based on gender, sexuality, race, income, disability, and other factors. We recognize that quality, affordable comprehensive health care, evidence-based sex education and a full range of family planning services help reduce the number of unintended pregnancies and thereby also reduce the need for abortions.

And we strongly and unequivocally support a woman’s decision to have a child, including by ensuring a safe and healthy pregnancy and childbirth, and by providing services during pregnancy and after the birth of a child, including adoption and social support services, as well as protections for women against pregnancy discrimination. We are committed to creating a society where children are safe and can thrive physically, emotionally, educationally, and spiritually. We recognize and support the importance of civil structures that are essential to creating this for every child.

[79] 2016 Republican Platform. Republican National Convention, July 2016. <prod-cdn-static.gop.com>

Pages 13-14:

The Constitution’s guarantee that no one can “be deprived of life, liberty or property” deliberately echoes the Declaration of Independence’s proclamation that “all” are “endowed by their Creator” with the inalienable right to life. Accordingly, we assert the sanctity of human life and affirm that the unborn child has a fundamental right to life which cannot be infringed. We support a human life amendment to the Constitution and legislation to make clear that the Fourteenth Amendment’s protections apply to children before birth.

We oppose the use of public funds to perform or promote abortion or to fund organizations, like Planned Parenthood, so long as they provide or refer for elective abortions or sell fetal body parts rather than provide healthcare. We urge all states and Congress to make it a crime to acquire, transfer, or sell fetal tissues from elective abortions for research, and we call on Congress to enact a ban on any sale of fetal body parts. In the meantime, we call on Congress to ban the practice of misleading women on so-called fetal harvesting consent forms, a fact revealed by a 2015 investigation. We will not fund or subsidize healthcare that includes abortion coverage.

We support the appointment of judges who respect traditional family values and the sanctity of innocent human life. We oppose the non-consensual withholding or withdrawal of care or treatment, including food and water, from individuals with disabilities, newborns, the elderly, or the infirm, just as we oppose euthanasia and assisted suicide.

We affirm our moral obligation to assist, rather than penalize, women who face an unplanned pregnancy. In order to encourage women who face an unplanned pregnancy to choose life, we support legislation that requires financial responsibility for the child be equally borne by both the mother and father upon conception until the child reaches adulthood. Failure to require a father to be equally responsible for a child places an inequitable burden on the mother, creating a financial and social hardship on both mother and child. We celebrate the millions of Americans who open their hearts, homes, and churches to mothers in need and women fleeing abuse. We thank and encourage providers of counseling, medical services, and adoption assistance for empowering women experiencing an unintended pregnancy to choose life. We support funding for ultrasounds and adoption assistance. We salute the many states that now protect women and girls through laws requiring informed consent, parental consent, waiting periods, and clinic regulation. We condemn the Supreme Court’s activist decision in Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedtstriking down commonsense Texas laws providing for basic health and safety standards in abortion clinics.

We applaud the U.S. House of Representatives for leading the effort to add enforcement to the Born-Alive Infant Protection Act by passing the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, which imposes appropriate civil and criminal penalties on healthcare providers who fail to provide treatment and care to an infant who survives an abortion, including early induction delivery whether the death of the infant is intended. We strongly oppose infanticide. Over a dozen states have passed Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Acts prohibiting abortion after twenty weeks, the point at which current medical research shows that unborn babies can feel excruciating pain during abortions, and we call on Congress to enact the federal version. Not only is it good legislation, but it enjoys the support of a majority of the American people. We support state and federal efforts against the cruelest forms of abortion, especially dismemberment abortion procedures, in which unborn babies are literally torn apart limb from limb.

We call on Congress to ban sex-selection abortions and abortions based on disabilities—discrimination in its most lethal form. We oppose embryonic stem cell research. We oppose federal funding of embryonic stem cell research. We support adult stem cell research and urge the restoration of the national placental stem cell bank created by President George H.W. Bush but abolished by his Democrat successor, President Bill Clinton. We oppose federal funding for harvesting embryos and call for a ban on human cloning.

The Democratic Party is extreme on abortion. Democrats’ almost limitless support for abortion, and their strident opposition to even the most basic restrictions on abortion, put them dramatically out of step with the American people. Because of their opposition to simple abortion clinic safety procedures, support for taxpayer-funded abortion, and rejection of pregnancy resource centers that provide abortion alternatives, the old Clinton mantra of “safe, legal, and rare” has been reduced to just “legal.” We are proud to be the party that protects human life and offers real solutions for women.

[80] 2016 Libertarian Party Platform. Libertarian National Convention, May 2016. <www.lp.org>
“Recognizing that abortion is a sensitive issue and that people can hold good-faith views on all sides, we believe that government should be kept out of the matter, leaving the question to each person for their conscientious consideration.”

[81] 2016 Green Party Platform. Green Party National Convention, August 2016. <www.gp.org>

Section II. Social Justice (<www.gp.org>):

Civil Rights and Equal Rights…

The Green Party supports single-payer universal health care and preventive care for all. …The Green Party unequivocally supports a woman’s right to reproductive choice, no matter her marital status or age, and that contraception and safe, legal abortion procedures be available on demand and be included in all health insurance coverage in the U.S., as well as free of charge in any state where a woman’s income falls below the poverty level. …

Health Care…

The Green Party unequivocally supports a woman’s right to reproductive choice, no matter her marital status or age, and that contraception and safe, legal abortion procedures be available on demand and be included in all health insurance coverage in the U.S., as well as free of charge in any state where a woman’s income falls below the poverty level.

[82] Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. Ratified July 9, 1868. <justfacts.com>

Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

NOTE: For information about the Fourteenth Amendment and its purposes, listen to “Constricting the Bill of Rights“ on Just Facts Radio.

[83] Search performed on February 8, 2017 at <www.congress.gov>. Just Facts searched bill texts from the 101^stto 115^thCongresses for “amendment to the Constitution of the United States with respect to the right to life.” Sample result:

J. RES. 23

Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States with respect to the right to life.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

January 4, 1995

Mr. VOLKMER [Harold L. Volkmer (Democrat – Missouri)] introduced the following joint resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

JOINT RESOLUTION

Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States with respect to the right to life.

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled (two-thirds of each House concurring therein), That the following article is proposed as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States:

Article—

SECTION 1. With respect to the right to life, the word ‘person’ as used in this article and in the fifth and fourteenth articles of amendment to the Constitution of the United States applies to all human beings irrespective of age, health, function, or condition of dependency, including their unborn offspring at every state of their biological development.

SECTION 2. No unborn person shall be deprived of life by any person: Provided, however, That nothing in this article shall prohibit a law permitting only those medical procedures required to prevent the death of the mother.

SECTION 3. The Congress and the several States shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

SECTION 4. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States, within ten years of the date of its submission to the States by the Congress.

[84] Search performed on February 8, 2017 at <www.congress.gov>. Just Facts searched bill texts from the 101^stto 115^thCongresses searched for “amendment to the Constitution of the United States with respect to the right to life.” Sample result:

J. RES. 9

Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States with respect to the right to life.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

January 7, 2003

Mrs. EMERSON [Jo Ann Emerson (Republican -Missouri)] introduced the following joint resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

JOINT RESOLUTION

Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States with respect to the right to life.

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled (two-thirds of each House concurring therein),That the following article is proposed as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which shall be valid only when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years after the date of final passage of this joint resolution:

Article—

SECTION 1. With respect to the right to life, the word ‘person’ as used in this article and in the fifth and fourteenth articles of amendment applies to all human beings irrespective of age, health, function, or condition of dependency, including their unborn offspring at every state of their biological development.

SECTION 2. No unborn person shall be deprived of life by any person: Provided, however,That nothing in this article shall prohibit a law permitting only those medical procedures required to prevent the death of the mother of an unborn person: Provided further,That nothing in this article shall limit the liberty of a mother with respect to the unborn offspring of the mother conceived as a result of rape or incest.

SECTION 3. The Congress and the several States shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

[85] Webpage: “Pro-Life Election Headquarters.” National Right to Life Committee. Accessed February 8, 2017 at <www.nrlc.org>

“Race… President… NRLC-Supported Candidate… Donald Trump – Winner”

[86] Press release: “National Right to Life Congratulates Donald Trump.” National Right to Life Committee, November 9, 2016. <www.nrlc.org>

Clinton and the Democratic Party have taken the most extreme abortion position possible, including support for late abortions when the baby can feel pain and seeking to change the law so that taxpayer dollars would be used to fund abortion on demand,” said Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life. “Donald Trump took a strong, principled pro-life position, heard by millions of Americans in the third debate. He never backed down on his opposition to abortion and he won.

[87] Press release: “NARAL Pro-Choice America PAC Endorses Hillary Clinton for President.” NARAL Pro-Choice America, January 5, 2016. <www.prochoiceamerica.org>

Today, I am thrilled to announce that the NARAL Pro-Choice America PAC has voted to endorse Hillary Clinton for President. Hillary has what it takes to fight Republican attacks on women’s reproductive rights, and has the vision and experience to ensure women and families thrive. The stakes this election could not be higher: combating virulent anti-choice rhetoric from the GOP, the opportunity to appoint a Supreme Court justice in the next term who could preserve our rights and freedoms, and the ability to influence a myriad of state and federal laws that impose extreme ideology on Americans’ personal decisions about when and how to grow our families.

Decisions made in the next several years will determine how women and families fare in the United States for decades to come. We need not just a worthy ally, but a champion with a demonstrated record of fighting for reproductive freedom and economic justice. Hillary Clinton is that champion. She has spent her entire life leading on equal opportunity for women and families—as a private citizen, First Lady, United States Senator, and Secretary of State. Together with our members in all fifty states, we stand committed and eager to work hard and elect Hillary Clinton the next President of the United States. Hillary will be a champion for us all.

[88] Press Release: “NARAL Response to GOP Embrace of Trump, Trump Victory Tonight.” NARAL Pro-Choice America, May 3, 2016. <www.prochoiceamerica.org>

Donald Trump effectively becoming the GOP nominee tonight is a disaster for civility in America, especially for women and for the future of abortion access in this country. Despite back-pedaling, The Donald spoke the truth about what would happen if he institutes the policies he’s promised—women will be punished, just as they are already being punished every day in states where reproductive rights are under relentless attacks. From his comments about Megyn Kelly to his defense of Corey Lewandowski’s assault of a female journalist, Donald Trump has a perfect track record of misogyny and has proven time and again he’s no friend to women.

[89] “Interview with Donald Trump.” By Tim Russert. Meet the Press, NBC, October 24, 1999. <www.nbcnews.com>

Tim Russert: Partial birth abortion, the eliminating of abortion in the third trimester: big issue in Washington. Would President Trump ban partial birth abortion?

Donald Trump: Well, look, I’m very pro-choice. I hate the concept of abortion. I hate it. I hate everything it stands for. I cringe when I listen to people debating the subject. But you still I just believe in choice. And, again, it may be a little bit of a New York background, because there is some different attitude in different parts of the country. And, you know, I was raised in New York, and grew up and work and everything else in New York City. But I am strongly for choice and, yet, I hate the concept of abortion.

Tim Russert: But you would not ban it?

Donald Trump: No.

Tim Russert: Or ban partial birth abortion?

Donald Trump: No. I am pro-choice in every respect and as far as it goes, but I just hate it.

[90] Book: The America We Deserve. By Donald Trump and Dave Shiftlett. Renaissance Books, 2000.

Page 31: “I support a woman’s right to choose, but I am uncomfortable with the procedures. When Tim Russert asked me on Meet the Pressif I would ban partial-birth abortion, my pro-choice instincts led me to say no. After the show, I consulted two doctors I respect and, upon learning more about this procedure, I have concluded that I would support a ban.”

[91] Speech: “Donald Trump before Conservative Political Action Conference.” C-SPAN, February 10, 2011. <www.c-span.org>

[92] Transcript: “Fox News Republican Party Primary Debate” Moderated by Bret Baier, Megyn Kelly, and Chris Wallace. Fox News, August 6, 2015. <www.washingtonpost.com>

KELLY: Mr. Trump, in 1999, you said you were, quote, “very pro- choice.” Even supporting partial-birth abortion. You favored an assault weapons ban as well. In 2004, you said in most cases you identified as a Democrat. Even in this campaign, your critics say you often sound more like a Democrat than a Republican, calling several of your opponents on the stage things like clowns and puppets. When did you actually become a Republican?

TRUMP: I don’t think they like me very much. I’ll tell you what. I’ve evolved on many issues over the years. And you know who else has? Is Ronald Reagan evolved on many issues.

And I am pro-life. And if you look at the question, I was in business. They asked me a question as to pro-life or choice. And I said if you let it run, that I hate the concept of abortion. I hate the concept of abortion. And then since then, I’ve very much evolved.

And what happened is friends of mine years ago were going to have a child, and it was going to be aborted. And it wasn’t aborted. And that child today is a total superstar, a great, great child. And I saw that. And I saw other instances.

And I am very, very proud to say that I am pro-life.

As far as being a Republican is concerned, I come from a place, New York City, which is virtually, I mean, it is almost exclusively Democrat. And I have really started to see some of the negatives—as an example, and I have a lot of liking for this man, but the last number of months of his brother’s administration were a catastrophe. And unfortunately, those few months gave us President Obama. And you can’t be happy about that.

[93] Transcript: Meet the Press. NBC News, August 16, 2015.

Chuck Todd: Should some form of abortion always be legal?

Donald Trump: Well, to me, I have exceptions. Rape, incest, if the mother is going to die. And Ronald Reagan had those same exceptions. And many Republicans have those same exceptions. But I say rape, incest—

Chuck Todd: You said life of the mother. What about health of the mother?

Donald Trump: Well, I said actually if the mother‘s close to death. And I’m talking about death. You know, because then you sort of say, like, “Well, maybe she’s not feeling so well—”

Chuck Todd: Well, that’s the line here. What is the constitutional right—

Donald Trump: Well—

Chuck Todd: —between the mother and the unborn child? Whose—

Donald Trump: My—

Chuck Todd: —constitutional rights matter more?

Donald Trump: Right. My statement on that happens to be, you know, if the mother will die. And you‘re going to know that. And the problem with the life: If you say life, what does life mean? You have a cold and you’re going to end up having an abortion. So I have the three exceptions and pretty much the standard three exceptions that many Republicans have.

[94] Transcript: “Town Hall with Donald Trump” Moderated by Chris Matthews. MSNBC, March 30, 2016. <info.msnbc.com>

[95] “Donald J. Trump Statement Regarding Abortion.” March 30, 2016. <www.donaldjtrump.com>

If Congress were to pass legislation making abortion illegal and the federal courts upheld this legislation, or any state were permitted to ban abortion under state and federal law, the doctor or any other person performing this illegal act upon a woman would be held legally responsible, not the woman. The woman is a victim in this case as is the life in her womb. My position has not changed—like Ronald Reagan, I am pro-life with exceptions.

[96] Transcript: “The Final 2016 U.S. Presidential Debate.” Moderated by Chris Wallace. Commission on Presidential Debates, October 19, 2016. <www.washingtonpost.com>

Wallace: Mr. Trump, you’re pro-life. But I want to ask you specifically: Do you want the court, including the justices that you will name, to overturn Roe v. Wade, which includes—in fact, states—a woman’s right to abortion?

Trump: Well, if that would happen, because I am pro-life, and I will be appointing pro-life judges, I would think that that will go back to the individual states.

Wallace: But I’m asking you specifically. Would you like to…

Trump: If they overturned it, it will go back to the states.

Wallace: But what I’m asking you, sir, is, do you want to see the court overturn—you just said you want to see the court protect the Second Amendment. Do you want to see the court overturn Roe v. Wade?

Trump: Well, if we put another two or perhaps three justice on, that’s really what’s going to be—that will happen. And that’ll happen automatically, in my opinion, because I am putting pro-life justices on the court. I will say this: It will go back to the states, and the states will then make a determination.

[97] Transcript: “President-Elect Trump Speaks to a Divided Country on 60 Minutes.” CBS News, November 13, 2016. <www.cbsnews.com>

Lesley Stahl: During the campaign, you said that you would appoint justices who were against abortion rights. Will you appoint— are you looking to appoint a justice who wants to overturn Roe v. Wade?

Donald Trump: So look, here’s what’s going to happen— I’m going to— I’m pro-life. The judges will be pro-life. They’ll be very—

Lesley Stahl: But what about overturning this law—

Donald Trump: Well, there are a couple of things. They’ll be pro-life, they’ll be— in terms of the whole gun situation, we know the Second Amendment and everybody’s talking about the Second Amendment and they’re trying to dice it up and change it, they’re going to be very pro-Second Amendment. But having to do with abortion if it ever were overturned, it would go back to the states. So it would go back to the states and—

[98] “Memorandum for the Administration of the United States Agency for International Development.” By George W. Bush. White House, January 22, 2001. <georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov>

“The Mexico City Policy announced by President Reagan in 1984 required nongovernmental organizations to agree as a condition of their receipt of Federal funds that such organizations would neither perform nor actively promote abortion as a method of family planning in other nations.”

[99] “Memorandum for the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development.” By Donald Trump. White House, January 23, 2017. <www.whitehouse.gov>

I hereby revoke the Presidential Memorandum of January 23, 2009, for the Secretary of State and the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (Mexico City Policy and Assistance for Voluntary Population Planning), and reinstate the Presidential Memorandum of January 22, 2001, for the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (Restoration of the Mexico City Policy).

I direct the Secretary of State, in coordination with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, to the extent allowable by law, to implement a plan to extend the requirements of the reinstated Memorandum to global health assistance furnished by all departments or agencies.

I further direct the Secretary of State to take all necessary actions, to the extent permitted by law, to ensure that U.S. taxpayer dollars do not fund organizations or programs that support or participate in the management of a program of coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization.

[100] Transcript: “Democratic Candidates Compassion Forum at Messiah College.” CNN, April 13, 2008. <www.youtube.com>

Moderator: “Senator, do you personally believe that life begins at conception, and if not, when does it begin?”

Obama: “You know, I, I, um – this is something that I have not, ah, I think come to a firm resolution on. Ah, I think it’s very hard to know what that means, when life begins. Is it when a cell separates? Is it when, ah, the soul stirs? Ah, so I don’t presume to, to know the answer to that question. Ah, what I know, ah, as I’ve said before, is, is that, ah, there is something extraordinarily powerful about potential life and that, ah, that has a moral weight to it that, ah, we take into consideration when we’re having these debates. …”

[101] Article: “Barack Obama, John McCain discuss faith, issues at Saddleback Church forum.” By Maeve Reston and Seema Mehta. Los Angeles Times, August 17, 2008. <www.latimes.com>

[102] “Obama Statement on 35th Anniversary of Roe v. WadeDecision.” January 22, 2008. <www.presidency.ucsb.edu>

Thirty-five years after the Supreme Court decided Roe v. Wade, it’s never been more important to protect a woman’s right to choose. Last year, the Supreme Court decided by a vote of 5-4 to uphold the Federal Abortion Ban, and in doing so undermined an important principle of Roe v. Wade: that we must always protect women’s health. With one more vacancy on the Supreme Court, we could be looking at a majority hostile to a women’s fundamental right to choose for the first time since Roe v. Wade. The next president may be asked to nominate that Supreme Court justice. That is what is at stake in this election. …

This anniversary reminds us that it’s not enough to protect the gains of the past – we have to build a future that’s filled with hope and possibility for all Americans.

[103] Speech: “Barack Obama before Planned Parenthood Action Fund.” July 17, 2007. Transcribed by Laura Echevarria. <lauraetch.googlepages.com>

“I have worked on these issues for decades now. I put Roeat the center of my lesson plan on reproductive freedom when I taught Constitutional Law. … On this fundamental issue, I will not yield and Planned Parenthood will not yield.”

[104] Press Release: “On Anniversary Of Roe, Clinton Announces Agenda For Reproductive Health Care.” Hillary for President, January 22, 2008. <www.hillaryclinton.com>

“When I’m President, I will appoint judges to our courts who understand that Roe v. Wadeisn’t just binding legal precedent, it is the touchstone of our reproductive freedom, the embodiment of our most fundamental rights, and no one—no judge, no governor, no Senator, no President—has the right to take it away.”

[105] Article: “Q&A: Barack Obama.” Interview by Sarah Pulliam and Ted Olsen. Christianity Today, January 23, 2008. <www.christianitytoday.com>

Ultimately, women are in the best position to make a decision at the end of the day about these issues. With significant constraints. For example, I think we can legitimately say—the state can legitimately say—that we are prohibiting late-term abortions as long as there’s an exception for the mother’s health. Those provisions that I voted against typically didn’t have those exceptions, which raises profound questions where you might have a mother at great risk.

[106] Article: “Interview with Barack Obama.” By Cameron Strang. Conducted on July 1, 2008. Relevant Magazine. <www.relevantmagazine.com>

[107] Article: “Obama revisits abortion.” By Jan Crawford Greenburg. ABC News, July 5, 2008. <blogs.abcnews.com>

[108] Ruling: Roe v. Wade. U.S. Supreme Court, January 22, 1973. Decided 7–2. Majority: Blackmun, Burger, Brennan, Douglas, Stewart, Marshall, Powell. Concurring: Burger, Douglas, Stewart. Dissenting: White, Rehnquist. <caselaw.findlaw.com>

Section XI:

For the stage subsequent to viability the State, in promoting its interest in the potentiality of human life, may, if it chooses, regulate, and even proscribe, abortion except where necessary, in appropriate medical judgment, for the preservation of the life or health of the mother.

Section VIII:

Specific and direct harm medically diagnosable even in early pregnancy may be involved. Maternity, or additional offspring, may force upon the woman a distressful life and future. Psychological harm may be imminent. Mental and physical health may be taxed by child care. There is also the distress, for all concerned, associated with the unwanted child, and there is the problem of bringing a child into a family already unable, psychologically and otherwise, to care for it. In other cases, as in this one, the additional difficulties and continuing stigma of unwed motherhood may be involved. All these are factors the woman and her responsible physician necessarily will consider in consultation.

Section XI:

InDoe v. Bolton, post, p. 179, procedural requirements contained in one of the modern abortion statutes are considered. That opinion and this one, of course, are to be read together.

[109] Ruling: Doe v. Bolton. U.S. Supreme Court, January 22, 1973. Decided 7–2. Majority: Blackmun, Brennan, Stewart, Marshall, Powell. Concurring: Burger, Douglas. Dissenting: White, Rehnquist. <caselaw.findlaw.com>

Section IV:

… the medical judgment may be exercised in the light of all factors—physical, emotional, psychological, familial, and the woman’s age—relevant to the well-being of the patient. All these factors may relate to health. …
The appellants next argue that the District Court should have declared unconstitutional three procedural demands of the Georgia statute: … (2) that the procedure be approved by the hospital staff abortion committee; and (3) that the performing physician’s judgment be confirmed by the independent examinations of the patient by two other licensed physicians. …

We conclude that the interposition of the hospital abortion committee is unduly restrictive of the patient’s rights and needs that, at this point, have already been medically delineated and substantiated by her personal physician. …

There remains, however, the required confirmation by two Georgia-licensed physicians in addition to the recommendation of the pregnant woman’s own consultant (making under the statute, a total of six physicians involved, including the three on the hospital’s abortion committee). We conclude that this provision, too, must fall.

The statute’s emphasis, as has been repetitively noted, is on the attending physician’s “best clinical judgment that an abortion is necessary.” That should be sufficient. The reasons for the presence of the confirmation step in the statute are perhaps apparent, but they are insufficient to withstand constitutional challenge. … If a physician is licensed by the State, he is recognized by the State as capable of exercising acceptable clinical judgment. … If a physician is licensed by the State, he is recognized by the State as capable of exercising acceptable clinical judgment.

[110] Article: “Obama Abortion Dodges Blessed by Planned Parenthood.” By Teddy Davis. ABC News, July 17, 2007. <blogs.abcnews.com>

“Speaking to ABC News as Obama was preparing to … [address] Planned Parenthood’s national conference in Washington, D.C….”

[111] Speech: “Barack Obama before Planned Parenthood Action Fund.” July 17, 2007. Transcribed by Laura Echevarria. <lauraetch.googlepages.com>

“I have worked on these issues for decades now. I put Roe at the center of my lesson plan on reproductive freedom when I taught Constitutional Law. … There will always be people, many of goodwill, who do not share my view on the issue of choice. On this fundamental issue, I will not yield and Planned Parenthood will not yield.”

[112] Speech: “Barack Obama before Planned Parenthood Action Fund.” July 17, 2007. Transcribed by Laura Echevarria. <lauraetch.googlepages.com>

Dessa Cosma: Um, as you were talking about earlier, the recent Bush Supreme Court’s decision really took away critically important decisions from women and put them in the hands of politicians. And as a result of this, we’re expecting, and have already seen, so much anti-choice legislation at the state level. Um, what would you do at the federal level not only to ensure access to abortion but to make sure that the judicial nominees that you will inevitably be able to pick are true to the core tenets of Roe v. Wade?

Barack Obama: Well, the first thing I’d do as president is, is sign the Freedom of Choice Act. [Applause.] That’s the first thing that I’d do. Um, but the, okay, but, but your question about the federal courts is absolutely on target. I taught Constitutional Law for ten years and I have to say after reading this latest decision and the series of decisions that the Supreme Court has been putting forward that I find it baffling.

[113] Senate Bill 1173: “Freedom of Choice Act.” United States Senate, April 19, 2007. <www.congress.gov>

“To protect, consistent with Roe v. Wade, a woman’s freedom to choose to bear a child or terminate a pregnancy, and for other purposes.”

NOTE: Introduced by Barbara Boxer (D-California) for herself, Patty Murray (D-Washington), Debbie Stabenow (D-Michigan), Jeff Bingaman (D-New Mexico), Robert Menendez (D-New Jersey), Frank Lautenberg (D-New Jersey), Benjamin Cardin (D-Maryland), Chuck Schumer (D-New York), Diane Feinstein (D-California), Hillary Clinton (D-New York), Barbara Mikulski (D-Maryland), Max Baucus (D-Montana), Maria Cantwell (D-Washington).

[114] Congressional Record S6017. United States Senate, May 11, 2007. <frwebgate.access.gpo.gov>

“At the request of Mrs. BOXER, the name of the Senator from Illinois (Mr. OBAMA) was added as a cosponsor of S. 1173, a bill to protect, consistent with Roe v. Wade, a woman’s freedom to choose to bear a child or terminate a pregnancy, and for other purposes.”

[115] Senate Bill 1173: “Freedom of Choice Act.” United States Senate, April 19, 2007. <www.congress.gov>

SEC. 4. INTERFERENCE WITH REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH PROHIBITED. …

(b) Prohibition of Interference- A government may not-

(1) deny or interfere with a woman’s right to choose—

(A) to bear a child;

(B) to terminate a pregnancy prior to viability; or

(C) to terminate a pregnancy after viability where termination is necessary to protect the life or health of the woman; or

(2) discriminate against the exercise of the rights set forth in paragraph (1) in the regulation or provision of benefits, facilities, services, or information. …

SEC. 6. RETROACTIVE EFFECT.

This Act applies to every Federal, State, and local statute, ordinance, regulation, administrative order, decision, policy, practice, or other action enacted, adopted, or implemented before, on, or after the date of enactment of this Act.

[116] House Resolution 1964 IH: “Freedom of Choice Act.” U.S. House of Representatives, April 19, 2007. <www.congress.gov>

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.…

(9) Further threatening Roe, the Supreme Court recently upheld the first-ever Federal ban on abortion, which has no exception to protect a woman’s health. The majority decision in Gonzales v. Carhartand Gonzales v. Planned Parenthood Federation of Americapermits the government to interfere with a woman’s right to choose to terminate a pregnancy and effectively overturns a core tenet of Roe v. Wadeby abandoning more than 30 years of protection for women’s health. …

SEC. 4. INTERFERENCE WITH REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH PROHIBITED.

(a) Statement of Policy- It is the policy of the United States that every woman has the fundamental right to choose to bear a child, to terminate a pregnancy prior to fetal viability, or to terminate a pregnancy after fetal viability when necessary to protect the life or health of the woman.

(b) Prohibition of Interference- A government may not—

(1) deny or interfere with a woman’s right to choose—

(A) to bear a child;

(B) to terminate a pregnancy prior to viability; or

(C) to terminate a pregnancy after viability where termination is necessary to protect the life or health of the woman; or

(2) discriminate against the exercise of the rights set forth in paragraph (1) in the regulation or provision of benefits, facilities, services, or information. …

SEC. 6. RETROACTIVE EFFECT.

NOTE: Introduced by Jerrold Nadler (New York), 56 other Democrats, and one Republican who has since withdrawn his sponsorship.

[117] Webpage: “Cosponsors: House Resolution 1964, Freedom of Choice Act.” House of Representatives. Accessed February 9, 2017 at <www.congress.gov>

NOTE: The bill was sponsored by Jerrold Nadler and originally gained 109 cosponsors, but one of these (Republican Jon C. Porter of Nevada) withdrew 4 days later. The party of each sponsor is identified in the next note. The only Republican among them is Christopher Shays of Connecticut.

[118] Webpage: “Cosponsors: House Resolution 1964, Freedom of Choice Act.” U.S. House of Representatives. Accessed February 9, 2017 at <www.congress.gov>

[119] Webpage: “Major Actions: Senate Bill 1173, Freedom of Choice Act.” U.S. Congress. Accessed February 9, 2017 at <www.congress.gov>

4/19/207: Introduced in House

4/19/2007: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary

5/4/2007: Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties.

[120] Webpage: “Cosponsors: Senate Bill 1173, Freedom of Choice Act (Senate).” U.S. Congress. Accessed February 9, 2017 at <www.congress.gov>

Sponsor:

Barbara [D-CA]

Cosponsors (19)
Max Baucus, Max [D-MT]
Jeff Bingaman [D-NM]
Sherrod Brown D-OH]
Maria Cantwell [D-WA]
Benjamin Cardin [D-MD]

Hillary Clinton [D-NY]

Diane Feinstein [D-CA]

John Kerry [D-MA],

Frank Lautenberg [D-NJ]

Joseph Lieberman [D-CT]

Robert Menendez [D-NJ],

Barbara Mikulski [D-MD}

Patty Murray [D-WA]

Barack Obama [D-IL]
Bernie Sanders [I-VT]

Charles Schumer [D-NY]

Debbie Stabenow [D-MI]

Jon Tester [D-MT]

Sheldon Whitehouse [D-RI]

[121] Webpage: “Major Actions: Senate Bill 1173, Freedom of Choice Act.” U.S. Congress. Accessed February 9, 2010 at <www.congress.gov>

“4/19/2007: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.”

[122] Constitution of the United States. Signed September 17, 1787. Enacted June 21, 1788. <justfacts.com>

Article 2, Clause 2, Section 2: “[The President] with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court….”

[123] Constitution of the United States. Signed September 17, 1787. Enacted June 21, 1788. <justfacts.com>

Article III, Section 1: “The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour….”

Article II, Section 4: “The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.”

Article I, Section 2, Clause 5: “The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker and other Officers; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment.”

Article I, Section 3, Clause 6: “The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. … And no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two thirds of the Members present.”

[124] Article: “Howard Dean’s Abortion Contortions.” By John McCormack. Weekly Standard, June 12, 2008. <www.weeklystandard.com>

NOTE: This article provided the roadmap to the related facts detailed in the footnote below.

[125] Article: “Rights Without Access: Revisiting Public Funding of Abortion for Poor Women.” By Heather Boonstra and Adam Sonfield. Guttmacher Report on Public Policy, April 2000. <www.guttmacher.org>

A 1994-1995 AGI [Alan Guttmacher Institute] survey of abortion patients found that in states where Medicaid pays for abortions, women covered by Medicaid have an abortion rate 3.9 times that of women who are not covered, while in states that do not permit Medicaid funding for abortions, Medicaid recipients are only 1.6 times as likely as nonrecipients to have abortions. In explaining this finding, the researchers state that while other factors also may be at play, “the magnitude of the difference indicates that Medicaid coverage of abortion has an important effect on the ability of poor women to end unwanted pregnancies.” Meanwhile, a study published by the Journal of Health Economics in 1999 considered the effects of interruptions in abortion funding in North Carolina (which paid for abortion until 1995). In five instances between 1978 and 1993, the state’s abortion fund was depleted before the end of the fiscal year. During those times when funding was not available, the researchers found, more than one in three women (37%) who would have obtained an abortion if the state had paid for it instead carried the pregnancy to term.

[126] Webpage: “Public Funding for Abortion.” Accessed January 25, 2017 at <www.aclu.org>

What about those who are morally or religiously opposed to abortion?

Our tax dollars fund many programs that individual people oppose. For example, those who oppose war on moral or religious grounds pay taxes that are applied to military programs. The congressional bans on abortion funding impose a particular religious or moral viewpoint on those women who rely on government-funded health care. Providing funding for abortion does not encourage or compel women to have abortions, but denying funding compels many women to carry their pregnancies to term. Nondiscriminatory funding would simply place the profoundly personal decision about how to treat a pregnancy back where it belongs—in the hands of the woman who must live with the consequences of that decision.

[127] Webpage: “Oppose Taxpayer Subsidies for Religious Schools.” American Civil Liberties Union. Accessed September 23, 2015 at <www.aclu.org>

School voucher schemes would force all taxpayers to support religious beliefs and practices with which they may strongly disagree.

At the heart of these proposals are the goals of commingling church and state in the classroom and diverting public funds to private and parochial schools. Religious schools represent 85 percent of the total private school enrollment in the United States. These schools by their nature combine proselytization with education and therefore should not be funded by taxpayer dollars.

[128] Webpage: “Five Ways to Prevent Abortion (And One Way That Won’t).” Planned Parenthood, January 1, 2004. Updated 9/22/06. <www.plannedparenthood.org>

The way to prevent abortion is not to make it illegal. That won’t work. It never has. Whenever governments have made abortions illegal, they have not stopped them. Throughout the centuries, when women have felt abortion to be their only option, they have had them. Whether they were legal or not. In the two decades before abortion was legal in the United States, nearly one million women went “underground” each year for illegal operations. Thousands died for lack of medical care. Tens of thousands were maimed. All were forced to behave as if they were criminals in order to do what they felt was right for themselves. We hope those days are gone forever, even though anti-choice extremists are determined to turn back the clock.

[129] Fact Sheet: “Abortion after the First Trimester.” Planned Parenthood. Accessed October 2002 at <www.plannedparenthood.org>

“Presently the death rate from abortion at all stages of gestation is 0.6 per 100,000 procedures (Paul et al., 1999).”

NOTE: “Paul et al., 1999” is a secondary source that cites the CDC. See next note.

[130] Book: A Clinician’s Guide to Medical and Surgical Abortion. By Maureen Paul & others. Churchill Livingstone, 1999.

Page 19: “In the United States mortality [from abortion] was (per 100,000) 2.6 during the period 1972-1976, 0.9 in 1977-1981, 0.7 in 1982-1986, and 0.6 in 1987-1991 (based on deaths reported by the CDC and number of abortions from AGI).”

NOTE: This corresponds to the figure for subsequent years quoted in the next footnote.

[131] Fact sheet: “Abortion Surveillance.” U.S. Centers for Disease Control, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention & Health Promotion, June 7, 2002. <www.cdc.gov>

“The case-fatality rate for known legal induced abortion for 1993 to 1997 was 0.6 deaths per 100,000 legal abortions.”

[132] Report: “Abortion Surveillance—United States, 1996.” By Lisa M. Koonin and others. U.S. Centers for Disease Control, Division of Reproductive Health, July 30, 1999. <www.cdc.gov>

Table 19.

NOTE: The data in this source and the sources cited in the next note come from different divisions of the CDC and are at variance with one another due to methodological dissimilarities. It was necessary to use data from both divisions because the data from this source only goes back to 1972, and the sources in the next note do not isolate legal vs. illegal abortion-related deaths.

[133] Constructed with data from the following sources:

a) Report: “Table 290F. Deaths For Approximately 64 Selected Causes, By 10-Year Age Groups, Race, And Sex: United States, 1950-59.” U.S. Centers for Disease Control, National Center for Health Statistics. Accessed August 2008 at <cdc.gov>

Page 169 (of PDF).

b) Report: “Table 290A. Deaths For 60 Selected Causes, By 10-Year Age Groups, Race, And Sex: United States, 1960-67.” U.S. Centers for Disease Control, National Center for Health Statistics. Accessed August 2008 at <cdc.gov>

Page 169 (of PDF).

c) Report: “Table 290A. Deaths For 69 Selected Causes, By 10-Year Age Groups, Race, And Sex: United States, 1968-78.” U.S. Centers for Disease Control, National Center for Health Statistics. Accessed August 2008 at <cdc.gov>

Page 358 (of PDF).

d) Report: “Resident Population by Age, Color, and Sex: United States, 1950-1959.” U.S. Centers for Disease Control, National Center for Health Statistics. Mailed to Just Facts from the aforementioned agency, August 7, 2008.
e) Report: “Population by Age Groups, Race, and Sex for 1960-97.” U.S. Centers for Disease Control, National Center for Health Statistics. Accessed August 2008 at <cdc.gov>

Pages 19, 21 (of PDF).

[134] Report: “Maternal Mortality Surveillance, United States, 1980-1985.” By Lisa M. Koonin & others. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, December 1, 1988. <www.cdc.gov>

Finally, the coding system used by national vital statistics and states to describe maternal deaths includes a combination of outcomes of pregnancy (e.g. ectopic pregnancy, abortion), immediate causes of death (e.g., hemorrhage), and underlying obstetrical conditions that contribute to death (e.g., obstructed labor). This system of classification precludes a determination of the real causes of maternal death. To develop strategies to prevent maternal deaths, public health personnel need to know the immediate cause of death as well as the underlying conditions that led to death.

[135] Constructed with data from the following sources:

a) Report: “Table 290F. Deaths For Approximately 64 Selected Causes, By 10-Year Age Groups, Race, And Sex: United States, 1950-59.” U.S. Centers for Disease Control, National Center for Health Statistics. Accessed August 2008 at <cdc.gov>

Page 167 (of PDF).

b) Report: “Table 290A. Deaths For 60 Selected Causes, By 10-Year Age Groups, Race, And Sex: United States, 1960-67.” U.S. Centers for Disease Control, National Center for Health Statistics. Accessed August 2008 at <cdc.gov>

Page 167 (of PDF).

c) Report: “Table 290A. Deaths For 69 Selected Causes, By 10-Year Age Groups, Race, And Sex: United States, 1968-78.” U.S. Centers for Disease Control, National Center for Health Statistics. Accessed August 2008 at <cdc.gov>

Page 363 (of PDF).

d) Report: “Resident Population by Age, Color, and Sex: United States, 1950-1959.” U.S. Centers for Disease Control, National Center for Health Statistics. Mailed to Just Facts from the aforementioned agency, August 7, 2008.
e) Report: “Population by Age Groups, Race, and Sex for 1960-97.” U.S. Centers for Disease Control, National Center for Health Statistics. Accessed August 2008 at <cdc.gov>

Pages 19, 21 (of PDF).

[136] Report: “Maternal Mortality Surveillance, United States, 1980-1985.” By Lisa M. Koonin & others. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, December 1, 1988. <www.cdc.gov>

“Death certificates alone may not provide adequate information on the sequence of events that led to death. Ultimately a single code is assigned to classify the underlying cause of death. Often, however, several factors may contribute to a death; therefore, the death cannot be adequately described with a unidimensional code.”

[137] Constructed with data from the following sources:

a) Report: “Table 290F. Deaths For Approximately 64 Selected Causes, By 10-Year Age Groups, Race, And Sex: United States, 1950-59.” U.S. Centers for Disease Control, National Center for Health Statistics. Accessed August 2008 at <cdc.gov>

Pages 1, 43, 199, 208 (of PDF).

b) Report: “Table 290A. Deaths For 60 Selected Causes, By 10-Year Age Groups, Race, And Sex: United States, 1960-67.” U.S. Centers for Disease Control, National Center for Health Statistics. Accessed August 2008 at <cdc.gov>

Pages 1, 40, 200, 210 (of PDF).

c) Report: “Table 290A. Deaths For 69 Selected Causes, By 10-Year Age Groups, Race, And Sex: United States, 1968-78.” U.S. Centers for Disease Control, National Center for Health Statistics. Accessed August 2008 at <cdc.gov>

Pages 2, 73, 406, 422 (of PDF).

d) Report: “Resident Population by Age, Color, and Sex: United States, 1950-1959.” U.S. Centers for Disease Control, National Center for Health Statistics. Mailed to Just Facts from the aforementioned agency, August 7, 2008.
e) Report: “Population by Age Groups, Race, and Sex for 1960-97.” U.S. Centers for Disease Control, National Center for Health Statistics. Accessed August 2008 at <cdc.gov>

Pages 19, 21 (of PDF).

[138] “Fact Sheet: Abortion After the First Trimester in the United States.” By John Mugge and others. Revised by Deborah Golub. Planned Parenthood, 2004. Accessed February 16, 2017 at <www.plannedparenthood.org>

Page 3:

The risk of death from medication abortion through 63 days’ gestation is about one per 100,000 procedures (Grimes, 2005). The risk of death with surgical abortion is about one per 1,000,000 through 63 days’ gestation (Bartlett et al., 2004). The risk of death from miscarriage is about one per 100,000 (Saraiya et al., 1999). But the risk of death associated with childbirth is about 10 times as high as that associated with all abortion (Christiansen & Collins, 2006).

[139] Paper: “Pregnancy-Associated Deaths: A 15-Year Retrospective Study and Overall Review of Maternal Pathophysiology.” By Lydia R. Christiansen & Kim A. Collins. American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology, March 2006. Pages 11-19. <www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov>

Page 11:

Pregnancy-related death is defined by the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) as the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the cause of death. In the year 2000, a collaborative effort involving World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, and UNFPA estimated 660 maternal deaths in the United States. This averages 11 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births reported.

Page 13: “The risk of death from complications of pregnancy decreased approximately 99% during the 20^thcentury, from approximately 850 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in 1900 to 7.5 in 1982.⁴”

Page 18: “It is evident that homicides, suicides, and accidents account for a large proportion of pregnancy-related deaths.”

NOTE: The figures from “Christiansen & Collins, 2006” cannot be used as a comparator for the others studies cited by Planned Parenthood in the note above (i.e., Grimes, Bartlett) because these studies are limited by gestational age and do not apply to “all abortion.”

[140] Fact sheet: “Abortion after the First Trimester.” Planned Parenthood. Accessed October 2002 at <www.plannedparenthood.org>

“Presently the death rate from abortion at all stages of gestation is 0.6 per 100,000 procedures (Paul et al., 1999). The risk of death associated with childbirth is about 10 times as high as that associated with abortion (AGI, 1998).”

NOTE: “Paul et al., 1999” and “AGI, 1998” are secondary sources that cite the CDC. See the next two footnotes.

[141] Book: A Clinician’s Guide to Medical and Surgical Abortion. By Maureen Paul & others. Churchill Livingstone, 1999.

[142] Webpage: “Facts in Brief\Induced Abortion.” Guttmacher Institute. Accessed October 2002 at <www.agi-usa.org>

The risk of death associated with childbirth is about 10 times as high as that associated with abortion. …

The data in this fact sheet are the most current available. Most are from research conducted by the Guttmacher Institute and/or published in its peer-reviewed journals. An additional source is the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

NOTE: The url at which this source was previously located contains a newer version of this webpage that does not make the claim that “risk of death associated with childbirth is about 10 times as high as that associated with abortion.” [Webpage: “Facts on Induced Abortion in the United States.” Guttmacher Institute, July 2008. <www.guttmacher.org>]

[143] Report: “Strategies to Reduce Pregnancy-Related Deaths: From Identification and Review to Action.” By Cynthia Berg and others. Division of Reproductive Health, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2001. <stacks.cdc.gov>

Page 14:

Sources of pregnancy-related deaths are listed below in order of simplicity and convenience:

Death certificate cause-of-death codes—the core source for finding cases.
Manual review of death certificates.
Pregnancy check boxes on death certificates.
Computerized linkages of vital records.
Other computerized data sources.
Obstetricians, other clinicians, and groups.
The news media.
Autopsy and medical records.

[144] Correspondence: “Chang and Berg Respond To Horon.” By Jeani Chang & Cynthia J. Berg. American Journal of Public Health, November 2005. Pages 1879-1880. <www.ajph.org>

“We have no choice but to rely on the methods used by each reporting area to determine whether a death (including a death because of homicide) is pregnancy-associated. As stated in our discussion, the cause of death on death certificates is the most common way of ascertaining pregnancy-associated deaths.”

[145] Report: “Strategies to Reduce Pregnancy-Related Deaths: From Identification and Review to Action.” By Cynthia Berg and others. Division of Reproductive Health, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2001. <stacks.cdc.gov>

Page 13:

Currently, no single source of information captures all pregnancy-related deaths, despite all deaths and essentially all live births in the United States being registered by Vital Statistics. Several reasons account for this failure:

Lack of physician training in, or knowledge about, how to fill out a death certificate.
ICD coding rules that make the cause-of-death code on a death certificate fall outside the range of conditions considered to be pregnancy-related (in ICD-9, those codes are 630–676; in ICD-10, chapter O).
Reliance on death certificate data to estimate cause of death.
Medical records that fail to indicate that the events leading to death began with pregnancy, especially if the death occurred during the postpartum period.
Medical and autopsy records that cannot be located or are not available for review.

[146] Report: “Maternal Mortality Surveillance, United States, 1980-1985.” By Lisa M. Koonin & others. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, December 1, 1988. <www.cdc.gov>

[147] Correspondence: “Chang and Berg Respond To Horon.” By Jeani Chang & Cynthia J. Berg. American Journal of Public Health, November 2005. Pages 1879-1880. <www.ajph.org>

We have no choice but to rely on the methods used by each reporting area to determine whether a death (including a death because of homicide) is pregnancy-associated. As stated in our discussion, the cause of death on death certificates is the most common way of ascertaining pregnancy-associated deaths. Next is computerized linking of deaths among women of reproductive age with birth certificates and fetal death certificates; we believe this system is used in about half the reporting areas.

[148] Report: “Strategies to Reduce Pregnancy-Related Deaths: From Identification and Review to Action.” By Cynthia Berg and others. Division of Reproductive Health, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2001. <stacks.cdc.gov>

Page 18:

Linking vital records

Death certificates for reproductive-aged women who die can be linked with certificates of reportable pregnancy outcomes (live births and fetal deaths) that occurred during the preceding year. Although many states require that induced abortions be reported, only one includes on its records identifying data that could be used to link those records with other computerized records. Linking data sets is being done in an increasing number of states, and published reports indicate that such links can increase case ascertainment by 36%† to 153% (Table 3, Box 3). However, linking vital records cannot ensure that all pregnancy-related deaths will be identified, since only about two-thirds to three-quarters of pregnancy-related deaths are associated with either a live birth or a fetal death. Excluded from linkages would be deaths associated with ectopic pregnancies, induced and some spontaneous abortions, gestational trophoblastic disease, and undelivered pregnancies.

NOTE: † This figure of 36% is in error. The figure should be 30%, as per Table 3 on page 19, which is the cited source (see below).

Page 19:

[149] Report: “Strategies to Reduce Pregnancy-Related Deaths: From Identification and Review to Action.” By Cynthia Berg and others. Division of Reproductive Health, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2001. <stacks.cdc.gov>

Page 18:

Linking vital records

[150] Report: “Maternal Mortality Surveillance, United States, 1980-1985.” By Lisa M. Koonin & others. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, December 1, 1988. <www.cdc.gov>

[151] Report: “Strategies to Reduce Pregnancy-Related Deaths: From Identification and Review to Action.” By Cynthia Berg and others. Division of Reproductive Health, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2001. <stacks.cdc.gov>

Page 25:

Maternal mortality review committees

In most cases, the state is the level at which pregnancy-related deaths are reviewed, although the process can occur in some very large cities and counties. The legislation that enables maternal mortality review and the review committee’s place within the governmental organization vary widely from state to state.

[152] Webpage: “CDC’s Abortion Surveillance System: FAQs.” U.S. Centers for Disease Control, Division of Reproductive Health. Updated January 06, 2017. <www.cdc.gov>

Are states required to report their abortion statistics to CDC?
No, states and areas voluntarily report data to CDC for report preparation. CDC’s Division of Reproductive Health prepares surveillance reports as data becomes available. There is no national requirement for data submission or reporting. …

[153] Phone call from Just Facts to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, Division of Reproductive Health, July 1, 2008.

Just Facts requested a state-by-state breakdown of the data in Table 19 of “Abortion Surveillance—United States, 2004,” which shows abortion-related fatalities for 1972-2003. The CDC would not release this data on the grounds that it would violate their privacy agreements with certain states.

[154] Paper: “Physician and Public Opinions on Quality of Health Care and the Problem of Medical Errors.” By Andrew R. Robinson and others. Archives of Internal Medicine, October 28, 2002. Pages 2186-2190. <archinte.ama-assn.org>

Page 2186: “Uniformly, physicians believed that fear of medical malpractice is a barrier to reporting of errors and that greater legal safeguards are necessary for a mandatory reporting system to be successful.”

Page 2189, Table 4: “Medical malpractice litigation is a barrier to the reporting of medical errors.”

NOTE: 98.4% of physicians in the national sample agreed with this statement.

[155] Report: “Vital Statistics of the United States, 1989. Volume II—Mortality, Part A.” U.S. Centers for Disease Control, National Center for Health Statistics and Prevention, 1993. <www.cdc.gov>

Page 13 (of PDF):

SYMBOLS USED IN TABLES

Data not available —-

Category not applicable . . .

Quantity zero —

Page 262 (page 277 of PDF): “Table 1-25. Deaths From 282 Selected Causes, by Race—United States and Each State: 1989.”

Cause of death	Maryland (all races)
Legally induced abortion	—

NOTE: Abortion-related mortality data provided by the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics is at variance with that provided by CDC’s Division of Reproductive Health due to methodological dissimilarities. The National Center for Health Statistics is only cited here because the Division of Reproductive Health does not break down their national data on a state-by states basis. In July 2008, Just Facts filed a Freedom of Information Act Request with the CDC for this data and is awaiting a response.

[156] Report: “Vital Statistics of the United States, 1990. Volume II—Mortality, Part A.” U.S. Centers for Disease Control, National Center for Health Statistics and Prevention, 1994. <www.cdc.gov>

Page 262 (page 278 of PDF): “Table 1-25. Deaths From 282 Selected Causes, by Race—United States and Each State: 1990.”

Cause of death	Maryland (all races)
Legally induced abortion	—

[157] Report: “Vital Statistics of the United States, 1991. Volume II—Mortality, Part A.” U.S. Centers for Disease Control, National Center for Health Statistics and Prevention, 1996. <www.cdc.gov>

Page 262 (page 278 of PDF): “Table 1-25. Deaths From 282 Selected Causes, by Race—United States and Each State: 1990.”

Cause of death	Maryland (all races)
Legally induced abortion	—

[158] Report: “Vital Statistics of the United States, 1992. Volume II – Mortality, Part B.” U.S. Centers for Disease Control, National Center for Health Statistics and Prevention, 1996. <www.cdc.gov>

Page 320 (Page 327 of PDF): Table 8-6: “Deaths From 72 Selected Causes, by 10-Year Age Groups, Race, and Sex.”

Maryland, Cause of Death: Pregnancy with Abortive Outcome	Female (Total of All Age Groups)
White	—
All other	—
Black	—

[159] Autopsy number 89-593: “Erica Richardson.” By Julia C. Goodin & others. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, State of Maryland, June 28, 1989. Autopsy performed on March 3, 1989.

Page 1: “DESCRIPTION OF INJURY … Close examination of the anterior portion of the uterus showed a large irregular perforation of the anterior lower uterine wall which extended into a portion of the cervix.”

Page 5: “OPINION: This, 16 year old black female, ERICA RICHARDSON, died from rupture of lower uterus and cervix with complications, including hemorrhage into the pelvic cavity surrounding the uterus and air embolism (air escaping into the vasculature and heart). According to police reports, the deceased was known to have been pregnant and this is consistent with autopsy findings. However, she had undergone and evacuation [abortion] procedure which resulted in perforation of the uterus.”

[160] Article: “Teen’s Death After Abortion Brings Suit.” By Larry Perl. Prince George’s Journal Weekly, May 30-31, 1990.

The malpractice suit claims that on the evening of March 1, 1989, Dr. Gene Crawford punctured 16-year-old Erica Kae Richardson’s uterus and cervix—then left her “bleeding to death” on an operating table in his Laurel office for four hours, without monitoring vital signs.

At 10:45 p.m., Crawford carried Richardson to her aunt’s car and told the aunt to “take [her] home and out her to bed,” the suit states. … The aunt, deciding that her niece needed “emergency treatment,” drove to Bowie Health Center, where Richardson was rushed into the emergency room at 11 p.m., in respiratory arrest, and died shortly after midnight the suit states. …

Richardson’s mother … referred questions to the attorneys. … Donald McLaughlin said Richardson’s aunt, Denise Crarey, helped Richardson get an abortion without telling Richardson’s mother. McLaughlin added that though Crarey and Richardson’s mother are sisters, they have “a very strained relationship.” Crarey, a registered nurse, took Richardson first to Washington Hospital Center, which wouldn’t perform the abortion because Richardson was too far along in her pregnancy, McLaughlin said.

[161] Article: “Mother Is Suing Doctor: Daughter Died After Abortion.” By Melanie Mader. Laurel Leader, June 29, 1990. Pages A1, 3.

Page 3: “Richardson-Smith was unaware that her daughter was having an abortion until the Bowie medical center called her, McLaughlin said.”

[162] Press release: “Human Life International Claims Maryland Health Department ‘Ignores, Covers-Up’ Abortion Deaths.” PR Newswire, November 21, 1991.

“Erica Richardson, 16, died March 2, 1989, just hours after an abortion was performed upon her by Dr. Gene O. Crawford at his Metropolitan Women’s Center, 9811 Mallard Dr., Laurel, Md.”

[163] Article: “2 Tragedies Raise Doubts About Suitland Clinic; Abortion Patient, Left Paralyzed, Files Suit.” By Retha Hill. Washington Post, August 13, 1990. Page A1. <www.washingtonpost.com>

[164] Article: “2 Tragedies Raise Doubts About Suitland Clinic; Abortion Patient, Left Paralyzed, Files Suit.” By Retha Hill. Washington Post, August 13, 1990. Page A1. <www.washingtonpost.com>

[165] Article: “Botched-Abortion Victim Dies in Baltimore.” Washington Times, December 2, 1992.

“Susanne Logan, the Forestville woman who was paralyzed in a botched 1989 abortion at a Suitland clinic, died in Baltimore yesterday of complications from pneumonia, just three weeks after she won a multimillion-dollar settlement in her case.”

[166] Article: “Pneumonia-Diseases.” By Robert Baird. American Chronicle, March 2, 2008. <www.americanchronicle.com>

[Pneumonia] is often the final complication of some other debilitating disorder, and this is why many people who get pneumonia die. Any one whose resistance is already low is very susceptible to pneumonia, so for people who are dying of heart failure, cancer, stroke or chronic bronchitis, the actual cause of death is often pneumonia. In anyone who is semi-conscious or paralyzed, infection of the lungs is extremely likely. This is because under such conditions the normal coughing reflex that keeps the lungs clear of mucus and stagnant fluid is reduced, or even absent.

[167] Book: Victims of Choice. By Kevin Sherlock. Brennyman Books, 1996.

Page 134: “Gladyss Estanislao. This 28-year-old married Filipina woman, a legal secretary who lived in Prince George’s County, died May 12, 1989, 17 days after Alan Ross reportedly performed a vacuum abortion on her at the Wisconsin Avenue Women’s Health Care Center in Bethesda. Ross reportedly failed to diagnose Gladyss was ectopically pregnant, and then he reportedly botched the abortion.”

NOTE: The sources cited are Ms. Estanislao’s death certificate and a 12/5/91 article in The Wanderer. Note the discrepancy with the source below regarding the type of abortion procedure.

[168] Article: “Sudden Death due to Rupture of Ectopic Pregnancy Concurrent With Therapeutic Abortion.” By Ling Li & John E. Smialek. Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, July 1993. Pages 698-700.

Page 698: “In 1989, a case of sudden death secondary to EP [ectopic pregnancy] was investigated by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for the State of Maryland, Baltimore.”

Page 699:

In 1989, a 28-year-old female college student was found unresponsive on the bathroom floor near her classroom. … the subject was transported to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead on arrival.

Further investigation revealed that the woman had been seen at a clinic for a missed abortion 17 days before her death and underwent a dilation and curettage [abortion procedure]. No surgical specimen was sent to the laboratory for pathologic examination before she left the clinic. …

… A 0.3 cm rupture site was located on the lateral surface [of the left fallopian tube], surrounded by hemorrhagic tissue.

[169] Commentary: “Ectopic Pregnancy in Association With Induced Abortion: Message for the Pathologist.” By Jane W. Hardman & others. Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, July 1993. Pages 696-697.

Page 696: “Admittedly, in each of these cases there was a failure on the part of clinicians to recognize the clinical signs of ectopic pregnancy and to follow up with the patients accordingly.”

Page 697: “In summary, recommendations that are already in place, had they been followed in the cases reported by Drs Li and Smialek, should have prevented the deaths of three young women.”

[170] Article: “Pregnancy.” Contributor: Lynn J. Romrell (Ph.D., Associate Dean for Education and Professor of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Florida College of Medicine). World Book Encyclopedia, 2007 Deluxe Edition.

“An ectopic pregnancy occurs when a fertilized egg implants itself outside the uterus, usually inside the fallopian tube, the tube through which the egg passes on its way from the ovary to the uterus. The developing baby cannot survive in an ectopic pregnancy. The pregnancy may be fatal to the mother if untreated.”

[171] Book: Essentials of Medical Ultrasound: A Practical Introduction to the Principles, Techniques and Biomedical Applications. Edited by Michael H. Repacholi and Deirdre A. Benwell. Humana Press, 1982. Chapter 5: “Clinical Applications of Diagnostic Ultrasound.” By Edward A. Lyons.

Page 176: “An important diagnosis to make it that of an ectopic pregnancy. If the pregnancy test is positive and the uterus is empty, one may be able to visualize [via ultrasound] a mass in the tube. In that instance the diagnosis of ectopic is almost 100% certain.”

[172] Textbook: Ultrasound and the Fallopian Tube. Edited by Ilan E. Timor-Tritsch & Asim Kurjak. Parthenon Publishing Group, 1996. Chapter 5: “Conservative management of ectopic pregnancy based on color Doppler studies.” By F. Bonilla Musoles & others.

Page 29:

One of the explicit advantages of the modern pregnancy tests … is that they can be employed in the emergency room or in the office of the gynecologist. This definitely presents an advantage since, in applying this pregnancy test followed by an office ultrasound examination of the pelvis, a fast and almost always reliable diagnosis of the presence or absence of an abnormal or normal intrauterine pregnancy can be made. In the case of an ectopic pregnancy, the chances of making the diagnosis during the first visit to the gynecologist’s office or the emergency room are high.

Page 51: “Even with techniques currently available, ectopic pregnancy … results in death for one of every 2000 women affected. The incidence of ectopic pregnancies varies between 0.5 and 1% of all pregnancies.”

Page 52: “In most published reports about ectopic pregnancies, the diagnosis is established by [a specialized blood test] in patients with a positive pregnancy test in whom an intrauterine [in the uterus] gestational sac, with or without recognizable embryonic structures, cannot be seen by ultrasound examination.”

[173] Book: Victims of Choice. By Kevin Sherlock. Brennyman Books, 1996.

Pages 166-7 contain a photocopy of this letter. It is from Stephen C. Joseph, New York City’s Commissioner of Health, and is dated June 5, 1987.

[174] Report: “Abortion Surveillance—United States, 2013.” By Tara C. Jatlaoui and others. U.S. Centers for Disease Control, Division of Reproductive Health, November 25, 2016. <www.cdc.gov>

Data extracted from Table 23:

Year	Legal Abortion-Related Deaths
1981	8
1982	11
1983	11
1984	12
Total	42

[175] Calculated with data from:

a) “City of New York & Boroughs: Population & Population Density from 1790.” Demographia. Accessed August 2008 at <demographia.com>

“Population (In Thousands) … 1980 … Total [=] 7,072”

b) Webpage: “Historical National Population Estimates: July 1, 1900 to July 1, 1999.” U.S. Census Bureau, April 11, 2000. Revised June 28, 2000. <census.gov>

“National Population … July 1, 1980… Total [=] 227,224,681”

CALCULATIONS:

7,072,000 people in New York City / 227,224,681 people in the U.S. = 3.1%.
30 legal abortion-related deaths in New York City / 42 legal abortion-related deaths reported by the Centers for Disease Control = 71.4%.

[176] Webpage: “Abortion Services.” Planned Parenthood of Nassau County. Accessed June 28, 2008 at <www.plannedparenthood.org>

[177] Paper: “Cost Consequences of Induced Abortion as an Attributable Risk for Preterm Birth and Impact on Informed Consent.” By Byron C. Calhoun, Elizabeth Shadigian & Brent Rooney. Journal of Reproductive Medicine, October 2007. Pages 929-937. <www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov>

Page 930: “Fifty-nine studies were reviewed for preterm birth and links to abortion…. From this review, we selected 5 of the most recent, representative studies with an association between induced abortion and preterm birth as detailed examples of the 59 studies published in Appendix B….”

Pages 930-931:

Five large, recent, international studies have shown an association of prior abortions to preterm delivery^3,6-9(Table IV), and 50 studies over the last 50 years have shown a statistically significant association (Appendix B). All of the studies found a statistically significant increase in preterm births before 32 weeks for women undergoing at least 1 first-trimester abortion, with the ORs [odds ratios] ranging from 1.3 to 2.5.^3,6-9Women undergoing [two or more] abortions had an even larger risk of preterm birth, with ORs ranging from 1.8 to 5.2.^3,6-9.

[178] Webpage: “Preterm Birth.” March Of Dimes, February 2007. <www.marchofdimes.com>

Premature birth is a serious health problem. Premature babies are at increased risk for newborn health complications, as well as lasting disabilities, such as mental retardation, cerebral palsy, lung and gastrointestinal problems, vision and hearing loss, and even death. Many premature babies require care in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), which has specialized medical staff and equipment that can deal with the multiple problems faced by premature infants. …

All premature babies are at risk for health problems, but those born before about 32 weeks of gestation face the highest risk.

[179] Webpage: “Ask Dr. Cullins: Is having an abortion emotionally and psychologically dangerous?” Planned Parenthood, August 6, 2004. Updated 1/23/07. <www.plannedparenthood.org>

[180] Webpage: “Abortion Services: Risks and Side Effects.” Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains. Updated September 21, 2007. Accessed July 2008 at <www.plannedparenthood.org>

[181] Webpage: “Abortion Procedures.” Planned Parenthood, February 8, 2008. Accessed July 2008 at <www.plannedparenthood.org>

“Serious, long-term emotional problems after abortion are about as uncommon as they are after giving birth.”

[182] Webpage: “Pregnant, Now What?” By Jon Knowles. Planned Parenthood, January 1, 1993. Revised 5/5/07 by Jennifer Johnsen. <www.plannedparenthood.org>

Beware of so-called “crisis pregnancy centers” that are anti-abortion. These fake clinics advertise free pregnancy testing to lure women into their anti-choice agenda.

Crisis pregnancy centers

may perform your pregnancy tests without medical supervision.
won’t give you complete and correct information about all options.
may try to frighten you with misleading films and pictures that are designed to keep you from choosing abortion.
will lie to you about the medical and emotional effects of abortion.

[183] Article: “Abortion Is Four Times Deadlier Than Childbirth: New Studies Unmask High Maternal Death Rates From Abortion.” By David C. Reardon. Post-Abortion Review, April-June 2000. <www.afterabortion.org>

“Since Finland has socialized medical care, these records are very accurate and complete.”

[184] Paper: “Suicides after Pregnancy in Finland, 1987-94: Register Linkage Study.” By Mika Gissler, Elina Hemminki, & Jouko Lonnqvist. British Medical Journal, December 7, 1996. <bmj.com>

Information on suicides in women of reproductive age was linked with the Finnish birth, abortion, and hospital discharge registers to find out how many women who committed suicide had had a completed pregnancy during her last year of life. … There were 73 suicides associated with pregnancy, representing 5.4% of all suicides in women in this age group. The mean annual suicide rate was 11.3 per 100 000. The suicide rate associated with birth was significantly lower (5.9) and the rates associated with miscarriage (18.1) and induced abortion (34.7) were significantly higher than in the population.

[185] Paper: “Deaths Associated With Pregnancy Outcome: A Record Linkage Study of Low Income Women.” By David C. Reardon and others. Southern Medical Journal, August 2002. Pages 834-841. <www.afterabortion.org>

Page 837, Table 2.

[186] Article: “Changing Abortion’s Pronoun.” By Stephanie Simon. Los Angeles Times, January 7, 2008. <www.latimes.com>

The concept of post-abortion trauma is hotly disputed. Several studies published in peer-reviewed medical journals suggest that women who have had abortions are more prone to depression or drug abuse. But the research does not prove cause and effect, Stotland said.

It may be, she said, that women who have abortions are more emotionally unstable in the first place. Abortion is one of the most common surgeries in the country, with more than 1 million performed a year; while some who chose the procedure surely come to regret it, doctors say they see no epidemic of trauma in either men or women.

[187] Study: “Deaths Associated With Pregnancy Outcome: A Record Linkage Study of Low Income Women.” By David C. Reardon and others. Southern Medical Journal, August 2002. Pages 834-841. <www.afterabortion.org>

Page 838, Table 3.

[188] Article: “Abortion and Subsequent Mental Health: Review of the Literature.” By Carlo V. Bellieni (MD) and Giuseppe Buonocore (MD, PhD). Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, July 2013. Pages 301-310. <onlinelibrary.wiley.com>

Page 301:

The risk that abortion may be correlated with subsequent mental disorders needs a careful assessment, in order to offer women full information when facing a difficult pregnancy. All research papers published between 1995 and 2011, were examined, to retrieve those assessing any correlation between abortion and subsequent mental problems. A total of 36 studies were retrieved, and six of them were excluded for methodological bias. … Abortion versus childbirth: 13 studies showed a clear risk for at least one of the reported mental problems in the abortion group versus childbirth, five papers showed no difference, in particular if women do not consider their experience of fetal loss to be difficult, or if after a fetal reduction the desired fetus survives. Only one paper reported a worse mental outcome for childbearing. Abortion versus unplanned pregnancies ending with childbirth: four studies found a higher risk in the abortion groups and three, no difference. Abortion versus miscarriage: three studies showed a greater risk of mental disorders due to abortion, four found no difference and two found that short-term anxiety and depression were higher in the miscarriage group, while long-term anxiety and depression were present only in the abortion group. …

We performed a search in PubMed and Medscape from the year 1995 to 2011. We used as key words the following: ‘abortion’, ‘mental disorder’, ‘depression’ ‘anxiety’, ‘illicit drugs’ ‘tobacco’, ‘alcohol’. …

Page 302:

We retrieved 36 papers.^7–42We excluded seven studies: two for absence of a control group,^{26, 40}one because the control group was composed of women’s partners,²⁵one because it did not use a validated questionnaire,²²one because it compared the consequences of medical and surgical abortion,⁴²one because it was a re-elaboration of a previous paper to investigate the causes of the increase of depression in the abortion group,¹⁹and one because there was no statistical comparison between abortion and childbirth groups.³⁹

Page 307: “The rates of the single outcomes in the various groups of women should be outlined; in some studies rates are not available, and this makes this analysis difficult, but there is a general convergence of the data.”

[189] Webpage: “About the Society.” Society of Professional Journalists. Accessed February 2017 at <www.spj.org>

“The Society of Professional Journalists is the nation’s most broad-based journalism organization, dedicated to encouraging the free practice of journalism and stimulating high standards of ethical behavior.”

[190] Webpage: “Diversity Guidelines.” Society of Professional Journalists, October 6, 2001. <www.spj.org>

On Oct. 6, 2001 at its National Convention in Seattle, the Society of Professional Journalists passed a resolution urging members and fellow journalists to take steps against racial profiling in their coverage of the war on terrorism and to reaffirm their commitment to:

— Use language that is informative and not inflammatory….

When writing about terrorism, remember to include white supremacist, radical anti-abortionists and other groups with a history of such activity. …

Avoid using word combinations such as “Islamic terrorist” or “Muslim extremist” that are misleading because they link whole religions to criminal activity.

[191] Transcript: “Senator John McCain at the Republican Party of Iowa, Abraham Lincoln Unity Dinner.” Democracy in Action, George Washington University, April 14, 2007. <www.gwu.edu>

America stands for an ideal that all people are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I know what it’s like to live without those rights and I have an obligation to advocate them where ever they are denied. In Bosnia or in Burma in Cuba or in the Middle East and in our own country when we fail to respect the inherent dignity of all human life, born or unborn, and that’s why for 24 years, without changing, without wavering, I have a steadfast and strong advocacy and voting record in support of the rights of the unborn.

[192] Transcript: “Former Governor Mike Huckabee at the Republican Party of Iowa, Abraham Lincoln Unity Dinner.” Democracy in Action, George Washington University, April 14, 2007. <www.gwu.edu>

“I’m not late in declaring that I believe life begins at conception and that we ought to protect human life and that’s one of the reasons that I am a Republican today, because it was the only party that gave people like me a voice and a choice.”

[193] Article: “G.O.P. Candidates Lay Into Democrats, Not One Another.” By Adam Nagourney. New York Times, April 15, 2007. <www.nytimes.com>

Although the event was called a “Unity Dinner,” the speeches reflected divisions among the Republicans on various issues, in particular abortion. Several candidates, including Mr. McCain of Arizona and Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, presented themselves as lifelong opponents of abortion rights, drawing clear if unspoken contrasts with Mr. Giuliani, who supports abortion rights, and Mr. Romney, who once supported abortion rights but now opposes them.

[194] Note that most all of the people described by the media as “opponents of abortion rights” are not unilaterally opposed to abortion. Nearly all think that abortion should be legal when there is a threat to the life of the mother, and some think there should be exceptions for rape and incest.† This also true of the examples that follow. The people cited are not unilaterally opposed to the “rights” in question, but think that other “rights” should take precedence. The same applies to people who think that a preborn human’s “right to life” should take precedence over other “rights.”

NOTE: † Since 1989, various Republicans have sponsored at least 23 resolutions proposing a Constitutional Amendment that would guarantee preborn humans the right to life, all of them containing an exception to protect the life of the mother. Six of these resolutions also include exceptions for cases of rape or incest. [Search performed on February 19, 2017 at <www.congress.gov>. Bill texts from the 101^stto 115^thCongresses searched for: ‘amendment to the Constitution of the United States with respect to the right to life’.]

[195] a) Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. Ratified December 15, 1791. <justfacts.com>

“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed.”

b)Editorial: “Lock and Load.” By the Editorial Board. New York Times, June 27, 2008. <www.nytimes.com>

“Even if there were a constitutional right to possess guns for nonmilitary uses, constitutional rights are not absolute.”

[196] a) Fifth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. Ratified December 15, 1791. <justfacts.com>

“[N]or shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.”

b) Editorial: “The Limits of Property Rights.” By the Editorial Board. New York Times, June 24, 2005. <nytimes.com>

“The Supreme Court’s ruling yesterday that the economically troubled city of New London, Conn., can use its power of eminent domain to spur development was a welcome vindication of cities’ ability to act in the public interest. It also is a setback to the ‘property rights’ movement, which is trying to block government from imposing reasonable zoning and environmental regulations.”

[197] a) Ninth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. Ratified December 15, 1791. <justfacts.com>

“The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.”

b) Article: “Parents protest gay-themed school plays.” By Ellen Sorokin. Washington Times, February 21, 2002.

“A group of parents is suing a public school district in Novato, Calif., for allowing their elementary school-age children to see pro-homosexual plays at school without any prior notice or parental consent.”

[198] a) Fifth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. Ratified December 15, 1791. <justfacts.com>

“No person shall … be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law….”

b) Ruling: Korematsu v. United States. U.S. Supreme Court, December 18, 1944. Decided 6-3. Majority: Black, Douglas, Reed, Rutledge, Stone. Concurring: Frankfurter. Dissenting: Roberts, Murphy, Jackson. <findlaw.com>

It is said that we are dealing here with the case of imprisonment of a citizen in a concentration camp solely because of his ancestry, without evidence or inquiry concerning his loyalty and good disposition towards the United States. Our task would be simple, our duty clear, were this a case involving the imprisonment of a loyal citizen in a concentration camp because of racial prejudice. Regardless of the true nature of the assembly and relocation centers-and we deem it unjustifiable to call them concentration camps with all the ugly connotations that term implies-we are dealing specifically with nothing but an exclusion order. To cast this case into outlines of racial prejudice, without reference to the real military dangers which were presented, merely confuses the issue. Korematsu was not excluded from the Military Area because of hostility to him or his race. He was excluded because we are at war with the Japanese Empire, because the properly constituted military authorities feared an invasion of our West Coast and felt constrained to take proper security measures, because they decided that the military urgency of the situation demanded that all citizens of Japanese ancestry be segregated from the West Coast temporarily, and finally, because Congress, reposing its confidence in this time of war in our military leaders-as inevitably it must-determined that they should have the power to do just this. There was evidence of disloyalty on the part of some, the military authorities considered that the need for action was great, and time was short. We cannot-by availing ourselves of the calm perspective of hindsight-now say that at that time these actions were unjustified.

[199] a) Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. Ratified December 15, 1791. <justfacts.com>

“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”

b) Eleventh Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. Ratified February 7, 1795. <com>

“The Judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States by Citizens of another State, or by Citizens or Subjects of any Foreign State.”

c) Article: “High court voids states’ immunity.” By Frank J. Murray. Washington Times, May 28, 2003.

“The Supreme Court ruled yesterday that a Nevada social worker may sue the state for firing him in violation of the Family and Medical Leave Act, a decision that raised the first barrier to states’ broad 11th Amendment immunity against private lawsuits.”

[200] a) First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. Ratified December 15, 1791. <justfacts.com>

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof….”

b) Virginia Law, Section 22.1-203: “Daily Observance of One Minute of Silence.” Code of Virginia. Accessed July 2008 at <justia.com>

In order that the right of every pupil to the free exercise of religion be guaranteed within the schools and that the freedom of each individual pupil be subject to the least possible pressure from the Commonwealth either to engage in, or to refrain from, religious observation on school grounds, the school board of each school division shall establish the daily observance of one minute of silence in each classroom of the division.

During such one-minute period of silence, the teacher responsible for each classroom shall take care that all pupils remain seated and silent and make no distracting display to the end that each pupil may, in the exercise of his or her individual choice, meditate, pray, or engage in any other silent activity which does not interfere with, distract, or impede other pupils in the like exercise of individual choice.

c) Article: “Supreme Court upholds minute of silence in schools.” Associated Press, October 30, 2001.

“The Supreme Court turned away a challenge to Virginia’s mandatory minute of silence in schools on Monday, declining to take a closer look at the silent prayer issue it last examined 16 years ago.”

[201] Just Facts searched the New York Timesand Washington Poston February 19, 2017 and the Associated Press on August 16, 2008through LexisNexis. Note that some articles contain the quoted phrases more than once, and thus, the numbers cited may represent an undercount. Searches for “opponent(s) of states’ rights” were also performed for the spelling variant “opponent(s) of states rights.”

[202] Entry: “abortion, partial-birth.” Melloni’s Illustrated Medical Dictionary (4th edition). Edited by Ida G. Dox & others. Parthenon Publishing Group, 2002.

Page 2: “partial-birth a.(PBA) Common term for termination of a late pregnancy with a breech presentation. Labor is induced by conventional methods; the cervix is widely dilated and delivery is expedited by evacuation the cranial contents with a suction catheter, then compressing the cranium.”

[203] Policy H-5.982: “Late-Term Pregnancy Termination Techniques.” American Medical Association. Accessed July 2008 at <www.ama-assn.org>

[204] Book: AMA Manual of Style: A Guide for Authors and Editors(10th edition). Oxford University Press, 2007. Page 295.

[205] Transcript: NOW with Bill Moyers. PBS, May 16, 2003. <www.pbs.org>

“Breslauer: The term “partial birth abortion” was invented by the anti-abortion community to describe a procedure in which a fetus is partially delivered outside the womb. Doctors don’t even use the term. The closest medical procedure to so-called partial birth abortion, accounts for less than one quarter of one percent of all abortions in this country. So why such impassioned debate?”

[206] Book: English for Journalists(2nd edition). By Wynford Hicks. Routledge, 1998.

[207] Editorial: “Abortion and the Court.” By the Editorial Board. Chicago Tribune, July 13, 2005. Section C, Page 26.

“There is a chance of reversal, though, on certain late-term abortions. Five years ago, by a 5-4 vote, the court struck down a Nebraska law banning this procedure, also known as intact dilation and extraction, concluding that the measure imposed an undue burden on the right to abortion.”

[208] Book: The New York Public Library Writer’s Guide to Style and Usage. Edited by Andrea J. Sutcliffe. Stonesong Press/Harper Collins, 1994. Page 586.

[209] Book: The New Oxford Guide to Writing. By Thomas S. Kane. Oxford University Press, 1988.

[210] Ruling: Roe v. Wade. U.S. Supreme Court, January 22, 1973. Decided 7–2. Majority: Blackmun, Burger, Brennan, Douglas, Stewart, Marshall, Powell. Concurring: Burger, Douglas, Stewart. Dissenting: White, Rehnquist. <caselaw.findlaw.com>

Section VIII:

Section XI: “In Doe v. Bolton, post, p. 179, procedural requirements contained in one of the modern abortion statutes are considered. That opinion and this one, of course, are to be read together.”

Section XI: “For the stage subsequent to viability the State, in promoting its interest in the potentiality of human life, may, if it chooses, regulate, and even proscribe, abortion except where necessary, in appropriate medical judgment, for the preservation of the life or health of the mother.”

[211] Ruling: Doe v. Bolton. U.S. Supreme Court, January 22, 1973. Decided 7–2. Majority: Blackmun, Brennan, Stewart, Marshall, Powell. Concurring: Burger, Douglas. Dissenting: White, Rehnquist. <caselaw.findlaw.com>

Section IV:

… the medical judgment may be exercised in the light of all factors—physical, emotional, psychological, familial, and the woman’s age—relevant to the well-being of the patient. All these factors may relate to health. …
The appellants next argue that the District Court should have declared unconstitutional three procedural demands of the Georgia statute: … (2) that the procedure be approved by the hospital staff abortion committee; and (3) that the performing physician’s judgment be confirmed by the independent examinations of the patient by two other licensed physicians. …

[212] Article: “Public Opinion About Abortion—An In-Depth Review: The Pro-Choice/Pro-Life Divide.” By Lydia Saad. Gallup, January 22, 2002. <www.gallup.com>

Page 2:

The following chart illustrates the wide range of attitudes toward abortion recorded across a diverse set of questions about the subject. The figures in the chart are based on 146 survey questions asked by 18 different polling organizations over the past five years. …

For the most part, attitudes pertaining to particular aspects of abortion are consistent across differently worded questions. But in a few cases, particularly with respect to Roe v. Wade, the responses vary widely, depending on the information provided in the question.

Page 3:

Most survey questions about Roe v. Wadeprovide the respondent with information about the case, and these details appear to have a major impact on the answers.

… If Roe v. Wadeis presented only as legalizing abortion in the first three months, support for the decision is much higher than if it is characterized as making abortion legal throughout pregnancy or for any reason.

[213] Webpage: “Abortion and Birth Control.” PollingReport.com. Accessed July 2008 at <www.pollingreport.com>

Associated Press-Ipsos (November 2004): “The 1973 Supreme Court ruling called Roe v. Wademade abortion in the first three months of pregnancy legal.”

Quinnipiac University (December 2004): “The 1973 Supreme Court ruling called Roe. v. Wademade abortion in the first three months of pregnancy legal. Do you think President Bush should nominate Supreme Court justices who would uphold the Roe. v. Wadedecision, or nominate Supreme Court justices who would overturn the Roe v. Wadedecision?”

Pew Research Center/Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life (November 2006): “In 1973 the Roe versus Wade decision established a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion, at least in the first three months of pregnancy.”

NBC News/Wall Street Journal (December 2005): “The Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe versus Wade decision established a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion, at least in the first three months of pregnancy.”

Harris Poll (October 2007): “In 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that states laws which made it illegal for a woman to have an abortion up to three months of pregnancy were unconstitutional, and that the decision on whether a woman should have an abortion up to three months of pregnancy should be left to the woman and her doctor to decide.”

[214] There are other Associated Press articles that used the same verbiage. The three listed below are exemplars:

a) Article: “Vatican Pushing Mexico in Abortion Fight.” By Julie Watson. Associated Press, March 23, 2007. <breitbart.com>

“Most Latin American countries, including Mexico, allow abortion if the woman’s life is in danger or in cases of rape or incest. In November, Nicaragua bans abortion in all cases. Cuba permits abortions within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, as does the United States.”

b) Article: “Mexicans March to Support Abortion Law.” By Carlos Rodriguez. Associated Press, March 30, 2007. <foxnews.com>

“Most Latin American countries, including Mexico, allow abortion if the woman’s life is in danger or in cases of rape or incest. In November, Nicaragua passed a law banning abortion in all cases. Cuba permits abortions within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, as does the United States.”

c) Article: “Mexico’s Supreme Court Poised to Reject Appeal of Legalized Abortion in the Capital.” By Olga R. Rodriguez. Associated Press, August 27, 2008. <latimes.com>

“Most Latin American countries allow abortion only if the woman’s life is in danger or in cases of rape or incest. In 2006, Nicaragua banned abortion in all cases. Cuba permits abortions within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, as does the United States.”

[215] Search performed August 27, 2008 via <www.google.com>. Results include:

baltimoresun.com	bellinghamherald.com	boston.com
breitbart.com	cbsnews.com	centredaily.com
chron.com	cleveland.com	cnsnews.com
comcast.net	contracostatimes.com	daytondailynews.com
denverpost.com	duluthnewstribune.com	elpasotimes.com
examiner.com	federalnewsradio.com	fortmilltimes.com
foxnews.com	gjsentinel.com	greenwichtime.com
guardian.co.uk	ibtimes.com	iht.com
inyork.com	journalgazette.net	kansascity.com
khou.com	ktar.com	latimes.com
ledger-enquirer.com	lehighvalleylive.com	madison.com
metrobostonnews.com	miamiherald.com	msnbc.com
my.freeze.com	mymotherlode.com	news.aol.com
news.yahoo.com	newstimes.com	newsvine.com
nola.com	nydailynews.com	nypost.com
ohio.com	onenewsnow.com	oregonlive.com
palmbeachpost.com	philly.com	pressofatlanticcity.com
pr-inside.com	publicopiniononline.com	realclearworld.com
realtime.com	rockymounttelegram.com	sacbee.com
salon.com	sanluisobispo.com	santacruzsentinel.com
sfgate.com	signonsandiego.com	silive.com
southernledger.com	sunherald.com	syracuse.com
thenewstribune.com	twincities.com	usatoday.com
victoriaadvocate.com	washingtonpost.com	washingtontimes.com
wor710.com	wtop.com

[216] Webpage: “Nina Totenberg, NPR Biography.” National Public Radio. Accessed February 2017 at <www.npr.org>

[217] Webpage: “CyberAlert.” Media Research Center, July 6, 2000. <www.mediaresearch.org>

NOTE: This document contains a transcribed excerpt from the July 1, 2000 edition of the show Inside Washington, which is aired on various PBS stations.

[218] Editorial: “Play Doctor—and Judge.” By the Editorial Board. Washington Post, Oct 27, 2003. Page A18.

“The measure prohibits one form of abortion, performed in the late second trimester or third trimester of pregnancy; it is gruesome, as indeed are all abortions this late in pregnancy. But most states already bar abortions after the point of viability, unless the procedure is necessary to preserve the life or health of the mother, and Congress could have done likewise.”

[219] Ruling: Roe v. Wade. U.S. Supreme Court, January 22, 1973. Decided 7–2. Majority: Blackmun, Burger, Brennan, Douglas, Stewart, Marshall, Powell. Concurring: Burger, Douglas, Stewart. Dissenting: White, Rehnquist. <caselaw.findlaw.com>

Section VIII:

[220] Ruling: Doe v. Bolton. U.S. Supreme Court, January 22, 1973. Decided 7–2. Majority: Blackmun, Brennan, Stewart, Marshall, Powell. Concurring: Burger, Douglas. Dissenting: White, Rehnquist. <caselaw.findlaw.com>

Section IV:

… the medical judgment may be exercised in the light of all factors—physical, emotional, psychological, familial, and the woman’s age—relevant to the well-being of the patient. All these factors may relate to health. …
The appellants next argue that the District Court should have declared unconstitutional three procedural demands of the Georgia statute: … (2) that the procedure be approved by the hospital staff abortion committee; and (3) that the performing physician’s judgment be confirmed by the independent examinations of the patient by two other licensed physicians. …

[221]Full Text of Letter

[222]Full Text of Letter

[223] Webpage: “MediaWatch.” Media Research Center, February 1989. <www.mediaresearch.org>

Page 3: “Networks Distort Abortion Report: The Real Scoop on Koop.”

[224] Article: “The Times Poll Public and Press—Two Viewpoints Series: First of Two Parts.” By David Shaw. Los Angeles Times, Aug 11, 1985. <www.latimes.com>

On the issue of “allowing women to have an abortion” … the newspaper journalists say they favor allowing women to have an abortion-by an almost 6-1 margin… (Readers also approve allowing women to have an abortion, though by a much narrower margin—51% to 42%.) …

… [M]embers of the press (at least the 3,165 newspaper reporters and editors from 621 newspapers interviewed for this story)….

[225] Transcript: Talkback Live. Hosted by Tucker Carlson. CNN, December 19, 2001. <transcripts.cnn.com>

CARLSON: Well, Hal Bruno, let ask me you this. And honestly, what percentage of—of the news media—the network news media—how about just ABC News—is pro-choice? It’s got to be above 80, don’t you think?

BRUNO: Well, we have a tremendous number of women that have come into journalism in the last 20 years…

CARLSON: But not all women…

BRUNO: …and most women tend to be pro-choice. So I would have to say—obviously, I’d say a majority of the people who work in the news—not just at ABC, but who work in the news—are pro-choice. But I think the majority of the country probably is pro-choice too.

[226] Article: “Public Opinion About Abortion—An In-Depth Review: Gender, Religion and Other Group Attitudes Toward Abortion.” By Lydia Saad. Gallup, January 22, 2002. <www.gallup.com>

NOTE: The poll was conducted in May 2001.

[227] Article: “Poll: Abortion Is Manslaughter.” CNS News, January 9, 2001. <www.newsmax.com>

NOTE: Percentages do not add up to 100% because some agreed with neither statement or were unsure.

[228] Transcript: Talkback Live. Hosted by Tucker Carlson. CNN, December 19, 2001. <transcripts.cnn.com>

“[A]nd most women tend to be pro-choice. So I would have to say—obviously, I’d say a majority of the people who work in the news—not just at ABC, but who work in the news—are pro-choice. But I think the majority of the country probably is pro-choice too.”

[229] Article: “Public Opinion About Abortion—An In-Depth Review: Gender, Religion and Other Group Attitudes Toward Abortion.” By Lydia Saad. Gallup, January 22, 2002. <www.gallup.com>

NOTE: The poll was conducted in May 2001. Percentages do not add up to 100% because some agreed with neither statement or were unsure.

[230] Webpage: “Parental Involvement in Minors’ Abortions.” Guttmacher Institute, February 01, 2017. <www.guttmacher.org>

States with a parental consent law in effect:

Alabama	Michigan	Rhode Island
Arizona *	Mississippi	South Carolina †
Arkansas *	Missouri	Tennessee
Idaho	Nebraska *	Texas *
Indiana	North Carolina	Utah
Kansas *	North Dakota	Virginia *
Kentucky	Ohio	Wisconsin †
Louisiana *	Oklahoma *	Wyoming
Massachusetts	Pennsylvania

* Requires parental consent documentation to be notarized.

† Allows specified health professionals to waive parental involvement in limited circumstances.

[231] Webpage: “Parental Involvement in Minors’ Abortions.” Guttmacher Institute, February 01, 2017. <www.guttmacher.org>

Consent … California # … New Mexico # … Montana § …

# Enforcement permanently enjoined by court order; policy not in effect

Enforcement temporarily enjoined by court order; policy not in effect.

[232] Webpage: “Parental Involvement in Minors’ Abortions.” Guttmacher Institute, February 01, 2017. <www.guttmacher.org>

States with a parental notification law in effect (not including states that also have a consent law in effect, because a consent law effectively also requires notification):

Alaska	Iowa
Colorado	Maryland†
Delaware † ‡	Minnesota
Florida	New Hampshire
Georgia	South Dakota
Illinois	West Virginia †

† Allows specified health professionals to waive parental involvement in limited circumstances.

‡ While most states laws apply to all minors, Delaware’s law applies to females younger than 16, and South Carolina’s law applies to those younger than 17.

[233] Webpage: “Parental Involvement in Minors’ Abortions.” Guttmacher Institute, February 01, 2017. <www.guttmacher.org>

Notification … Montana § … Nevada # … New Jersey # …

Enforcement temporarily enjoined by court order; policy not in effect.

# Enforcement permanently enjoined by court order; policy not in effect.

[234] Webpage: “Parental Involvement in Minors’ Abortions.” Guttmacher Institute, February 01, 2017. <www.guttmacher.org>

States with no parental consent or notification laws:

Connecticut	New York	Washington
Hawaii	Oregon
Maine	Vermont

[235] Revised Code of Washington, Title 26, Chapter 28, Section 085: “Applying Tattoo to a Minor—Penalty.” Accessed February 25, 2017 at <apps.leg.wa.gov>

Every person who applies a tattoo to any minor under the age of eighteen is guilty of a misdemeanor. It is not a defense to a violation of this section that the person applying the tattoo did not know the minor’s age unless the person applying the tattoo establishes by a preponderance of the evidence that he or she made a reasonable, bona fide attempt to ascertain the true age of the minor by requiring production of a driver’s license or other picture identification card or paper and did not rely solely on the oral allegations or apparent age of the minor.

[236] New Jersey Statute 2C:40-21: “Tattooing of a Minor; Parental Permission, Required.” New Jersey Code of Criminal Justice. Accessed April 11, 2017 at <law.justia.com>

“A person commits a disorderly persons offense if he knowingly tattoos or engages in body piercing of a minor under the age of 18 years without first having obtained the written permission of the minor’s parent or legal guardian or, if neither exists, a person who stands in place of a parent.”

[237] California Code Division 8, Chapter 23, Section 22706: “Special Business Regulations, Tanning Facilities.” Accessed April 11, 2017 at <law.justia.com>

(b) … (3) Persons under 18 years of age are prohibited from using an ultraviolet tanning device.

(4) Proof of age shall be satisfied with a driver’s license or other government issued identification containing the date of birth and a photograph of the individual.

(Amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 664, Sec. 2. Effective January 1, 2012.)

[238] Webpage: “Parental Involvement in Minors’ Abortions.” Guttmacher Institute, February 1, 2017. <www.guttmacher.org>

NOTE: There are no notification or consent laws in effect for Washington, New Jersey, or California.

[239] Webpage: “Abortion.” Gallup, 2012. Accessed February 24, 2017 at <www.gallup.com>

A law requiring women under 18 to get parental consent for any abortion

	Favor (%)	Oppose (%)	No opinion (%)
2011 Jul 15-17	71	27	2
2005 Nov 11-13	69	28	3
2003 Jan 10-12	73	24	3
1996 Jul 25-28	74	23	3
1992 Jan 16-19	70	23	7

[240] Webpage: “Abortion and Birth Control (Page 2).” Polling Report. Accessed February 24, 2017 at <www.pollingreport.com>

CBS News Poll. July 13-14, 2005. N=632 adults nationwide. …

“Would you favor or oppose requiring that at least one parent be told before a girl under 18 years of age could have an abortion?”

Favor [=] 80% … Oppose [=] 17% … Unsure [=] 3%

[241] Webpage: “Abortion and Birth Control (Page 2).” Polling Report. Accessed February 24, 2017 at <www.pollingreport.com>

Pew Research Center survey. Aug. 11-17, 2009. N=2,010 adults nationwide …

“Do you strongly favor, favor, oppose, or strongly oppose requiring that women under the age of 18 get the consent of at least one parent before they are allowed to have an abortion?”

Strongly Favor [=] 45% … Favor [=] 31% … Oppose [=] 11% … Strongly Oppose [=] 8% … Unsure [=] 5%

[242] “Illinois General Assembly Questionnaire.” Independent Voters of Illinois—Independent Precinct Organization, 1996. Part1: <www.politico.com>

Part 2: <www.politico.com>

[243] “Illinois General Assembly Questionnaire.” Independent Voters of Illinois—Independent Precinct Organization, 1996. Fax transmittal date/time stamp: “Sep-10-96 TUE 05:26”. <www.politico.com>

[244] Article: “Liberal Views Could Haunt Obama.” By Mike Allen and Ben Smith. Politico, December 12, 2007. <www.politico.com>

“A week after Politico provided the questionnaire to the Obama campaign for comment, an aide called Monday night to say that Obama had said he did not fill out the form, and provided a contact for his campaign manager at the time, who said she filled it out.”

[245] Article: “Obama Had Greater Role on Liberal Survey.” By Kenneth P. Vogel. Politico, March 31, 2008. <www.politico.com>

“ ‘Sen. Obama didn’t fill out these state Senate questionnaires—a staffer did—and there are several answers that didn’t reflect his views then or now,’ Tommy Vietor, a spokesman for Obama’s campaign, said in an e-mailed statement.”

[246] Article: “Obama Had Greater Role on Liberal Survey.” By Kenneth P. Vogel. Politico, March 31, 2008. <www.politico.com>

But a Politico examination determined that Obama was actually interviewed about the issues on the questionnaire by the liberal Chicago nonprofit group that issued it. And it found that Obama—the day after sitting for the interview—filed an amended version of the questionnaire, which appears to contain Obama’s own handwritten notes added to one answer. …

Tommy Vietor, a spokesman for Obama’s campaign, said in an e-mailed statement. “He may have jotted some notes on the front page of the questionnaire at the meeting, but that doesn’t change the fact that some answers didn’t reflect his views. His 11 years in public office do.”

[247] “Illinois General Assembly Questionnaire.” Independent Voters of Illinois—Independent Precinct Organization, 1996. Part1: <www.politico.com>

Part 2: <www.politico.com>

Candidate Report Sheet for Interviews

Candidate Name Barack Obama[In handwriting] …

Date of Interview 9/9/96[In handwriting] …

Place of Interview 5623 S. Drexel—House of Alan and Lois Dobry[In handwriting]

[248] “Illinois General Assembly Questionnaire.” Independent Voters of Illinois—Independent Precinct Organization, 1996. Fax transmittal date/time stamp: “Sep-10-96 TUE 05:26”. <www.politico.com>

[249] Senate Bill 562: “Parental Notice of Abortion Act of 2001.” State of Illinois Senate, 92nd General Assembly, 2001-2002. <www.ilga.gov>

Section 10. Definitions…. “Minor” means any person under 18 years of age who is not or has not been married or who has not been emancipated under the Emancipation of Mature Minors Act. …

Section 15. Notice to adult family member. No person shall knowingly perform an abortion upon a minor or upon an incompetent person unless the person or his or her agent has given at least 48 hours actual notice to an adult family member of the pregnant minor or incompetent person of his or her intention to perform the abortion….

Section 20. Exceptions. Notice is not required under this Act if … (3) the attending physician certifies in the patient’s medical record that a medical emergency exists and there is insufficient time to provide the required notice; or the minor declares in writing that she is a victim of sexual abuse, neglect, or physical abuse by an adult family member as defined in this Act….

Section 25. Procedure for judicial waiver of notice. … A minor or incompetent person may petition any circuit court for a waiver of the parental notice of abortion requirement under this Act and may participate in proceedings on her own behalf. … All court proceedings under this Section shall be sealed. … These proceedings shall be given precedence over other pending matters to the extent necessary to ensure that the court reaches a decision promptly. … Notice under this Act shall be waived if the court finds by clear and convincing evidence either:

(1) that the minor or incompetent person is sufficiently mature and well-enough informed to decide intelligently whether to have an abortion; or

(2) that notification under Section 15 of this Act would not be in the best interests of the minor or incompetent person. …

No fees shall be required of any minor or incompetent person who avails herself of the procedures provided by this Section. …

Section 40. Penalties.

(a) A physician who willfully fails to provide notice as required under this Act before performing an abortion on a minor or an incompetent person shall be referred to the Illinois State Medical Disciplinary Board for action in accordance with Section 22 of the Medical Practice Act of 1987.

(b) A person, not authorized under this Act, who signs any waiver of notice under this Act for a minor or incompetent person seeking an abortion is guilty of a Class C misdemeanor.

[250] Vote: “Senate Bill 562, Parental Notice of Abortion Act of 2001.” State of Illinois Senate, 92nd General Assembly, April 6, 2001. <www.ilga.gov>

“P [Present] Obama”

[251] Resolution 2: “Rules Of The Senate.” Senate of the 92nd General Assembly, State of Illinois, 2001-2002. <12.43.67.2>

Article 1-12:

Majority of those Elected. “Majority of those elected” means an absolute majority of the total number of Senators entitled to be elected to the Senate, irrespective of the number of elected or appointed Senators actually serving in office. So long as 59 Senators are entitled to be elected to the Senate, “majority of those elected” shall mean 30 affirmative votes.

Article 5-1(f): “No bill shall be passed by the Senate except on a roll call vote of a majority of those elected.”

NOTE: This rule was effective at the time of Obama’s vote. The same rule was still in effect as of June 2008.

[252] Article: “Obama Abortion Dodges Blessed by Planned Parenthood.” By Teddy Davis. ABC News, July 17, 2007. <blogs.abcnews.com>

“We at Planned Parenthood view those as leadership votes,” Pam Sutherland, the president and CEO of the Illinois Planned Parenthood Council, told ABC News. “We worked with him specifically on his strategy. The Republicans were in control of the Illinois Senate at the time. They loved to hold votes on ‘partial birth’ and ‘born alive’. They put these bills out all the time . . . because they wanted to pigeonhole Democrats.” … “What it did,” she continued, “was give cover to moderate Democrats who wanted to vote with us but were afraid to do so” because of how their votes would be used against them electorally. “A ‘present’ vote would protect them. Your senator voted ‘present.’ Most of the electorate is not going to know what that means.”

NOTE: The next footnote independently confirms Sutherland’s assertion that she and Obama worked together on abortion-related legislation.

[253] Speech: “Barack Obama Before Planned Parenthood Action Fund.” July 17, 2007. Transcribed by Laura Echevarria. <lauraetch.googlepages.com>

I’m happy to see so many good friends here today, including Steve Trombley and Pam Sutherland from my home state of Illinois. We had a number of battles down in Springfield for many many years and it is wonderful to see that they are here today. … Steve and Pam will tell you that we fought together in the Illinois State Senate against restrictive choice legislation—laws just like the federal abortion laws, the federal abortion bans that are cropping up.

[254] Questionnaire: “2004 U.S. Senate Candidates.” Independent Voters of Illinois—Independent Precinct Organization, December 15, 2003. Submitted by Barack Obama on January 5, 2004. <www.suntimes.com>

Question 28b: “Do you support parental or spousal notification or consent to obtain an abortion? I oppose spousal notification or consent. Regarding parental notification, I would oppose any legislation that does not include a bypass provision for minors who have been victims of, or have reason to fear, physical or sexual abuse.”

[255] Senate Bill 562: “Parental Notice of Abortion Act of 2001.” State of Illinois Senate, 92nd General Assembly, 2001-2002. <www.ilga.gov>

Section 10. Definitions…. “Minor” means any person under 18 years of age who is not or has not been married or who has not been emancipated under the Emancipation of Mature Minors Act. …

(1) that the minor or incompetent person is sufficiently mature and well-enough informed to decide intelligently whether to have an abortion; or

(2) that notification under Section 15 of this Act would not be in the best interests of the minor or incompetent person. …

No fees shall be required of any minor or incompetent person who avails herself of the procedures provided by this Section. …

Section 40. Penalties.

(b) A person, not authorized under this Act, who signs any waiver of notice under this Act for a minor or incompetent person seeking an abortion is guilty of a Class C misdemeanor.

[256] Vote: “Senate Bill 562, Parental Notice of Abortion Act of 2001.” State of Illinois Senate, 92nd General Assembly, April 6, 2001. <www.ilga.gov>

“P [Present] Obama”

[257] Article: “Sen. Barack Obama’s RH [Reproductive Health] Issues Questionnaire.” By Andrea Lynch. RH Reality Check, December 21, 2007. <www.rhrealitycheck.org>

Does Sen. Obama believe adolescents should have the right to choose abortion, or should they be required to seek their parents’ consent? Why or why not? Are there any circumstances that might make a compelling case for waiving the parental consent requirement?

As a parent, Obama believes that young women, if they become pregnant, should talk to their parents before considering an abortion. But he realizes not all girls can turn to their mother or father in times of trouble, and in those instances, we should want these girls to seek the advice of trusted adults—an aunt, a grandmother, a pastor.

Unfortunately, instead of encouraging pregnant teens to seek the advice of adults, most parental consent bills that come before Congress or state legislatures criminalize adults who attempt to help a young woman in need and lack judicial bypass and other provisions that would permit exceptions in compelling cases.

[258] Bypass Provisions for State Abortion Parental Consent and Notification Laws. This table was made through research conducted on July 28-29, 2008 of each state’s codes/statutes. Most of these provisions are for judicial bypass, although some states allow doctors to invoke them.

State	Code/Statute	Operative Language for Exceptions
AL*	§26-21	“best interest of the minor”
AK	§18.16	“physical abuse, sexual abuse, or a pattern of emotional abuse … minor’s best interest”
AZ	§36-2152	“her best interests … sexual conduct with a minor by the minor’s parent, stepparent, uncle, grandparent, sibling …”
AR	§20-16-804	“her best interests”
CA*	§123450	“minor’s best interest”
CO	§12-37.5-105, §12-37.5-107	“child abuse or neglect”, “best interest of the minor”
DE	Title 24, §1784	“best interest of the minor”
FL	Title 29, §390.01114	“child abuse or sexual abuse of the petitioner by one or both of her parents or her guardian … best interest of the petitioner”
GA	§15-11-112	“best interests of the minor”
ID	§18-609A	“best interests of the minor”
IL*	Chap. 750, §70/20, §70/25	“victim of sexual abuse, neglect, or physical abuse by an adult family member”, “best interests of the minor”
IN	§16-34-2-4	“minor’s best interests”
IA	§135L.3	“best interest of the pregnant minor”
KS	§65-6705	“best interest of the minor”
KY	§311.732	“best interest of the minor”
LA	§40.1299.35.5	“best interest of the minor”
MD	§20-103	“physical or emotional abuse of the minor … best interest of the minor”
MA	Chapter 112, §12s	“in her best interests”
MI	§722.904	“best interests of the minor”
MN*	§144.343	“victim of sexual abuse, neglect, or physical abuse”
MS	§41-41-55	“best interests of the minor”
MO	§188.028. 2	“best interest of the minor”
MT	§50-20-212	“physical, sexual, or emotional abuse of the petitioner by one or both parents, a guardian, or a custodian … best interests of the petitioner”
NE	§71-6903, §71-6906	“best interests of the pregnant woman”, “victim of abuse … sexual abuse … child abuse”
NV*	§442.255	“her best interests”
NJ*	§9:17A-1.7	“physical, sexual or emotional abuse of the minor by the parent, guardian or legal custodian … best interests of the minor”
NM*	§30-5-1	[No exceptions]
NC	§90-21.8	“minor’s best interests”
ND	§14-02.1-03.1	“best interests of the minor”
OH	§2919.121	“best interests of the minor”
OK	Title 63, §1-740.2, §1-740.3	“victim of sexual abuse”, “her best interest”
PA	§3206	“best interests of the woman”
RI	§23-4.7-6	“her best interests”
SC	§44-41-30, §44-41-32	“pregnancy is the result of incest”, “best interest of the minor”
SD	§34-23A-7	“her best interests”
TN	§37-10-304	“minor’s best interests”
TX	§33.003	“minor’s best interest … physical, sexual, or emotional abuse of the minor”
UT	§76-7-304.4, §76-7-304.5	“incest … parent or guardian has abused the minor … parent or guardian has not assumed responsibility for the minor’s care and upbringing”, “minor’s best interest”
VA	§16.1-241	“her best interest … abused or neglected”
WV	§16-2F-3	“minor’s best interest”
WI	§48.375	“sexual assault … pregnancy is the result of sexual intercourse with a caregiver … minor’s best interests”
WY	§35-6-118	“best interest of the minor”

* Law blocked by court order or ruling.

[259] For details on the Congressional bill that Obama filibustered (which will be discussed in more depth later), see Child Interstate Abortion Notification Actand Final Vote Results for Senate Roll Call 263.

[260] “Opinion number 90-19 of the Attorney General of New Mexico (Hal Stratton).” By Paul Farley (Assistant Attorney General). October 3, 1990.

Page 2: “New Mexico’s current criminal abortion statute, NMSA 1978, §§ 30-5-1 to 30-5-3 (Supp.) 1990 was passed in 1969. … The statute further requires that any abortion either be performed only with the women’s consent or, if she is under eighteen years of age, then at the request of the minor and then her living parent or guardian.”

Page 4: “New Mexico’s criminal abortion law does not provide for such a bypass, as required by existing U.S. Supreme Court precedent.”

Page 7: “We further conclude that New Mexico’s parental consent provision may become enforceable either through legislative enactment of the amendments discussed above or, under certain circumstances, through modification of federal abortion jurisprudence.”

[261] 2016 Democratic Party Platform. Democratic National Committee, July 2016. <www.democrats.org>

[262] 2016 Republican Platform. Republican National Convention, July 2016. <prod-cdn-static.gop.com>

Page 14: “ We salute the many states that now protect women and girls through laws requiring informed consent, parental consent, waiting periods, and clinic regulation.”

Page 37: “We support the right of parents to consent to medical treatment for their minor children and urge enactment of legislation that would require parental consent for their daughter to be transported across state lines for abortion.”

[263] Coroner’s Report: “Rebecca Suzanne Bell.” By Dennis J. Nicholas, M.D. (Coroner of Marion County, Indiana). Case number 88-0880. October 3, 1988.

“She was somewhat improved on Wednesday but was found on Friday, September 16 when her father went home at about noon and she was ill. He took her for an x-ray which showed pneumonia bilaterally. She was hospitalized where she went into cardiopulmonary arrest later that night.”

[264] Autopsy report: “Rebecca Suzanne Bell.” By Jesse C. Giles. Forensic Division, Department of Pathology, Indiana University School of Medicine, September 17, 1988, 7:30 A.M. Signatories: John E. Pless, M.D. (Forensic Pathologist, Division of Forensic Pathology) & Jesse C. Giles, M.D. (Fellow in Forensic Pathology, Division of Forensic Pathology).

Page 1: “CAUSE OF DEATH Septic Abortion with Pneumonia … MANNER OF DEATH Undetermined”

Pages 5-6: “REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM: … There is evidence of recent pregnancy with recent partial abortion. The uterus is enlarged consistent with current pregnancy of age approximately 2-3 months.”

[265] Entry: “septic abortion.” Merriam-Webster’s Medical Dictionary, Accessed September 8, 2008 at <medical.merriam-webster.com>

“spontaneous or induced abortion associated with bacterial infection (as by E. coli, beta-hemolytic streptococci, or Clostridium perfringens)”

[266] Entry: “pneumonia.” Merriam-Webster’s Medical Dictionary, 2017. <www.merriam-webster.com>

“a disease of the lungs characterized especially by inflammation and consolidation of lung tissue followed by resolution and by fever, chills, cough, and difficulty in breathing and that is caused especially by infection”

[267] Article: “Abortion Debate Shifting; Individuals Become Symbols in Dispute.” By Joe Frolik. Cleveland Plain Dealer, September 9, 1990. <www.cleveland.com>

“With Clark in tow, she went to a Planned Parenthood clinic where a counselor listed her options. She was told an Indiana minor has to get a parent’s written consent for an abortion.”

[268] Indiana State Code, Title 16, Article 34, Chapter 2: “Requirements for Performance of Abortion; Criminal Penalties.” Accessed September 11, 2008 at <law.justia.com>

IC 16-34-2-4

Written consent of parent or guardian of unemancipated pregnant woman under 18 years of age….

Sec. 4. (a) No physician shall perform an abortion on an unemancipated pregnant woman less than eighteen (18) years of age without first having obtained the written consent of one (1) of the parents or the legal guardian of the minor pregnant woman.

(b) A minor:

(1) who objects to having to obtain the written consent of her parent or legal guardian under this section; or

(2) whose parent or legal guardian refuses to consent to an abortion; may petition, on her own behalf or by next friend, the juvenile court for a waiver of the parental consent requirement under subsection (a)

(c) A physician who feels that compliance with the parental consent requirement in subsection (a) would have an adverse effect on the welfare of the pregnant minor or on her pregnancy may petition the juvenile court within twenty-four (24) hours of the abortion request for a waiver of the parental consent requirement under subsection (a)

(d) The juvenile court must rule on a petition filed by a pregnant minor under subsection (b) or by her physician under subsection (c) within forty-eight (48) hours of the filing of the petition. Before ruling on the petition, the court shall consider the concerns expressed by the pregnant minor and her physician. The requirement of parental consent under this section shall be waived by the juvenile court if the court finds that the minor is mature enough to make the abortion decision independently or that an abortion would be in the minor’s best interests.

[269] Coroner’s Report: “Rebecca Suzanne Bell.” By Dennis J. Nicholas, M.D. (Coroner of Marion County, Indiana). Case number 88-0880. October 3, 1988.

“Investigation disclosed that REBECCA BELL became pregnant in mid-May 1988 (according to Planned Parenthood referral receipt). She did not confide this information to her parents. According to her friend, HEATHER CLARK, REBECCA BELL told the father of the unborn child about the pregnancy and he broke off all contact with her in mid-July. REBECCA BELL told HEATHER CLARK that she intended to have an abortion.”

[270] Article: “Abortion Debate Shifting; Individuals Become Symbols in Dispute.” By Joe Frolik. Cleveland Plain Dealer, September 9, 1990. <www.cleveland.com>

“… Heather Clark, a neighbor and Becky’s closest friend at the time of her death. … With Clark in tow, she went to a Planned Parenthood clinic where a counselor listed her options. … Most minors, she was told, simply go out of state. Louisville is less than 100 miles away.”

[271] Coroner’s Report: “Rebecca Suzanne Bell.” By Dennis J. Nicholas, M.D. (Coroner of Marion County, Indiana). Case number 88-0880. October 3, 1988.

“REBECCA BELL also reportedly has a history of substance abuse for which she was hospitalized from mid-February through April, 1988.”

[272] Coroner’s Report: “Rebecca Suzanne Bell.” By Dennis J. Nicholas, M.D. (Coroner of Marion County, Indiana). Case number 88-0880. October 3, 1988.

“She had told conflicting stories about abortion plans and the exact circumstances of the abortion are not known.”

[273] Article: “Abortion Debate Shifting; Individuals Become Symbols in Dispute.” By Joe Frolik. Cleveland Plain Dealer, September 9, 1990. <www.cleveland.com>

“For a time, Clark says, she was going to have an abortion. Then she was going to have the baby and put it up for adoption. Or run away to California. ‘She was just really confused,’ Clark said.”

[274] Phone call to Marion County Coroner’s Office, August 21, 2008.

“Dr. Dennis Nicholas is no longer a coroner and he has passed.”

[275] Article: “Abortion Debate Shifting; Individuals Become Symbols in Dispute.” By Joe Frolik. Cleveland Plain Dealer, September 9, 1990. <www.cleveland.com>

“According to Dr. Dennis J. Nicholas, the coroner here in Marion County, Becky Bell was killed by pneumonia brought on by the use of unsterile instruments during an illegal abortion.”

[276] Book:Choices: Women Speak Out About Abortion. Edited by Karen A Schneider. NARAL Foundation, 1997. Chapter entitled “Becky Bell.” By Karen Bell (Becky’s mother). Pages 24-27.

Page 26: “The coroner performed an autopsy and called us. ‘Your Rebecca Suzanne died from an illegal, botched abortion; dirty instruments had been used.’ ”

NOTE: The county coroner did not perform the autopsy and was not present for it. See next footnote.

[277] Autopsy report: “Rebecca Suzanne Bell.” By Jesse C. Giles. Forensic Division, Department of Pathology, Indiana University School of Medicine, September 17, 1988, 7:30 A.M. Signatories: John E. Pless, M.D. (Forensic Pathologist, Division of Forensic Pathology) & Jesse C. Giles, M.D. (Fellow in Forensic Pathology, Division of Forensic Pathology).

Page 2: “IDENTIFICATION… Persons present for the autopsy included Dr. John E. Pless, Evidence Technician Jim Floyd, Mr. Steven O’Neal and David Becsey.”

Page 4: “LUNGS… Bronchopneumonia is bilateral with the left lower lobe being severe and the left and right upper lobes being moderate.”

[278] Article: “In Debate on Abortion, 2 Girls Make It Real.” By Tamar Lewin. New York Times, October 27, 1991. <www.nytimes.com>

“They have appeared on ‘60 Minutes,’ walking through their daughter’s graveyard and talking about how they blame the law for their daughter’s death.”

[279] Book: Choices: Women Speak Out About Abortion. Edited by Karen A Schneider. NARAL Foundation, 1997. Chapter entitled “Becky Bell.” By Karen Bell (Becky’s mother). Pages 24-27.

Page 26: “One day, we got a letter from Peter Jennings. He wanted us to be on the news to talk about Becky, who was the first teenager known to die because of a parental consent law.”

[280] Article: “Abortion Debate Shifting; Individuals Become Symbols in Dispute.” By Joe Frolik. Cleveland Plain Dealer, September 9, 1990. <www.cleveland.com>

“This summer, Bill Bell quit his job. For the next year, he and Karen will tour the country talking against parental involvement laws, their expenses paid by Smeal’s Fund for the Feminist Majority.”

[281] Article: “A Rush to Blame in Becky Bell’s Death.” By Cal Thomas. Washington Times, August 9, 1990. Page G1.

“Miss Bell’s parents have announced plans to use their daughter’s death as a rallying cry against such laws. They also have participated in the creation of a video they want to show in public schools and universities that they hope will lead to the repeal of parental consent legislation.”

[282] Article: “In Debate on Abortion, 2 Girls Make It Real.” By Tamar Lewin. New York Times, October 27, 1991. <www.nytimes.com>

“They have appeared on ‘60 Minutes,’ walking through their daughter’s graveyard and talking about how they blame the law for their daughter’s death.”

[283] Book: Choices: Women Speak Out About Abortion. Edited by Karen A Schneider. NARAL Foundation, 1997. Chapter entitled “Becky Bell.” By Karen Bell (Becky’s mother). Pages 24-27.

Page 26: “One day, we got a letter from Peter Jennings. He wanted us to be on the news to talk about Becky, who was the first teenager known to die because of a parental consent law.”

[284] Transcript: Larry King Live. Hosted by Larry King. CNN, December 24, 1990.

[Cybil Shepherd:] Abortion will continue, whether it’s legal or not. It’s not the question of whether abortion will be around, it’s just a question of whether you’re going to have women—women are already dying of illegal abortions. Becky Bell in Indiana couldn’t go to her parents, there was a parental consent law. She had a good relationship with her parents, but she could not face up to going to her parents and asking permission to get consent to have an abortion. She went and had an illegal abortion, she died of it. Her parents are traveling around the country talking to state legislatures trying to get through to these people what parental consent means.

[285] Article: “In Debate on Abortion, 2 Girls Make It Real.” By Tamar Lewin. New York Times, October 27, 1991. <www.nytimes.com>

“Since Becky’s death, her parents, Karen and Bill, have traveled to 23 states to testify or lobby against parental notification laws…. Their story has appeared in a variety of publications, including Seventeen magazine and Rolling Stone.”

[286] Article: “Teenagers and Abortion.” By Eloise Salholz and others. Newsweek, January 8, 1990.

“Late in the summer of ‘88, the Indianapolis high-school junior made her way to Planned Parenthood to figure out her options. She chose abortion, but not on Indiana’s terms: rather than seek the consent of one parent, as state law required, she planned to have the procedure performed on a Saturday in Kentucky. But in the interim, desperate, she tried a home remedy. By Friday she was dead.”

[287] Pamphlet: “NO WAY OUT: Young, Pregnant and Trapped by the Law.” Reproductive Freedom Project of the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation, 1991.

In the prime of her life, Becky Bell, a 17-year-old Indiana teenager, died of a massive septic infection from a botched illegal abortion. At the time, Indiana required that a young woman obtain the consent of a parent or a judge before having an abortion. To avoid “disappointing” her parents by telling them that she was pregnant, Becky did what hundreds of thousands of women did before legalized abortion—she bought “medical care” in the back alley.¹[Footnote 1: CBS 60 Minutes, February 24, 1991.]

[288] Article: “Teen-Agers Face Reality On Both Sides of Screen.” By John J. O’Connor. New York Times, October 13, 1992. <www.nytimes.com>

… Home Box Office has been noticeably more vigorous lately in its pursuit of original programming. …

… A good case in point is this evening’s abortion essay: “Public Law 106: The Becky Bell Story.”

… Becky ends up having an illegal abortion and dying of a resultant infection. The story begins with her being rushed to the hospital by her distraught, helpless parents.

[289] Results from a search performed September 9, 2008:

“Abortion Is a Woman’s Choice.” Miami Herald, August 16, 2008.
“Illegal Abortions Killed Women.” Monroe, Louisiana News-Star, January 20, 2008.
“Parental Involvement Laws for Abortion in the United States. …” Texas Journal of Women and the Law, Spring 2007.
“Parental Notification Law Should Be Altered.” IndianaPost-Tribune, April 11, 2007.
“Teenage Abortion Waivers Not Rare.” Palm Beach Post, October 29, 2006.
“Measure 43: It’s a Life and Death Issue.” The Oregonian, September 18, 2006.
“When the Parents Can’t Know.” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, August 1, 2006.
“When the Parents Can’t Know.” New York Times, July 29, 2006.
“When Parental Involvement Laws Go Wrong.” The Humanist, May 1, 2006.
“Pros, Cons of Parental Notification of Abortion Debated.” Associated Press, February 21, 2006.
“Emphasize Education, Prevention.” Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, January 30, 2006.
“In Remembrance: Women Who Died From Illegal and Unsafe Abortions.” People’s Weekly World, January 28, 2006.
“ ‘These Laws Kill’: Notification Rules Drives Girls to Back Alleys Pro Choice Activist Says.” Charleston Gazette, January 20, 2006.

NOTE: For specific examples, see the next three footnotes.

[290] Commentary: “When the Parents Can’t Know.” By Judith Warner. New York Times, July 29, 2006. <select.nytimes.com>

“I think, first, of Becky Bell, who in 1988 died of an illegal abortion because she was too ashamed to comply with Indiana’s requirement that she notify her parents of her intent to end her pregnancy.”

[291] Article: “Pros, Cons of Parental Notification of Abortion Debated.” By Jennifer Bundy, Associated Press, February 21, 2006.

“Indiana had a parental notification law in 1988. But Bell’s daughter, Becky, did not want to tell her parents, so she had an illegal abortion. She died a week later from complications caused by dirty instruments used in the procedure, her father said after a news conference preceding the hearing.”

[292] Paper: “Parental Involvement Laws for Abortion in the United States and the United Nations Conventions on the Rights of the Child: Can International Law Secure the Right to Choose for Minors?” By Katie Hatziavramidis. Texas Journal of Women and the Law, Spring 2007.

Becky Bell, a teenager who became pregnant in Indiana, a state that requires parental consent for an abortion, was too embarrassed to tell her parents of her pregnancy.³⁶Instead, Becky sought an illegal abortion.³⁷She died of complications a week later, at the age of seventeen.³⁸…

Thus, the argument that parental involvement laws are beneficial because they prevent abortions rings hollow; they merely increase the possibility that a minor may delay or reject safe, legal healthcare in favor of more clandestine but potentially dangerous procedures. …

The author is an attorney in the greater Chicago area, and her interests center on human and civil rights matters, particularly employment discrimination. She has testified before the Texas Senate on parental involvement laws and been active in the fields of gender and reproductive rights for over a decade.

[293] Article: “In Debate on Abortion, 2 Girls Make It Real.” By Tamar Lewin. New York Times, October 27, 1991. <www.nytimes.com>

[294]60 Minutes. CBS, February 24, 1991.

[295] Webpage: “The Mission of Human Life International.” Accessed September 8, 2008 at <www.hli.org>

“The mission of HLI is to promote and defend the sanctity of life and family around the world according to the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church through prayer, service and education.”

[296] Autopsy report: “Rebecca Suzanne Bell.” By Jesse C. Giles. Forensic Division, Department of Pathology, Indiana University School of Medicine, September 17, 1988, 7:30 A.M. Signatories: John E. Pless, M.D. (Forensic Pathologist, Division of Forensic Pathology) & Jesse C. Giles, M.D. (Fellow in Forensic Pathology, Division of Forensic Pathology).

[297] Entry: “abortion.” American Heritage Dictionary of Science. Edited by Robert K. Barnhart. Houghton Mifflin, 1986.

Definition a: “birth that occurs before the embryo or fetus develops enough to live on its own, usually during the first twelve weeks of pregnancy (spontaneous abortion) … SYN: miscarriage.”

[298] Commentary: “In Indiana and Maryland, a Tale of Two Abortions.” By James A. Miller. Baltimore Evening Sun, February 15, 1991. Page A21.

I tracked down the doctor who performed Becky Bell’s autopsy, Jesse Giles. Incredibly enough, Becky Bell’s parents … never bothered to talk to the doctor who wrote the report.

When Giles wrote the word “abortion” in his autopsy report, he never imagined that abortion advocates would one day look over his shoulder and seize upon that word to promote their agenda. Giles used the word “abortion” in the way it had always been used in medicine prior to the national debate. He meant a spontaneousabortion. In short, he meant a miscarriage.

If Giles had meant a deliberate surgical abortion, he would have used the word “induced” to describe it. Giles told me that there is no evidence of an induced abortion, and in his professional opinion Becky Bell suffered a miscarriage.

Unfortunately, another pathologist stuck the word “septic” immediately before the word “abortion” on the report’s cover page.

[299] Press Release: “Human Life International Comments on HBO’s ‘Pro-Abortion Fraud’: The Becky Bell Story.” PR Newswire, October 20, 1992.

Giles believes Becky Bell “underwent a spontaneous abortion, a miscarriage.” (3)

Moreover, Giles has flatly stated that “I am astounded that they would assert that my (autopsy) report proves that there was an instrumented, illegal abortion.” (4) …

Personal communications, Dr. Jesse C. Giles with James A. Miller, HLI Director of Research, fall and winter of 1990, spring 1991.
Personal communication, Dr. Jesse C. Giles, Feb. 25, 1991, the day after CBS’s “60 Minutes” broadcast of “The Becky Bell Story.” The “they” referred to by Giles was “60 Minutes” and the Bell parents.

[300] a) Emails from Just Facts to Dr. Giles on July 31 and August 11.

NOTE: Dr. Giles did not reply.

b) Phone call from Just Facts to Dr. Giles, August 11th, 2008.

NOTE: Dr. Giles stated, “I don’t really want to talk about the case.”

[301] Email from Dr. Pless to Just Facts on August 4, 2008:

“Jesse Giles … was a fellow in training at the time of the autopsy. He was present for the autopsy—but he was operating under my supervision.”

[302] Article: “Abortion Debate Shifting; Individuals Become Symbols in Dispute.” By Joe Frolik. Cleveland Plain Dealer, September 9, 1990. <www.cleveland.com>

While performing an autopsy on her, Dr. John Pless, head of forensic pathology at Indiana University Medical Center, found fetal material and evidence of an infection in Becky’s genital tract. To him, that indicated a botched abortion.* …

Pathologist Pless says, “we can’t determine” precisely how Bell died. He found no evidence of internal injury, which he felt ruled out a self-induced abortion. Nor were there any marks on Becky’s cervix that would be left by the instruments commonly used for clinic abortions. He theorizes someone pushed something up her cervix without leaving a sign. …

“I cannot prove she had an illegal abortion. I cannot prove she had anything but a spontaneous abortion,” said Pless, who said he based his conclusions on “the percentages” of what would most likely to produce the results he observed.

* NOTE: When asked by Just Facts if this was an accurate representation of his view, Dr. Pless responded, “I did not say that it was a botched abortion. Those are not my words. I would never use the work ‘botched’. It could have been an abortion performed correctly by all standards that got infected. If Becky Bell’s parents knew that she had had surgery then they could have taken her to the doctor for antibiotic therapy which would have saved her life if administered when she first developed symptoms.” [e-mail: August 1, 2008.]

[303] Autopsy report: “Rebecca Suzanne Bell.” By Jesse C. Giles. Forensic Division, Department of Pathology, Indiana University School of Medicine, September 17, 1988, 7:30 A.M. Signatories: John E. Pless, M.D. (Forensic Pathologist, Division of Forensic Pathology) & Jesse C. Giles, M.D. (Fellow in Forensic Pathology, Division of Forensic Pathology). Pages 5-6:

REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM… There is evidence of recent pregnancy with recent partial abortion. The uterus is enlarged consistent with current pregnancy of age approximately 2-3 months. … The lower third of the uterine cavity has only the usual flat mucosa without obvious evidence of instrumentation. However, the upper 2/3 of the uterine cavity has a mixture of blood clot and necrotic [dead] and hemorrhagic [bloody] products of conception. … The serosa [outer lining] of the uterus is smooth and glistening and without exudate [anything oozing from it], and there are no areas of perforation or pus in or around the uterus.

[304] Emails from Dr. Pless to Just Facts:

August 1, 2008: “The infection spread through the blood stream from the uterus to the lungs. The source of the infection was the tissue products from the pregancy [sic] that had been incompletely removed.”

August 4, 2008: “I can not rule out a spontaneous abortion. The presence of infection suggests that it was not spontaneous.”

August 11, 2008: “The same micro-organism was cultured in the uterus and the lung. It is unlikely that the infection originated in the lung and then went to the uterus.”

[305] Autopsy report: “Rebecca Suzanne Bell.” By Jesse C. Giles. Forensic Division, Department of Pathology, Indiana University School of Medicine, September 17, 1988, 7:30 A.M. Signatories: John E. Pless, M.D. (Forensic Pathologist, Division of Forensic Pathology) & Jesse C. Giles, M.D. (Fellow in Forensic Pathology, Division of Forensic Pathology). Page 6:

SPECIMENS FOR CULTURE: Blood bacterial culture, lung tissue swabs for bacterial culture and bilateral pleural [membrane surrounding the lungs and chest cavity] fluid swabs for bacterial culture.

MICROSCOPIC EXAMINATION: Tissue samples representative of the major organs have been processed onto glass slides for microscopic examination. These histologic specimens have been examined and there are no additional significant pathologic findings other than those noted on the Anatomic Findings.

[306] Autopsy report: “Rebecca Suzanne Bell.” By Jesse C. Giles. Forensic Division, Department of Pathology, Indiana University School of Medicine, September 17, 1988, 7:30 A.M. Signatories: John E. Pless, M.D. (Forensic Pathologist, Division of Forensic Pathology) & Jesse C. Giles, M.D. (Fellow in Forensic Pathology, Division of Forensic Pathology). Pages 3-4:

“NECK ORGANS: The mucosa of the hypopharynx, larynx and trachea is smooth and glistening without ulceration or tumor.”

[307] Email from Dr. Pless, August 21, 2008. “There was no upper airway disease—so the only possiblity [sic] was spread from the uterus. Yes, my memory could be faulty after 20 years.”

[308] Autopsy report: “Rebecca Suzanne Bell.” By Jesse C. Giles. Forensic Division, Department of Pathology, Indiana University School of Medicine, September 17, 1988, 7:30 A.M. Signatories: John E. Pless, M.D. (Forensic Pathologist, Division of Forensic Pathology) & Jesse C. Giles, M.D. (Fellow in Forensic Pathology, Division of Forensic Pathology).

Page 2: “CIRCUMSTANTIAL SUMMARY… Blood culture from the hospital showed no growth, but sputum [mucus and other matter from the lungs] cultures grew streptococcus pneumoniae.”

[309] Paper: “Role of two-component systems in the virulence of Streptococcus pneumoniae.” By G. K. Paterson and others. Journal of Medical Microbiology, 2006. Pages 355-363. <jmm.sgmjournals.org>

Page 355:

Understanding of how the human pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae perceives and responds to its environment in the host offers insight into the pathogenesis of disease caused by this important bacterium and the potential for improved interventions. …

… S. pneumoniae is normally found as a harmless commensal of the human upper respiratory tract. However, depending on host and bacterial factors that are not fully understood, the pneumococcus is also a major cause of diseases such as pneumonia, meningitis, septicaemia, bronchitis and otitis media. …

Page 357: “[T]he importance of genes to virulence varies with the site of infection….”

Page 361: “Pneumococcal [Streptococcus pneumoniae] TCSs are important virulence factors of this significant human pathogen. Interestingly, their contribution to virulence can vary depending on pneumococcal strain and infection site.”

[310] Book: Case Files: Microbiology (2nd edition). By Eugene C. Toy and others. McGraw-Hill Medical, 2008.

Page 150: “Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus) … commonly colonizes the upper airway in humans, more frequently in children than adults. … Pneumococcal pneumonia {What Becky had} typically follows a milder upper respiratory infection.”

[311] Book: School Nurse Emergency Care Course(2nd edition). Loyola University Medical Center, 2003. <www.schoolhealthservicesny.com>

Page 146:

In viral pneumonia, the history includes an upper respiratory infection of gradual onset. Bacterial pneumonia {What Becky had} has a more sudden onset; the student will usually appear ill, with fever, chills, cough, and chest pain.

The signs and symptoms that accompany pneumonia in older children include a nonproductive cough, fever, pleural pain, dyspnea, and an increased respiratory rate.

NOTE: Observe that there is no mention of upper airway disease in the quote above.

[312] Email from Dr. Pless, September 2, 2008. Note that Dr. Pless was not asked to modify the report.

[313] Article: “Teen-Agers Face Reality On Both Sides of Screen.” By John J. O’Connor. New York Times, October 13, 1992. <www.nytimes.com>

“Becky ends up having an illegal abortion and dying of a resultant infection. … ‘The Becky Bell Story’ is tough and persuasive.”

[314] Press Release: “Human Life International Comments on HBO’s ‘Pro-Abortion Fraud’: The Becky Bell Story.” PR Newswire, October 20, 1992.

“Becky, accompanied by best friend ‘Kelly,’ is shown entering a small building in a seedy part of town and then walking upstairs to meet her illegal, ‘back-alley’ abortionists.”

[315] Coroner’s Report: “Rebecca Suzanne Bell.” By Dennis J. Nicholas, M.D. (Coroner of Marion County, Indiana). Case number 88-0880. October 3, 1988.

[316] Autopsy report: “Rebecca Suzanne Bell.” By Jesse C. Giles. Forensic Division, Department of Pathology, Indiana University School of Medicine, September 17, 1988, 7:30 A.M. Signatories: John E. Pless, M.D. (Forensic Pathologist, Division of Forensic Pathology) & Jesse C. Giles, M.D. (Fellow in Forensic Pathology, Division of Forensic Pathology).

[317] Book: Choices: Women Speak Out About Abortion. Edited by Karen A Schneider. NARAL Foundation, 1997. Chapter entitled “Becky Bell.” By Karen Bell (Becky’s mother). Pages 24-27.

[318] Article: “Abortion Debate Shifting; Individuals Become Symbols in Dispute.” By Joe Frolik. Cleveland Plain Dealer, September 9, 1990. <www.cleveland.com>

… Heather Clark, a neighbor and Becky’s closest friend at the time of her death.

… With Clark in tow, she went to a Planned Parenthood clinic where a counselor listed her options. …

Heather Clark fought back anger—she didn’t believe then her friend had had an abortion and still doesn’t. …

Thursday night, Clark stopped by to visit. She says Becky asked her to schedule an abortion in Louisville for Saturday.

[319] Coroner’s Report: “Rebecca Suzanne Bell.” By Dennis J. Nicholas, M.D. (Coroner of Marion County, Indiana). Case number 88-0880. October 3, 1988.

“REBECCA BELL reportedly was at a party where various drugs were being used (cocaine, ‘speed’ and LSD) on the week-end of September 10-11, claimed that someone had put ‘speed’ or cocaine in her drink.”

[320] Book: Choices: Women Speak Out About Abortion. Edited by Karen A Schneider. NARAL Foundation, 1997. Chapter entitled “Becky Bell.” By Karen Bell (Becky’s mother). Pages 24-27.

Page 25: “I was laying awake in bed waiting for her to come home. At 12:45 in the morning, I heard her trying to open the door. She was crying and said, ‘Mom, it was a horrible party. I feel like I’ve got the flu like Dad.’ ”

[321] Article: “Abortion Debate Shifting; Individuals Become Symbols in Dispute.” By Joe Frolik. Cleveland Plain Dealer, September 9, 1990. <www.cleveland.com>

“On Tuesday, she fainted at work.”

[322] Article: “Abortion Debate Shifting; Individuals Become Symbols in Dispute.” By Joe Frolik. Cleveland Plain Dealer, September 9, 1990. <www.cleveland.com>

“On Tuesday, she fainted at work. She stayed home the next two days, resisting her parents’ pleas that she go to the doctor.”

NOTE: Observe that there is a possible disparity with the next footnote regarding the first day in which she stayed home from school.

[323] Coroner’s Report: “Rebecca Suzanne Bell.” By Dennis J. Nicholas, M.D. (Coroner of Marion County, Indiana). Case number 88-0880. October 3, 1988.

“On Tuesday, September 13, she awoke with a neck ache, stayed home from school and developed an elevated temperature. She was somewhat improved on Wednesday….”

[324] Book: Choices: Women Speak Out About Abortion. Edited by Karen A Schneider. NARAL Foundation, 1997. Chapter entitled “Becky Bell.” By Karen Bell (Becky’s mother). Pages 24-27. Page 25:

After school on Monday, she still felt sick. By Wednesday she had a fever of 104 and a strange cough. I told her we were going to the doctor. She turned white. She said, ‘Mom, oh, Mom, please, oh, please, I don’t want to go. Just give me some aspirin and I’ll be okay, please, please.’

She was nearly hysterical, so I respected her wishes.

[325] Article: “Abortion Debate Shifting; Individuals Become Symbols in Dispute.” By Joe Frolik. Cleveland Plain Dealer, September 9, 1990. <www.cleveland.com>

“Thursday night, Clark stopped by to visit. She says Becky asked her to schedule an abortion in Louisville for Saturday.”

[326] Article: “Abortion Debate Shifting; Individuals Become Symbols in Dispute.” By Joe Frolik. Cleveland Plain Dealer, September 9, 1990. <www.cleveland.com>

Friday morning, Becky staggered to the bathroom. Bleeding. Her mom assumed she was having her period. After helping Becky back to bed, she insisted they go to the doctor. At last, Becky agreed.

The family physician diagnosed severe pneumonia and sent her to the hospital.

[327] Coroner’s Report: “Rebecca Suzanne Bell.” By Dennis J. Nicholas, M.D. (Coroner of Marion County, Indiana). Case number 88-0880. October 3, 1988.

[328] Autopsy report: “Rebecca Suzanne Bell.” By Jesse C. Giles. Forensic Division, Department of Pathology, Indiana University School of Medicine, September 17, 1988, 7:30 A.M. Signatories: John E. Pless, M.D. (Forensic Pathologist, Division of Forensic Pathology) & Jesse C. Giles, M.D. (Fellow in Forensic Pathology, Division of Forensic Pathology).

Page 2: “CIRCUMSTANTIAL SUMMARY… She was taken to St. Vincent hospital approximately 4:00 PM on Friday, September 16, 1988.”

[329] Book: Choices: Women Speak Out About Abortion. Edited by Karen A Schneider. NARAL Foundation, 1997. Chapter entitled “Becky Bell.” By Karen Bell (Becky’s mother). Pages 24-27.

Page 26: “Late that night, with grandma, grandpa, and other relatives gathered, the doctor said, ‘We don’t know if we can save the baby.’ And I thought, ‘The baby? My God, Becky was pregnant.’ ”

[330] Autopsy report: “Rebecca Suzanne Bell.” By Jesse C. Giles. Forensic Division, Department of Pathology, Indiana University School of Medicine, September 17, 1988, 7:30 A.M. Signatories: John E. Pless, M.D. (Forensic Pathologist, Division of Forensic Pathology) & Jesse C. Giles, M.D. (Fellow in Forensic Pathology, Division of Forensic Pathology).

Page 2: “CIRCUMSTANTIAL SUMMARY… She subsequently experienced an unexpected cardiopulmonary arrest, and was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit where she died at 11:29 PM on September 16, 1988.”

[331] Autopsy number 89-593: “Erica Richardson.” By Julia C. Goodin & others. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, State of Maryland, June 28, 1989. Autopsy performed on March 3, 1989.

Page 1: “DESCRIPTION OF INJURY… Close examination of the anterior portion of the uterus showed a large irregular perforation of the anterior lower uterine wall which extended into a portion of the cervix.”

Page 5: “OPINION: This, 16 year old black female, ERICA RICHARDSON, died from rupture of lower uterus and cervix with complications, including hemorrhage into the pelvic cavity surrounding the uterus and air embolism (air escaping into the vasculature and heart). According to police reports, the deceased was known to have been pregnant and this is consistent with autopsy findings. However, she had undergone and evacuation [abortion] procedure which resulted in perforation of the uterus.”

[332] Article: “Teen’s Death After Abortion Brings Suit.” By Larry Perl. Prince George’s Journal Weekly, May 30-31, 1990.

[333] Article: “Mother Is Suing Doctor: Daughter Died After Abortion.” By Melanie Mader. Laurel Leader, June 29, 1990. Pages A1, 3.

Page 1: “[T]he 16-year-old Cheltenham girl….”

Page 3: “Richardson-Smith was unaware that her daughter was having an abortion until the Bowie medical center called her, McLaughlin said.”

[334] Press release: “Human Life International Claims Maryland Health Department ‘Ignores, Covers-Up’ Abortion Deaths.” PR Newswire, November 21, 1991.

“Erica Richardson, 16, died March 2, 1989, just hours after an abortion was performed upon her by Dr. Gene O. Crawford at his Metropolitan Women’s Center, 9811 Mallard Dr., Laurel, Md.”

[335] Maryland Code, Section 20-103: “Abortion.” State of Maryland. Accessed April 15, 2017 at <mgaleg.maryland.gov>

(1) The physician may perform the abortion, without notice to a parent or guardian of a minor if, in the professional judgment of the physician:

(i) Notice to the parent or guardian may lead to physical or emotional abuse of the minor;

(ii) The minor is mature and capable of giving informed consent to an abortion; or

(iii) Notification would not be in the best interest of the minor.

(2) The physician is not liable for civil damages or subject to a criminal penalty for a decision under this subsection not to give notice.

[336] Report: “Sexual Assault of Young Children as Reported to Law Enforcement: Victim, Incident, and Offender Characteristics.” By Howard N. Snyder. Bureau of Justice Statistics, U. S. Department of Justice, July 2000. <www.bjs.gov>

Page 1: “The 1991 through 1996 NIBRS master files contain reports from law enforcement agencies in 12 States: Alabama, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, North Dakota, South Carolina, Utah, Vermont, and Virginia. These reports were scanned to identify incidents of sexual assault.”

Page 3 (graph): “Age profiles of sexual assault victims, by offense category: Forcible rape.”

NOTES:

The raw data used to construct this graph was e-mailed by the Bureau of Justice Statistics to Just Facts on August 14, 2008.
An Excel file containing this raw data is available upon request.

[337] Book: Sex and America’s Teenagers. By Patricia Donovan & others. Guttmacher Institute, 1994.

Page 28: “Forced Sex … Adapted from [the source cited in the footnote below. Page 111, Table 2]. … Those who answered affirmatively to the question “Was there ever a time when you were forced to have sex against your will, or were raped?” were classified as having had involuntary intercourse.”

Data extracted from Figure 17:

Age of Females Who Had Intercourse	Involuntary Intercourse Only	Both Voluntary and Involuntary Intercourse	Voluntary Intercourse Only
15 and younger	26%	14%	60%

[338] Study: “Nonvoluntary Sexual Activity Among Adolescents.” By Kristin Anderson Moore & others. Family Planning Perspectives, May–June, 1989. Page 110-114.

Page 110: “Data from the 1987 round of the National Survey of Children indicate that seven percent of Americans aged 18-22 have experienced at least one episode of nonvoluntary sexual intercourse. Women were more likely than men to report having had such an experience, with just under half of all nonvoluntary experiences among women occurring before age 14.”

Page 111: Data extracted from “Table 2. Cumulative proportions of young people who had experienced intercourse prior to given ages…”:

Gender, Race, Age*	% Who Experienced Voluntary Intercourse	% Who Experienced Intercourse (Voluntary or Involuntary)
Female, white, < 16 years old	10.6	15.3
Female, black, < 16 years old	20.7	23.5

NOTE: The figures in this chart are based upon raw numbers. Since the survey had an overrepresentation of black people as compared to the general U.S. population, the figures in the previous footnote are weighted to compensate for this overrepresentation.

Page 112: “Clearly, among both black and white women at younger ages, the proportions who had experienced intercourse are considerably higher when nonvoluntary sex is included in the estimate. Seven percent of white women reported having experienced intercourse by their 14^thbirthday, but only two percent reported having had a voluntary sexual experience by that age.”

[339] Study: “Extent, Nature, and Consequences of Rape Victimization: Findings From the National Violence Against Women Survey.” By Patricia Tjaden and Nancy Thoennes. U.S. Department of Justice, June 2006. <www.ncjrs.gov>

Page 18: “Survey results show that rape occurs at an early age for many rape victims—21.6 percent of women and 48 percent of men were younger than 12 years old when they were first raped, and 32.4 percent of women and 23 percent of men were between ages 12 and 17. Thus, more than half (54 percent) of female victims and nearly three-quarters (71 percent) of male victims were first raped before their 18^thbirthday.”

[340] Act 537: “ An Act to Require Parental Consent Before Performing an Abortion on a Minor; and for Other Purposes.” State of Arkansas, 85th General Assembly (2005). Signed into law by Mike Huckabee on March 4, 2005. <www.arkleg.state.ar.us>

Except as otherwise provided in §§ 20-16-804 and 20-16-805, no person may perform an abortion upon an unemancipated minor, or upon a woman for whom a guardian or custodian has been appointed because of a finding of incompetency, unless the person or the person’s agent first obtains the written consent of either parent or the legal guardian or custodian. …

“Parent” shall mean both parents either parent of the pregnant woman if they are both living; one (1) parent of the pregnant woman if only one (1) is living or if the second one (1) cannot be located through reasonably diligent effort; or the court-appointed guardian or custodian if the pregnant woman has one.

[341] Act 934: “An Act to Establish the Parental Involvement Enhancement Act; to Repeal the Parental Notification Provisions; and for Other Purposes.” State of Arkansas, 90th General Assembly (2015). Signed into law by Asa Hutchinson on April 4, 2015. <www.arkleg.state.ar.us>

“Consent” means: (A) In the case of a pregnant woman who is less than eighteen (18) years of age, a notarized written statement signed by the pregnant woman and her mother, father, or legal guardian declaring that the pregnant woman intends to seek an abortion and that her mother, father, or legal guardian consents to the abortion. …

“Parent” means: (A) Either parent of the pregnant woman if both parents are living; (B) One (1) parent of the pregnant woman if only one (1) is living or if the second parent cannot be located through reasonably diligent effort; or (C) The court-appointed guardian or custodian if the pregnant woman has one.

[342] Arkansas State Code, Title 20, Subtitle 2, Chapter 16, Subchapter 8: “Abortion—Parental Involvement.” Arkansas General Assembly. Accessed April 12, 2017 at <law.justia.com>

Section 805: “Manner of Consent” (<law.justia.com>)
(A) A physician shall not perform an abortion upon a pregnant woman unless:

(1) In the case of a woman who is less than eighteen (18) years of age, he or she obtains the notarized written consent of both the pregnant woman and one (1) of her parents or her legal guardian; or

(2) In the case of woman who is an incompetent person, the physician first obtains the notarized written consent of her legal guardian.

(B) The notarized written consent shall include without limitation the following information:

(1) The name and birthdate of the minor or incompetent woman;

(2) The name of the parent or legal guardian;

(3) A statement from the parent or legal guardian that he or she is aware that the minor or incompetent woman desires an abortion and that he or she does consent to the abortion; and

(4) The date.

Section 803: “Definitions” (<law.justia.com>):
(7) “Minor” means an individual under eighteen (18) years of age;

(8) “Parent” means:

(A) Either parent of the pregnant woman if they are both living;

(B) One (1) parent of the pregnant woman if only one (1) is living or if the second parent cannot be located through reasonably diligent effort; or

[343] Article: “Granite City Abortion Clinic Part Of Rape Investigation.” By Cordell Whitlock. Channel 5, KDSK, St. Louis, November 16, 2006. <www.ksdk.com>

“Police in Bryant, Ark., say Cheshier began assaulting the juvenile last year. In October, he was arrested and charged with rape. The victim told police Cheshier had gotten her pregnant and forced her to have an abortion.”

[344] Article: “Protesters’ Photos May Be Clue in Rape Case.” By Shane Graber. St. Louis Post-Dispatch, November 17, 2006. <www.stltoday.com>

“The teen told police he got her pregnant and took her to a St. Louis-area abortion clinic in March, the affidavit said.”

[345] Article: “Federal Judge Rejects Request to Enforce Illinois Abortion Law.” Associated Press, March 2, 2008.

“The Parental Notice of Abortion Act was passed in 1984 and updated in 1995 but never enforced because the Illinois Supreme Court refused to issue rules spelling out how judges should handle appeals of the notification requirement.”

[346] Brief: “Parental Involvement in Minors’ Abortions.” Guttmacher Institute, June 1, 2008. <www.guttmacher.org>

“Illinois… Enforcement permanently or temporarily enjoined by a court order; policy not in effect.”

[347] Article: “Granite City Abortion Clinic Part Of Rape Investigation.” By Cordell Whitlock. Channel 5, KDSK, St. Louis, November 16, 2006. <www.ksdk.com>

“Angela Michael frequently protests outside the clinic and police used a photo she took of Cheshier’s car to prove he was there in March.”

[348] Phone call from Just Facts to the arresting officer of Jeffrey Cheshier, June 12, 2008.

The officer stated that:

Cheshier committed suicide.
Cheshier was the alleged victim’s stepfather.
The girl kept detailed records on her calendar, and as such, Cheshier was facing about 12 counts of rape.

[349] Death Certificate:

Jeffery Cheshier

Birth Date: 14 Oct 1965

Death Date: 17 Jul 2007

Social Security Number: XXX-XX-XXXX

State or Territory Where Number Was Issued: Arkansas

[350] House of Representatives Amendment to Senate Bill 403: “Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act.” 109th United States Congress, September 26, 2006. <www.congress.gov>

Sec. 2431. Transportation of minors in circumvention of certain laws relating to abortion

(a) Offense-

(1) GENERALLY—Except as provided in subsection (b), whoever knowingly transports a minor across a State line, with the intent that such minor obtain an abortion, and thereby in fact abridges the right of a parent under a law requiring parental involvement in a minor’s abortion decision, in force in the State where the minor resides, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.

(b) Exceptions—

(1) The prohibition of subsection (a) does not apply if the abortion was necessary to save the life of the minor because her life was endangered by a physical disorder, physical injury, or physical illness, including a life endangering physical condition caused by or arising from the pregnancy itself.

(2) A minor transported in violation of this section, and any parent of that minor, may not be prosecuted or sued for a violation of this section, a conspiracy to violate this section, or an offense under section 2 or 3 based on a violation of this section. …

Sec. 2435. Child interstate abortion notification

(a) Offense—

(1) Generally—A physician who knowingly performs or induces an abortion on a minor in violation of the requirements of this section shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.

(2) Parental Notification—A physician who performs or induces an abortion on a minor who is a resident of a State other than the State in which the abortion is performed must provide, or cause his or her agent to provide, at least 24 hours actual notice to a parent of the minor before performing the abortion. If actual notice to such parent is not possible after a reasonable effort has been made, 24 hours constructive notice must be given to a parent.

(b) Exceptions—The notification requirement of subsection (a)(2) does not apply if

(1) the abortion is performed or induced in a State that has, in force, a law requiring parental involvement in a minor’s abortion decision and the physician complies with the requirements of that law;

(2) the physician is presented with documentation showing with a reasonable degree of certainty that a court in the minor’s State of residence has waived any parental notification required by the laws of that State, or has otherwise authorized that the minor be allowed to procure an abortion;

(3) the minor declares in a signed written statement that she is the victim of sexual abuse, neglect, or physical abuse by a parent, and, before an abortion is performed on the minor, the physician notifies the authorities specified to receive reports of child abuse or neglect by the law of the State in which the minor resides of the known or suspected abuse or neglect;

(4) the abortion is necessary to save the life of the minor because her life was endangered by a physical disorder, physical injury, or physical illness, including a life endangering physical condition caused by or arising from the pregnancy itself, or because in the reasonable medical judgment of the minor’s attending physician, the delay in performing an abortion occasioned by fulfilling the prior notification requirement of subsection (a)(2) would cause a substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function of the minor arising from continued pregnancy, not including psychological or emotional conditions, but an exception under this paragraph does not apply unless the attending physician or an agent of such physician, within 24 hours after completion of the abortion, notifies a parent in writing that an abortion was performed on the minor and of the circumstances that warranted invocation of this paragraph; or

(5) the minor is physically accompanied by a person who presents the physician or his agent with documentation showing with a reasonable degree of certainty that he or she is in fact the parent of that minor.

[351] Study: “Statutory Rape: A Guide to State Laws and Reporting Requirements.” By Asaph Glosser, Karen Gardiner & Mike Fishman. Prepared for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services by the Lewin Group, December 15, 2004. <aspe.hhs.gov>

Pages 15-16 (in pdf file): “Table 1: State Age Requirements.”

[352] Study: “Statutory Rape: A Guide to State Laws and Reporting Requirements.” By Asaph Glosser, Karen Gardiner & Mike Fishman. Prepared for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services by the Lewin Group, December 15, 2004. <aspe.hhs.gov>

Page 12: “Each state’s reporting requirements identify certain individuals who are required to notify the authorities of suspected abuse. Although it varies by state, mandated reporters are typically individuals who encounter children through their professional capacity.”

NOTES:

Pages 17-126 outline the laws in each state. The following 29 states and the District Of Columbia have laws that necessitate reporting of a sexual relationship between a 22-year-old man and a 13-year-old girl: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming.

The following 20 states have laws that necessitate reporting of a sexual relationship between a 22-year-old man and a 13-year-old girl if the suspected perpetrator has care, control or custody of the child: Arizona, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Virginia, West Virginia.

Montana does not have a law that explicitly requires reporting of sexual abuse.

[353] Webpage: “About Us.” Accessed April 12, 2017 at <lifedynamics.com>

Our mission is simple: to end legalized abortion in America and restore legal protection to the unborn. Life Dynamics have always striven to be the most innovative and the cutting edge of the pro-life movement because, “We are not here to just put up a good fight, we are here to win- because winning is how this killing is going to stop.” We believe in being Pro-Life, without compromise, without exceptions, and without apology.

[354] Report: “Child Predators.” By Mark Crutcher. Life Dynamics, 2002. <www.childpredators.com>

[355] Article: “Pro-Life Group Launches Undercover Sting.” Fox News, May 31, 2002. <www.foxnews.com>

“What she learned is that more than 90 percent of the clinic employees handling the calls said they would conceal the information provided by the caller, according to Life Dynamics president Mark Crutcher.”

NOTE: Tapes were made of the phone calls and some have been circulated to the media, who has confirmed their authenticity. Details in the facts to follow.

[356] Report: “Child Predators.” By Mark Crutcher. Life Dynamics, 2002. <www.childpredators.com>

[357] Report: “Child Predators.” By Mark Crutcher. Life Dynamics, 2002. <www.childpredators.com>

[358] Report: “Child Predators.” By Mark Crutcher. Life Dynamics, 2002. <www.childpredators.com>

[359] Article: “Connecticut Abortion Clinics Look The Other Way.” By Ted Greenberg. WTIC–TV, May 22, 2002. <fox61.trb.com>

“So what does Planned Parenthood have to say about all this? Not much. As we did with the child advocate, we wanted to play the tapes for them and get their reaction, but they refused unless they could hear them first. We agreed to play the tapes over the phone for them, but still they refused an on-camera interview. Instead, they issued this short statement.”

[360] Article: “Connecticut Abortion Clinics Look The Other Way.” By Ted Greenberg. WTIC–TV, May 22, 2002. <fox61.trb.com>

“So we made some calls to Connecticut Planned Parenthood centers and we asked for the names we heard. Some were not overly common names, like Heidi and Glenda. We found they indeed worked there. Also, the tones placing the calls on the tape match the Planned Parenthood phone numbers.”

NOTE: Transcripts of some of the phone conversations were contained in this article, which is no longer posted.

[361] Ruling: Hodgson v. Minnesota. U.S. Supreme Court, June 25, 1990. <caselaw.findlaw.com>

[362] Brief submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court: Hodgson v. Minnesota. American Psychological Association, September 1, 1989. <www.apa.org>

Page 18: “Psychological theory and research about cognitive, social and moral development strongly supports the conclusion that most adolescents are competent to make informed decisions about important life situations.”

[363] Brief submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court: Hodgson v. Minnesota. American Psychological Association, September 1, 1989. <www.apa.org>

Pages 19-20:

In fact, by middle adolescence (age 14-15) young people develop abilities similar to adults in reasoning about moral dilemmas,⁴⁶understanding social rules and laws,⁴⁷reasoning about interpersonal relationships⁴⁸and interpersonal problems,⁴⁰and reasoning about custody preference during divorce.⁵⁰… Thus, by age 14 most adolescents have developed adult-like intellectual and social capacities including specific abilities outlined in the law as necessary for understanding treatment alternatives, considering risks and benefits, and giving legally competent consent.

[364] Brief submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court: Hodgson v. Minnesota. American Psychological Association, March 16, 1987. <www.apa.org>

Page 10: “In sum, the unvarying and highly significant findings of numerous scientific studies indicate that with respect to the capacity to understand and reason logically, there is no qualitative or quantitative difference between minors in mid-adolescence, i.e., about 14-15 years of age, and adults.”

[365] Ruling: Roper v. Simmons. U.S. Supreme Court, March 1, 2005. <caselaw.findlaw.com>

[366] Brief submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court: Roper v. Simmons. American Psychological Association, July 19, 2004. <www.apa.org>

Pages 7-8:

Adolescent decision-makers on average are less future-oriented and less likely to consider properly the consequences of their actions.

In comparison with adults, studies show that adolescents are less likely to consider alternative courses of action, understand the perspective of others, or restrain impulses. In a study of more than 1,000 adolescents and adults, researchers investigated the relationships among the factors of age, maturity, and antisocial decisionmaking. Elizabeth Cauffman & Laurence Steinberg, “(Im)maturity and Judgment in Adolescence: Why Adolescents May be Less Culpable Than Adults,” 18 Behav. Sci. & L.741 (2000). Adolescents, on average, were “less responsible, more myopic, and less temperate than the average adult.” Id. at 757. In this study, the most dramatic change in behavior occurred sometime between 16 and 19 years of age, especially with respect to “perspective” (i.e., the consideration of different viewpoints and broader contexts of decisions), and “temperance” (i.e., the ability to limit impulsivity and evaluate situations before acting). Id. at 756. And it was not until age 19 that this development of responsible decisionmaking plateaued. Ibid. These findings indicate “that once the developmental changes of adolescence are complete, maturity of judgment may stabilize.” Ibid.

In another analysis of decision-making competence, adolescents performed more poorly than adults. Bonnie L. Halpern-Felsher & Elizabeth Cauffman, “Costs and Benefits of a Decision: Decision-Making Competence in Adolescents and Adults,” 22 J. Applied Developmental Psycholog.257, 268 (2001). Although even greater differences prevailed between younger adolescents and adults, the researchers concluded “it is clear that important progress in the development of decision-making competence occurs sometime during late adolescence.” Id. at 271. The researchers explained that “these changes have a profound effect on their ability to make consistently mature decisions.” Ibid. Adults, for example, were better able to weigh the options available to resolve an issue. Id. at 268; see also Lita Furby & Ruth Beyth-Marom, “Risk Taking in Adolescence: A Decision- Making Perspective,” 12 Developmental Rev.1, 1 (1992) (highlighting how adolescents seek different outcomes than adults from decision-making).

[367] Webpage: “American Medical News.” Accessed September 6, 2008 at <www.ama-assn.org>

American Medical Newsis the newspaper for America’s physicians. Published since 1958, it is one of the most widely read publications in the United States on news affecting the medical profession. From Medicare and managed care to public health and practice management, no other source covers the same range of current events affecting medical practice.

American Medical Newsis published by the American Medical Association and is intended to serve as a credible forum for information affecting physicians and their practices. The content of articles and the opinions expressed in AMNewsare not necessarily endorsed by the AMA.

[368] Article: “Veto-Proof Majority in House Votes to Prohibit Late-Term Procedure.” By Diane M. Gianelli. American Medical News, November 20, 1995.

“Partial birth” abortions, also called “intact D&E” (for dilation and evacuation), or “D&X” (dilation and extraction) are done by only a handful of U.S. physicians, including Martin Haskell, MD, of Dayton, Ohio, and, until his recent death, James T. McMahon, MD, of the Los Angeles area. Dr. McMahon said in a 1993 AMNewsinterview that he had trained about a half-dozen physicians to do the procedure.

The procedure usually involves the extraction of an intact fetus, feet first, through the birth canal, with all but the head delivered. The surgeon forces scissors into the base of the skull, spreads them to enlarge the opening, and uses suction to remove the brain.

[369] Entry: “abortion, partial-birth.” Melloni’s Illustrated Medical Dictionary(4th edition). Edited by Ida G. Dox & others. Parthenon Publishing Group, 2002. Page 2:

Page 2: “Common term for termination of a late pregnancy with a breech presentation. Labor is induced by conventional methods; the cervix is widely dilated and delivery is expedited by evacuation the cranial contents with a suction catheter, then compressing the cranium.”

[370] Ruling: Gonzales v. Carhart. United States Supreme Court, April 18, 2007. Decided 5-4. Majority: Kennedy, Roberts, Scalia, Thomas, Alito. Concurring: Thomas, Scalia. Dissenting: Ginsburg, Stevens, Souter, Breyer. <caselaw.findlaw.com>

Section I (A): “[Partial-birth abortion] gained public notoriety when, in 1992, Dr. Martin Haskell gave a presentation describing his method of performing the operation.”

[371] Paper: “Dilation and Extraction for Late Second Trimester Abortion.” By Martin Haskell. Presented at the Fall Risk Management Seminar of the National Abortion Federation, September 13, 1992. <operationrescue.org>

Page 1:

The surgical method described in this paper [partial-birth abortion] differs from classic D&E [dilation and evacuation] in that it does not rely upon dismemberment to remove the fetus. Nor are inductions or infusions used to expel the intact fetus.

Rather, the surgeon grasps and removes a nearly intact fetus through an adequately dilated cervix. The author has coined the term Dilation and Extraction or D&X to distinguish it from dismemberment-type D&E’s.

This procedure can be performed in a properly equipped physician’s office under local anesthesia. It can be used successfully in patients 20-26 weeks in pregnancy.

The author has performed over 700 of these procedures with a low rate of complications.

NOTE: Pages 2–5 describe the procedure in detail.

[372] Article: “2nd Trimester Abortion: An interview with W. Martin Haskell, MD.” Cincinnati Medicine, Fall 1993. <www.nrlc.org>

NOTE: This article describes the procedure in detail.

[373] Article: “An Abortion Rights Advocate Says He Lied About Procedure.” By David Stout. New York Times, February 26, 1997. <www.nytimes.com>

“Ron Fitzsimmons, the executive director of the National Coalition of Abortion Providers…. In the vast majority of cases, the procedure is performed on a healthy mother with a healthy fetus that is 20 weeks or more along, Mr. Fitzsimmons said.”

[374] Twenty weeks after fertilization. Intrauterine picture taken under the direction of Professor Andrzej Skawina of Collegium Medicum Jagiellonian University (Krakow, Poland) and Antoni Marsinek of the Czerwiakowski Gynecological and Obstetrics Hospital (Krakow, Poland); Photographers: Andrzej Zachwieja and Jan Walczewski. Copyright: Life Issues.

[375] Webpage: “Summary of House Resolution 1833: Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 1995.” U.S. House of Representatives, 104th Congress (1995-1996). Accessed April 15, 2017 at <www.congress.gov>

Sponsor: Canady, Charles T. [R-FL] (Introduced 06/14/1995) …

Subjects any physician who knowingly performs a partial-birth abortion in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce to a fine or imprisonment for not more than two years or both, except where such an abortion is necessary to save the life of a mother endangered by a physical disorder, illness, or injury, provided that no other medical procedure would suffice.

Defines: (1) “partial-birth abortion” as an abortion in which the person performing the abortion partially vaginally delivers a living fetus before killing the fetus and completing the delivery; and (2) “physician” as a doctor of medicine or osteopathy legally authorized to practice medicine and surgery by the State in which the doctor performs such activity, or any other individual legally authorized by the State to perform abortions.

Permits the father (if married to the mother at the time she receives a partial-birth abortion procedure) and (if the mother has not attained the age of 18 at the time of the abortion) the maternal grandparents to obtain, through a civil action, relief which would include money damages for all psychological and physical injuries and statutory damages equal to three times the cost of the partial-birth abortion, unless the pregnancy resulted from the plaintiff’s criminal conduct or the plaintiff consented to the abortion.

[376] Webpage: “Cosponsors of House Resolution 1833: Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 1995.” U.S. House of Representatives, 104th Congress (1995-1996). Accessed April 21, 2017 at <www.congress.gov>

“Sponsor: Canady, Charles T. [R-FL] … Cosponsor statistics: 115 current [96 Republicans, 19 Democrats]”

[377] Webpage: “Actions on House Resolution 1833: Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 1995.” U.S. House of Representatives, 104th Congress (1995-1996). Accessed April 21, 2017 at <www.congress.gov>

Date	Action
6/14/1995	Introduced in House
11/1/1995	Passed/agreed to in House: On passage Passed by the Yeas and Nays: 288–139, 1 Present (Roll no. 756).
12/7/1995	Passed Senate with amendments by Yea-Nay Vote. 54–44.
3/27/1996	On motion that the House agree to the Senate amendments Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: 286–129, 1 Present (Roll no. 94).
4/10/1996	Vetoed by President.
9/19/1996	Passed House over veto: Two-thirds of the Members present having voted in the affirmative the bill is passed, the objections of the President to the contrary notwithstanding. Passed by the Yeas and Nays (2/3 required): 285–137 (Roll No. 422).
9/26/1996	Failed of passage in Senate over veto: Failed of passage in Senate over veto by Yea–Nay Vote. 58–40. Record Vote No: 301.

[378] Calculated with data from the following sources:

a) Vote 596: “Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 1995.” U.S. Senate, December 7, 1995. <senate.gov>

	Voted YES	Voted NO	Not Voting
Republican	45	7
Democratic	9	37	1

b) Vote 94: “Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 1995.” U.S. House of Representatives, March 27, 1996. <house.gov>

	Voted YES	Voted NO	Not Voting
Republican	214	15	6
Democratic	72	113	9
Independent		1

Totals from House and Senate votes above:

	Voted YES	Voted NO	Not Voting	Total
Republican	259 (90%)	22 (8%)	6 (2%)	287
Democratic	81 (34%)	150 (63%)	9 (4%)	241

[379] Webpage: “Summary of House Resolution 1122: Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 1997).” U.S. House of Representatives, 105th Congress (1997-1998). Accessed April 21, 2017. <www.congress.gov>

Sponsor: Solomon, Gerald B. H. [R-NY] (Introduced 03/19/1997) …

Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit any physician from knowingly performing a partial-birth abortion in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, unless it is necessary to save the life of the mother. Prescribes penalties.

Defines a “partial birth abortion” as an abortion in which a person, deliberately and intentionally, partially vaginally delivers a living fetus before killing the fetus and completing the delivery.

Authorizes the father, if married to the mother at the time of the abortion, and the maternal grandparents of the fetus, if the mother is under 18 years of age, to obtain specified relief in a civil action, unless the pregnancy resulted from the plaintiff’s criminal conduct or the plaintiff consented to the abortion.

Authorizes a defendant accused of an offense under this Act to seek a hearing before the State Medical Board on whether the physician’s conduct was necessary to save the life of the mother.

Prohibits the prosecution of a woman upon whom a partial-birth abortion is performed for conspiracy to violate this Act or under provisions regarding punishment as a principal or an accessory or for concealment of a felony.

[380] Webpage: “Actions on House Resolution 1122: Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 1997.” U.S. House of Representatives, 105th Congress (1997-1998). Accessed April 21, 2017 at <www.congress.gov>

Date	Action
3/19/1997	Introduced in House
3/20/1997	Passed/agreed to in House: On passage Passed by recorded vote: 295–136 (Roll no. 65).
5/20/1997	Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate with amendments by Yea–Nay Vote. 64–36. Record Vote No: 71.
10/8/1997	Resolving differences—House actions: On motion that the House agree to the Senate amendments Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: 296–132 (Roll no. 500).
10/10/1997	Vetoed by President.
7/23/1998	Passed House over veto: Two-thirds of the Members present having voted in the affirmative the bill is passed, the objections of the President to the contrary notwithstanding. Passed by the Yeas and Nays (2/3 required): 296–132 (Roll No. 325).
9/18/1998	Failed of passage in Senate over veto: Failed of passage in Senate over veto by Yea–Nay Vote. 64–36. Record Vote No: 277.

[381] Calculated with data from the following sources:

a) Vote 71: “Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 1997.” U.S. Senate, May 20, 1997. <senate.gov>

	Voted YES	Voted NO
Republican	51	4
Democratic	13	32

b) Vote 500: “Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 1997.” U.S. House of Representatives, October 8, 1997. <house.gov>

	Voted YES	Voted NO	Not Voting
Republican	217	8	2
Democratic	79	123	4
Independent		1

Totals from House and Senate votes above:

	Voted YES	Voted NO	Not Voting	Total
Republican	268 (95%)	12 (4%)	2 (1%)	282
Democratic	92 (37%)	155 (62%)	4 (2%)	251

[382] Article: “Method to End 20-Week Pregnancies Stirs a Corner of the Abortion Debate.” By Tamar Lewin. New York Times, July 5, 1995. <www.nytimes.com>

“This procedure is not taking place on live fetuses, the way it’s being portrayed,” Ms. Saporta said. “The fetal demise has already occurred, and most of these fetuses have severe abnormalities and were never healthy to start with.”

[383] Article: “2nd Trimester Abortion: An interview with W. Martin Haskell, MD.” Cincinnati Medicine, Fall 1993. <www.nrlc.org>

“Dilation and Extraction (D & X) … was developed in 1993 by Cincinnati physician W. Martin Haskell, MD.”

NOTE: This article describes the procedure in detail and explains how Haskell came to develop it.

[384] Article: “Method to End 20-Week Pregnancies Stirs a Corner of the Abortion Debate.” By Tamar Lewin. New York Times, July 5, 1995. <www.nytimes.com>

Dr. Haskell, whose paper on how to perform the procedure was distributed to other doctors by the National Abortion Federation, said in a letter to Mr. Canady’s subcommittee: “Statements that fetuses are not dead until nearly the end of the procedure are not accurate. Death occurs early in the procedure if not before. Representations that fetuses are living, conscious, feeling pain, wiggling, kicking or trying to escape are totally fictitious.”

[385] Article: “Shock-Tactic Ads Target Late-Term Abortion Procedure: Foes Hope Campaign Will Sink Federal Abortion Rights Legislation.” By Diane M. Gianelli. American Medical News, July 5, 1993. <www.nrlc.org>

A letter to the Star-Tribunesaid the procedure shown “is only performed after fetal death when an autopsy is necessary or to save the life of the mother.” And the Morrisville, Vt., Transcript … quoted the abortion federation as providing similar information. “The fetus is dead 24 hours before the pictured procedure is undertaken,” the editorial stated.

But Dr. Haskell and another doctor [McMahon] who routinely use the procedure for late term abortions told AMNewsthat the majority of fetuses aborted this way are alive until the end of the procedure.

[386] Article: “Method to End 20-Week Pregnancies Stirs a Corner of the Abortion Debate.” By Tamar Lewin. New York Times, July 5, 1995. <www.nytimes.com>

“But anti-abortion groups point to statements in earlier news accounts, including a 1993 article in The American Medical News, a publication of the American Medical Association, that quoted the two doctors as saying, ‘The majority of fetuses aborted this way are alive until the end of the procedure.’ ”

[387]House Report 104-267: “Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 1995.” Judiciary Committee, U.S. House of Representatives, September 27, 1995. <www.gpo.gov>

Pages 5-6:

Dr. Martin Haskell and Dr. James McMahon, two abortionists who use the partial-birth abortion method, were interviewed by the American Medical Newsin 1993. These doctors “told the AMNews that the majority of fetuses aborted this way are alive until the end of the procedure.”¹⁴

Dr. Haskell and the National Abortion Federation disputed the accuracy of the AMNews article after the “Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act” was introduced this year, claiming that out-of-context quotes were used.¹⁵…

¹⁴Diane M. Gianelli, “Shock-Tactic Ads Target Late-Term Abortion Procedure: Foes Hope Campaign Will Sink Federal Abortion Rights Legislation,” American Medical News, July 5, 1993, at 3, 21.

[388] Article: “Veto-Proof Majority in House Votes to Prohibit Late-Term Procedure.” By Diane M. Gianelli. American Medical News, November 20, 1995. <www.nrlc.org>

“The accuracy of the article was challenged, two years after publication, by Dr. Haskell and the National Abortion Federation, who told Congress the doctors were quoted ‘out of context.’ ”

[389] Letter: “Barbara Bolsen (Editor, American Medical News) to Charles T. Canady (Chairmen, Subcommittee on the Constitution, Judiciary Committee, U.S. House of Representatives).” July 11, 1995. <www.congress.gov>

We have full documentation of these interviews, including tape recordings and transcripts. Enclosed is a transcript of the contested quotes that relate to the allegations of inaccuracies made against AMNews.

Let me also note that in the two years since publication of our story, neither the organization nor the physician who complained about the report in testimony to your committee has contacted the reporter or any editor at AMNewsto complain about it. AMNewshas a longstanding reputation for balance, fairness and accuracy in reporting, including reporting on abortion, an issue that is as divisive within medicine as it is within society in general. We believe that the story in question comports entirely with that reputation. …

AMN:Let’s talk first about whether or not the fetus is dead beforehand …

Haskell:No, it’s not. No, it’s really not. A percentage are for various numbers of reasons. Some just because of the stress—intrauterine stress during, you know, the two days that the cervix is being dilated. Sometimes the membranes rupture and it takes a very small superficial infection to kill a fetus in utero when the membranes are broken. And so in my case, I would think probably about a third of those are definitely are (sic) dead before I actually start to remove the fetus. And probably the other two-thirds are not.

AMN:Is the skull procedure also done to make sure that the fetus is dead so you’re not going to have the problem of a live birth?

Haskell:It’s immaterial. If you can’t get it out, you can’t get it out.

AMN:I mean, you couldn’t dilate further? Or is that riskier?

Haskell:Well, you could dilate further over a period of days.

AMN:Would that just make it … would it go from a 3-day procedure to a 4- or a 5-?

Haskell:Exactly. The point here is to effect a safe legal abortion. I mean, you could say the same thing about the D procedure. You know, why do you do the D procedure? Why do you crush the fetus up inside the womb? To kill it before you take it out?

Well, that happens, yes. But that’s not why you do it. You do it to get it out. I could do the same thing with a D procedure. I could put dilapan in for four or five days and say I’m doing a D procedure and the fetus could just fall out. But that’s not really the point. The point here is you’re attempting to do an abortion. And that’s the goal of your work, is to complete an abortion. Not to see how do I manipulate the situation so that I get a live birth instead.

AMN, wrapping up the interview:I wanted to make sure I have both you and (Dr.) McMahon saying ‘No’ then. That this is misinformation, these letters to the editor saying it’s only done when the baby’s already dead, in case of fetal demise and you have to do an autopsy. But some of them are saying they’re getting that information from NAF [the national Abortion Federation]. Have you talked to Barbara Radford or anyone over there? I called Barbara and she called back, but I haven’t gotten back to her.

Haskell:Well, I had heard that they were giving that information, somebody over there might be giving information like that out. The people that staff the NAF office are not medical people. And many of them when I gave my paper, many of them came in, I learned later, to watch my paper because many of them have never seen an abortion performed of any kind.

AMN:Did you also show a video when you did that?

Haskell:Yeah. I taped a procedure a couple of years ago, a very brief video, that simply showed the technique. The old story about a picture’s worth a thousand words.

AMN:As National Right to Life will tell you.

Haskell:Afterwards they were just amazed. They just had no idea. And here they’re rapid supporters of abortion. They work in the office there. And … some of them have never seen one performed….

[390] House Report 104-267: “Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 1995.” Judiciary Committee, U.S. House of Representatives, September 27, 1995. <frwebgate.access.gpo.gov>

Page 6:

In a letter to the Honorable Charles T. Canady, Dr. James McMahon, an abortionist who uses the partial-birth abortion method, implies that large doses of analgesia kill the baby before the doctor begins delivery. He states:

The fetus feels no pain through the entire series of procedures. This is because the mother is given narcotic analgesia at a dose based upon her weight. The narcotic is passed, via the placenta, directly into the fetal bloodstream. Due to the enormous weight difference, a medical coma is induced in the fetus. There is a neurological fetal demise. There is never a live birth.¹⁸…

¹⁸Letter from James T. McMahon, M.D., to Congressman Charles T. Canady (June 23, 1995) (on file with the Subcomm. on the Constitution of the House Comm. on the Judiciary).

[391] Newsletter: “Washington Report.” By Michael Scott. American Academy of Anesthesiologists, May 1996. <www.asahq.org>

On March 21, ASA President Norig Ellison, M.D., testified before a subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee on the issue of the effect of anesthetics on the fetus in late-term abortions. Also participating in the hearing were David J. Birnbach, M.D., President-Elect of the Society for Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology and Professor of Anesthesiology at St. Luke’s Roosevelt Medical Center, New York, New York; David H. Chestnut, M.D., Chair of the Department of Anesthesiology, University of Alabama Birmingham Hospital, Birmingham, Alabama; and Jean A. Wright, M.D., Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics and Anesthesiology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia.

[392] Letter: “Barbara Bolsen (Editor, American Medical News) to Charles T. Canady (Chairmen, Subcommittee on the Constitution, Judiciary Committee, U.S. House of Representatives).” July 11, 1995. <www.congress.gov>

We have full documentation of these interviews, including tape recordings and transcripts. …

Haskell:And I’ll be quite frank: most of my abortions are elective in that 20–24 week range … In my particular case, probably 20% are for genetic reasons. And the other 80% are purely elective….

NOTE: This statement was made in an interview conducted for an article published on July 5, 1993. That Haskell was referring to partial-birth abortion is demonstrated in the next two footnotes.

[393] Paper: “Dilation and Extraction for Late Second Trimester Abortion.” By Martin Haskell. Presented at the Fall Risk Management Seminar of the National Abortion Federation, September 13, 1992. <operationrescue.org>

Page 1:

The surgical method described in this paper differs from classic D&E [dilation and evacuation] in that it does not rely upon dismemberment to remove the fetus. Nor are inductions or infusions used to expel the intact fetus.

Page 2: “The author routinely performs this procedure on all patients 20 through 24 weeks LMP with certain exceptions.”

[394] Article: “Shock-Tactic Ads Target Late-Term Abortion Procedure: Foes Hope Campaign Will Sink Federal Abortion Rights Legislation.” By Diane M. Gianelli. American Medical News, July 5, 1993. <www.congress.gov>

Pages 34-35 (of PDF):

But Dr. Haskell and another doctor who routinely use the [partial-birth] procedure for late term abortions told AMNewsthat the majority of fetuses aborted this way are alive until the end of the procedure. …

Dr. Haskell said he performs abortions “up until about 25 weeks’ ” gestation, most of them elective.

[395] House Report 104-267: “Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 1995.” Judiciary Committee, U.S. House of Representatives, September 27, 1995. <www.gpo.gov>

Page 8:

The writings of both Dr. Haskell and Dr. McMahon advocate partial-birth abortion as the method they prefer for all late-term abortions.²²Dr. Haskell told the AMNewsthat the vast majority of the partial-birth abortions he performs are elective. He stated, “And I’ll be quite frank: most of my abortions are elective in that 20–24 week range. … In my particular case, probably 20% are for genetic reasons. And the other 80% are purely elective. …”²³

Dr. McMahon uses the partial-birth abortion method through the entire 40 weeks of pregnancy. He claims that most of the abortions he performs are “non-elective,” but his definition of “non-elective” is extremely broad. Dr. McMahon sent a letter to the Constitution Subcommittee in which he described abortions performed because of the mother’s youth or depression as “non-elective.”²⁴

²²Haskell, supra note 4 at 27; Letter from James T. McMahon, M.D., to the Subcomm. on the Constitution of the House Comm. on the Judiciary (June 6, 1995) (on file with the Subcomm. on the Constitution of the House Comm. on the Judiciary).

²³Letter from Barbara Bolsen, supra note 17.

²⁴Letter from James T. McMahon, M.D., supra note 20.

[396] Letter from 53 Organizations to U.S. Congressman Christopher Smith, October 2, 1995.

October 2, 1995

The Honorable Christopher H. Smith

U.S. House of Representatives

2370 Rayburn House Office Building

Washington, DC 20515

Dear Representative Smith:

As organizations which support full access to safe, legal abortion services, we urge you to oppose H.R. 1833, legislation that would ban a particular type of abortion procedure, known to abortion providers as intact D&E or D&X. The technique has been sensationalized by anti-abortion advocates, who inaccurately refer to the surgery as a “partial birth” abortion—a term unknown in the medical community, and invented solely for this legislation. …

This surgical procedure is used only in rare cases, fewer than 500 per year. It is most often performed in the case of wanted pregnancies gone tragically wrong, when a family learns late in pregnancy of severe fetal anomalies or a medical condition that threatens the pregnant woman’s life or health. …

Sincerely,

Advocates for Youth

The Alan Guttmacher Institute

American Association of University Women

American Civil Liberties Union

American Humanist Association

American Jewish Committee

American Jewish Congress

Americans for Democratic Action

Americans for Religious Liberty

Association of Reproductive Health Professionals

The Center for Reproductive Law and Policy

Center for Women’s Policy Studies

Clara Bell Duvall Education Fund

Coalition of Labor Union Women

Disciples for Choice

The Feminist Majority

Hollywood Women’s Political Committee

Human Rights Campaign Fund

Institute for Research on Women’s Health

International Projects Assistance Service

Medical Students for Choice

Michigan Welfare Rights League

National Abortion Federation

National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League

National Asian Women’s Health Network

National Association of Nurse Practitioners

National Black Women’s Health Project

National Center for the ProChoice Majority

National Council of Jewish Women

National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association

National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health

National Organization for Women

National Republican Coalition for Choice

National Women’s Health Network

National Women’s Law Center

Native American Women’s Health Education Resource Center

NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund

People For the American Way Action Fund

Planned Parenthood Federation of America

Population Action International

ProChoice Resource Center

Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice

Society of Physicians for Reproductive Health and Choice

Union of American Hebrew Congregations

United Church Board for Homeland Ministries

Voters For Choice

Women of Reform Judaism, The Federation of Temple Sisterhood

Women’s Institute for Freedom of the Press

Women’s Law Project

Women’s Legal Defense Fund

Women’s Rabbinic Network

YWCA of the USA

Zero Population Growth

[397] Press Release: “Aiming at the Right to Abortion, Congress Votes to Ban a Medical Procedure that Saves Women’s Lives.” PR Newswire, November 1, 1995.

Distribution: To National and Health/Medical Editors…

Planned Parenthood Federation of America issued the following:

In an unprecedented intrusion by Congress into medical decisions, the U.S. House of Representatives today voted to ban a late abortion procedure designed to save women’s lives. The procedure, dilation and extraction (D&X), is extremely rare and done only in cases when the woman’s life is in danger or in cases of extreme fetal abnormality.

[398] Article: “Medicine Adds to Debate on Late-Term Abortion: Abortion Rights Leader Urges End to ‘Half Truths’.” By Diane M. Gianelli. American Medical News, March 3, 1997.

Page 3: “When Fitzsimmons criticizes his movement for its handling of this issue, he points the finger at himself first. In November 1995, he was interviewed by Nightline… telling the reporter that women had these abortion only in the most extreme circumstances of life endangerment or fetal anomaly.”

[399] Article: “An Abortion Rights Advocate Says He Lied About Procedure.” By David Stout. New York Times, February 26, 1997. <www.nytimes.com>

“Mr. Fitzsimmons … appeared on Nightlineon ABC and … said the procedure was used rarely and only on women whose lives were in danger or whose fetuses were damaged.”

[400] On September 4, 2008, Just Facts contacted the ABC News Store to obtain a copy of this transcript and was told that the program aired on 11/7/95, was entitled “Late-Term Abortions,” and ABC’s legal department has not approved it for release. This was confirmed by a search of their archives which revealed that this episode is missing and that the shows surrounding it on 11/06/95 and 11/09/95 are available [<abcnewsstore.go.com>].

[401] Press Release: “Capitol Hill Hearing Testimony, March 21, 1996, Diana Zuckerman, National Policy Director of Planned Parenthood to the House Judiciary Committee on the Constitution, Partial-Birth Abortion.” Planned Parenthood Federation Of America, March 21, 1996.

We at Planned Parenthood are outraged that Congress is continuing to intrude into difficult and private medical decisions best left to women, families, and doctors. The attempt to ban dilation and extraction (D&X), a late abortion procedure that is used very rarely and in the most tragic circumstances, places women’s lives in jeopardy. …

The truth is that the D&X procedure is only used when the woman’s life or health is in danger or in cases of extreme fetal anomaly.

[402] Article: “The Facts on Partial-Birth Abortion; Both Sides Have Misled the Public.” By Ruth Padawer. Bergen Record, September 15, 1996.

Doctors at Metropolitan Medical in Englewood estimate that their clinic alone performs 3,000 abortions a year on fetuses between 20 and 24 weeks, of which at least half are by intact dilation and evacuation. …

“I always try [a partial-birth abortion first],” said a Metropolitan Medical gynecologist, who, like every other provider interviewed for this article, spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution. …

“We have an occasional amnio abnormality, but it’s a minuscule amount,” said one of the doctors at Metropolitan Medical, an assessment confirmed by another doctor there. “Most are Medicaid patients, black and white, and most are for elective, not medical, reasons: people who didn’t realize, or didn’t care, how far along they were. Most are teenagers.”

NOTE: This article alleges that “abortion foes” have also misled in this debate. Most of the points made to substantiate this statement are addressed in House Report 104-267. One that is not is this statement: “In reality, only about 600, or 0.04 percent, of abortions of any type are performed after 26 weeks, according to the latest figures from Guttmacher.” Compare that with the following from American Medical News:

Accurate figures on second- and third-trimester abortions are elusive because a number of states don’t require doctors to report abortion statistics. For example, one-third of all abortions are said to occur in California, but the state has no reporting requirements. …

There is a particular debate over the number of third-trimester abortions. Former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, MD, estimated in 1984 that 4,000 are performed annually. The abortion federation puts the number at 300 to 500. Dr. Haskell says that “probably Koop’s numbers are more correct.” [Article: “Shock-Tactic Ads Target Late-Term Abortion Procedure: Foes Hope Campaign Will Sink Federal Abortion Rights Legislation.” By Diane M. Gianelli. American Medical News, July 5, 1993.]

[403] Letter to the editor and response: “Abortion Numbers Questioned.” From “The Management of Metropolitan Medical Associates,” September 23, 1996. Bergen Record, October 2, 1996.

The editor replies: The Record stands behind the story and rebuts the claims in Metropolitan Medical’s unsigned letter. …

Metropolitan Medical’s letter contradicts what two prominent staff physicians at the clinic, one of whom is also a high-ranking administrator, told Staff Writer Ruth Padawer independently of each other. The first physician said the clinic each week performs 60 to 100 abortions at 20 weeks gestation or later, or 3,000 to 5,000 a year. The second physician told Padawer that the clinic handles 3,000 such cases a year.

Both physicians also independently told Padawer that at least half the post-20 week abortions performed at the clinic were by the intact D&E method. …

As for the Metropolitan Medical’s claim that a quotation by one of its doctors was “erroneous”: Padawer read back to him all of his quotations, including the one about the Medicaid patients. She also read him the paragraph preceding and following the quotations. He confirmed the accuracy and context of each quotation.

[404] Article: “An Abortion Rights Advocate Says He Lied About Procedure.” By David Stout. New York Times, February 26, 1997. <www.nytimes.com>

Ron Fitzsimmons, the executive director of the National Coalition of Abortion Providers, said he intentionally misled in previous remarks about the procedure … because he feared that the truth would damage the cause of abortion rights. …

… Mr. Fitzsimmons recalled the night in November 1995, when he appeared on “Nightline” on ABC and “lied through my teeth” when he said the procedure was used rarely and only on women whose lives were in danger or whose fetuses were damaged. …

In the vast majority of cases, the procedure is performed on a healthy mother with a healthy fetus that is 20 weeks or more along, Mr. Fitzsimmons said.

[405] Article: “Medicine Adds to Debate on Late-Term Abortion: Abortion Rights Leader Urges End to ‘Half Truths’.” By Diane M. Gianelli. American Medical News, March 3, 1997.

What abortion rights supporters failed to acknowledge, Fitzsimmons said, is that the vast majority of these abortion are performed in the 20-plus week range on healthy fetuses and healthy mothers. “The abortion rights folks know it, the anti-abortion folks know it, and so, probably, does everyone else,” he said.

He knows it, he says, because when the bill to ban it came down the pike, he called around until he found doctors who did them.

“I learned right away that this was being done for the most part in cases that did not involve those extreme circumstances,” he said. …

[Quoting Fitzsimmons:] “When you’re a doctor who does these abortions and the leaders of your movement appear before Congress and go on network news and say these procedures are done in only the most tragic of circumstances, how do you think it makes you feel? You know they’re primarily done on healthy women and healthy fetuses, and it makes you feel like a dirty little abortionist with a dirty little secret.”

[406] Article: “Abortion: Activists lied: Pro-choice advocates admit to deception.” Bergen Record, February 27, 1997. <www.nrlc.org>

[407] Webpage: Summary of Senate Bill 3: Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003.” U.S. Senate, 108th Congress (2003-2004). Accessed April 21, 2017 at <www.congress.gov>

Sponsor: Santorum, Rick [R-PA] (Introduced 02/14/2003) …

Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit any physician or other individual from knowingly performing a partial-birth abortion, except when necessary to save the life of a mother whose life is endangered by a physical disorder, illness, or injury.

Defines a “partial-birth abortion” as an abortion in which the person performing the abortion: (1) deliberately and intentionally vaginally delivers a living fetus until, in the case of a head-first presentation, the entire fetal head is outside the mother’s body, or, in the case of a breech presentation, any part of the fetal trunk past the navel is outside the mother’s body; and (2) performs the overt act, other than completion of delivery, that kills the partially delivered living fetus.

Authorizes a defendant accused of an offense under this Act to seek a hearing before the State Medical Board on whether the physician’s conduct was necessary to save the life of the mother.

[408] Webpage: “Cosponsors of Senate Bill 3: Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003.” U.S. Senate, 108th Congress (2003-2004). Accessed April 21, 2017 at <www.congress.gov>

“Cosponsor statistics: 45 current [2 Democrats, 43 Republicans]”

[409] Webpage: “Actions on Senate Bill 3: Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003.” U.S. Senate, 108th Congress (2003-2004). Accessed April 21, 2017 at <www.congress.gov>

Date	Action
2/14/2003	Introduced in Senate
3/13/2003	Passed Senate with an amendment by Yea–Nay Vote. 64–33. Record Vote Number: 51
10/2/2003	Conference report agreed to in House: On agreeing to the conference report Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: 281–142 (Roll no. 530).
10/21/2003	Conference report agreed to in Senate: Senate agreed to conference report by Yea–Nay Vote. 64–34. Record Vote Number: 402.
11/5/2003	Signed by President. Became Public Law No: 108-105.

[410] Calculated with data from the following sources:

1) Vote 530: “Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003.” U.S. House of Representatives, October 2, 2003. <clerk.house.gov>

	Voted YES	Voted NO	Not Voting
Republican	218	4	7
Democratic	63	137	5
Independent		1

2) Vote 402: “Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003.” U.S. Senate, October 21, 2003. <www.senate.gov>

	Voted YES	Voted NO	Not Voting
Republican	47	3	1
Democratic	17	30	1
Independent		1

Totals from House and Senate votes above:

	Voted YES	Voted NO	Not Voting	Total
Republican	268 (95%)	12 (4%)	2 (1%)	282
Democratic	92 (37%)	155 (62%)	4 (2%)	251

[411] Senate Bill 3: “Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003.” U.S. Senate, 108th Congress (2003-2004). Accessed April 21, 2017 at <www.congress.gov>

Sec. 1531. Partial -birth abortions prohibited

(a) Any physician who, in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, knowingly performs a partial-birth abortion and thereby kills a human fetus shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 2 years, or both.

[412] Ruling: Gonzales v. Carhart. United States Supreme Court, April 18, 2007. Decided 5-4. Majority: Kennedy, Roberts, Scalia, Thomas, Alito. Concurring: Thomas, Scalia. Dissenting: Ginsburg, Stevens, Souter, Breyer. <caselaw.findlaw.com>

Section IV (B): “In addition the Act’s prohibition only applies to the delivery of ‘a living fetus.’ … If the [partial-birth abortion] procedure is truly necessary in some circumstances, it appears likely an injection that kills the fetus is an alternative under the Act that allows the doctor to perform the procedure.”

[413]Article: “Harsh Details Shift Tenor of Abortion Fight; Both Sides Bend Facts On Late-Term Procedure.” By Barbara Vobejda & David Brown. Washington Post, September 17, 1996.

Page A1: “The usual alternative to intact D&E is ‘dismemberment D&E,’ in which the fetal limbs are pulled off the body in utero, sometimes while the fetus is still alive.”

NOTE: See the next footnote for a more detailed explanation.

[414]Ruling: Gonzales v. Carhart. United States Supreme Court, April 18, 2007. Decided 5-4. Majority: Kennedy, Roberts, Scalia, Thomas, Alito. Concurring: Thomas, Scalia. Dissenting: Ginsburg, Stevens, Souter, Breyer. <caselaw.findlaw.com>

Section I (A):

Of the remaining abortions that take place each year, most occur in the second trimester. The surgical procedure referred to as “dilation and evacuation” or “D&E” is the usual abortion method in this trimester. …

After sufficient dilation the surgical operation can commence. The woman is placed under general anesthesia or conscious sedation. The doctor, often guided by ultrasound, inserts grasping forceps through the woman’s cervix and into the uterus to grab the fetus. The doctor grips a fetal part with the forceps and pulls it back through the cervix and vagina, continuing to pull even after meeting resistance from the cervix. The friction causes the fetus to tear apart. For example, a leg might be ripped off the fetus as it is pulled through the cervix and out of the woman. The process of evacuating the fetus piece by piece continues until it has been completely removed. A doctor may make 10 to 15 passes with the forceps to evacuate the fetus in its entirety, though sometimes removal is completed with fewer passes. Once the fetus has been evacuated, the placenta and any remaining fetal material are suctioned or scraped out of the uterus. The doctor examines the different parts to ensure the entire fetal body has been removed. See, e.g.,Nat. Abortion Federation, supra, at 465; Planned Parenthood, supra, at 962.

Some doctors, especially later in the second trimester, may kill the fetus a day or two before performing the surgical evacuation. They inject digoxin or potassium chloride into the fetus, the umbilical cord, or the amniotic fluid. Fetal demise may cause contractions and make greater dilation possible. Once dead, moreover, the fetus’ body will soften, and its removal will be easier. Other doctors refrain from injecting chemical agents, believing it adds risk with little or no medical benefit. Carhart, supra, at 907-912; Nat. Abortion Federation, supra, at 474-475. …

The main difference between the two procedures is that in [a partial-birth abortion] a doctor extracts the fetus intact or largely intact with only a few passes.

Section III (C) 1:

The Act excludes most D&Es [dilation and evacuations] in which the fetus is removed in pieces, not intact. … Removing the fetus in this manner does not violate the Act because the doctor will not have delivered the living fetus to one of the anatomical landmarks or committed an additional overt act that kills the fetus after partial delivery. …

D&E does not involve the delivery of a fetus because it requires the removal of fetal parts that are ripped from the fetus as they are pulled through the cervix.

[415] Paper: “Dilation and Extraction for Late Second Trimester Abortion.” By Martin Haskell. Presented at the Fall Risk Management Seminar of the National Abortion Federation, September 13, 1992. <operationrescue.org>

Page 1:

Classic D&E is accomplished by dismembering the fetus inside the uterus with instruments and removing the pieces through an adequately dilated cervix.⁵

⁵Grimes, D.A., Cates, W. Jr. (Berger, G.S., et al, ed): Dilation and Evacuation, Second Trimester Abortion—Perspectives After a Decade of Experience, Boston, John Wright—PSG, 1981, p. 121-128.

[416] Ruling: Gonzales v. Carhart. United States Supreme Court, April 18, 2007. Decided 5-4. Majority: Kennedy, Roberts, Scalia, Thomas, Alito. Concurring: Thomas, Scalia. Dissenting: Ginsburg, Stevens, Souter, Breyer. <caselaw.findlaw.com>

In No. 05-380 (Carhart)respondents are LeRoy Carhart, William G. Fitzhugh, William H. Knorr, and Jill L. Vibhakar, doctors who perform second-trimester abortions. These doctors filed their complaint against the Attorney General of the United States in the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska. They challenged the constitutionality of the Act and sought a permanent injunction against its enforcement.

[417] Ruling: Gonzales v. Carhart. United States Supreme Court, April 18, 2007. Decided 5-4. Majority: Kennedy, Roberts, Scalia, Thomas, Alito. Concurring: Thomas, Scalia. Dissenting: Ginsburg, Stevens, Souter, Breyer. <caselaw.findlaw.com>

Respondents have not demonstrated that the Act, as a facial matter, is void for vagueness, or that it imposes an undue burden on a woman’s right to abortion based on its overbreadth or lack of a health exception. For these reasons the judgments of the Courts of Appeals for the Eighth and Ninth Circuits are reversed.

[418] Article: “McCain Promises Judges Like Roberts, Alito.” Associated Press, May 6, 2008. <www.cbsnews.com>

“Obama, on the other hand, voted against Roberts and Alito.”

[419] Article: “Obama, McCain talk issues at pastor’s forum.” By Ed Hornick. CNN, August 17, 2008. <www.cnn.com>

“Neither candidate shied away from a question about which current Supreme Court justice they would not have nominated. Obama’s reply: Clarence Thomas.”

[420] Article: “Obama: I Would Not Have Nominated Clarence Thomas.” By Sam Stein. Huffington Post, August 16, 2008. <www.huffingtonpost.com>

[Quoting Obama:] “I would not have nominated Justice Scalia….”

[421] Senate Bill 1173: “Freedom of Choice Act.” U.S. Senate, 110th Congress (2007-2008). Accessed April 22, 2017 at <www.congress.gov>

Sponsor: Boxer, Barbara [D-California] (Introduced 4/19/2007) …

To protect, consistent with Roe v. Wade, a woman’s freedom to choose to bear a child or terminate a pregnancy, and for other purposes.

SEC. 4. Interference with Reproductive Health Prohibited. …

(b) Prohibition of Interference- A government may not-

(1) deny or interfere with a woman’s right to choose—

(A) to bear a child;

(B) to terminate a pregnancy prior to viability; or

(C) to terminate a pregnancy after viability where termination is necessary to protect the life or health of the woman; or

(2) discriminate against the exercise of the rights set forth in paragraph (1) in the regulation or provision of benefits, facilities, services, or information. …

SEC. 6. Retroactive Effect.

[422] House Resolution 1964 IH: Freedom of Choice Act.” U.S. House of Representatives, 110th Congress (2007-2008). Accessed April 22, 2017 at <www.congress.gov>

Sponsor: Nadler, Jerrold [D-New York] (Introduced 4/19/2007) …

SEC. 2. Findings.…

SEC. 4. Interference with Reproductive Health Prohibited.

(b) Prohibition of Interference- A government may not—

(1) deny or interfere with a woman’s right to choose—

(A) to bear a child;

(B) to terminate a pregnancy prior to viability; or

(C) to terminate a pregnancy after viability where termination is necessary to protect the life or health of the woman; or

(2) discriminate against the exercise of the rights set forth in paragraph (1) in the regulation or provision of benefits, facilities, services, or information. …

SEC. 6. Retroactive Effect.

[423] Open letter from Kim Gandy (President, National Organization for Women). April 20, 2007. <www.now.org>

“Yesterday [April 19, 2007] I was pleased to stand with Senator Barbara Boxer, Representative Jerrold Nadler and many members of Congress as they announced the reintroduction of this important act, which would legislatively reverse the Court’s damaging decision [in Gonzalez v. Carhart] and will enshrine in federal law our right to safe, legal abortion.”

[424] Congressional Record S6017. United States Senate, May 11, 2007. <www.gpo.gov>

[425] Speech: “Barack Obama before Planned Parenthood Action Fund.” July 17, 2007. Transcribed by Laura Echevarria. <lauraetch.googlepages.com>

“Well, the first thing I’d do as President is sign the Freedom of Choice Act. That’s the first thing that I’d do.”

[426] Ruling: Roe v. Wade. U.S. Supreme Court, January 22, 1973. Decided 7–2. Majority: Blackmun, Burger, Brennan, Douglas, Stewart, Marshall, Powell. Concurring: Burger, Douglas, Stewart. Dissenting: White, Rehnquist. <caselaw.findlaw.com>

Section II:

Jane Roe,⁴a single woman who was residing in Dallas County, Texas, instituted this federal action in March 1970 against the District Attorney of the county. She sought a declaratory judgment that the Texas criminal abortion statutes were unconstitutional on their face, and an injunction restraining the defendant from enforcing the statutes.

Roe alleged that she was unmarried and pregnant; that she wished to terminate her pregnancy by an abortion “performed by a competent, licensed physician, under safe, clinical conditions”; that she was unable to get a “legal” abortion in Texas because her life did not appear to be threatened by the continuation of her pregnancy; and that she could not afford to travel to another jurisdiction in order to secure a legal abortion under safe conditions. …

⁴The name is a pseudonym.

[427] Book:I Am Roe. By Norma McCorvey. Harper Collins, 1994.

NOTE: Norma McCorvey first made her identity public in the mid 1980’s. Pages 172-173 contain information about her first appearance on television, but no date is given. However, the events in the book are chronologically arranged, and the context of the book indicates that this event took place sometime between 1984 and 1986.

[428] Article: “Henry Wade, Prosecutor in National Spotlight, Dies at 86.” By Wolfgang Saxon. New York Times, March 2, 2001. <www.nytimes.com>

“Henry Wade… is perhaps best remembered for the prosecution of Jack Ruby and as the Wade in Roe v. Wade….”

[429] Transcript: “Roe v. Wade—Oral Arguments before the United States Supreme Court.” December 13, 1971. <www.scribd.com>

“The attorney for Roe stated: ‘I do feel that it is—that the Ninth Amendment is an appropriate place for the freedom to rest. I think the Fourteenth Amendment is equally an appropriate place, under the rights of persons to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.’ ”

[430] Ninth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. Ratified December 15, 1791. <justfacts.com>

[431] Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. Ratified July 9, 1868. <justfacts.com>

[432] Transcript: “Roe v. Wade—Oral Arguments before the United States Supreme Court.” December 13, 1971. <www.scribd.com>

[433] Transcript: “Roe v. Wade—Oral Arguments before the United States Supreme Court.” December 13, 1971. <www.scribd.com>

[434] Transcript: “Roe v. Wade—Oral Arguments before the United States Supreme Court.” December 13, 1971. <www.scribd.com>

“The attorney for the State of Texas argued that ‘under the Fifth Amendment: no one shall be deprived of the right to life, liberty, and property without the due process of law.’ ”

[435] Fifth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. Ratified December 15, 1791. <justfacts.com>

[436] Transcript: “Roe v. Wade—Oral Arguments before the United States Supreme Court.” December 13, 1971. <www.scribd.com>

“Justice Stewart stated: ‘Yes, but then the Fourteenth Amendment defines ‘person’ as somebody who’s born, doesn’t it?’ ”

[437] Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. Ratified July 9, 1868. <justfacts.com>

[438] Transcript: “Roe v. Wade—Oral Arguments before the United States Supreme Court.” December 13, 1971. <www.scribd.com>

[439] Article: “Blackstone, Sir William.” New Millennium Encyclopedia. Simon & Shuster, 1999.

[440] Transcript: “Roe v. Wade—Oral Arguments before the United States Supreme Court.” December 13, 1971. <www.scribd.com>

[441] Transcript: “Roe v. Wade—Oral Arguments before the United States Supreme Court.” December 13, 1971. <www.scribd.com>

[442] Declaration of Independence. Action of Second Continental Congress, July 4, 1776. <www.loc.gov>

[443] Ruling: Roe v. Wade. U.S. Supreme Court, January 22, 1973. Decided 7–2. Majority: Blackmun, Burger, Brennan, Douglas, Stewart, Marshall, Powell. Concurring: Burger, Douglas, Stewart. Dissenting: White, Rehnquist. <caselaw.findlaw.com>

Section I:

The Texas statutes that concern us here are Arts. 1191-1194 and 1196 of the State’s Penal Code.¹These make it a crime to “procure an abortion,” as therein [410 U.S. 113, 118] defined, or to attempt one, except with respect to “an abortion procured or attempted by medical advice for the purpose of saving the life of the mother.” Similar statutes are in existence in a majority of the States.²[410 U.S. 113, 119] …

¹“Article 1191. Abortion

“If any person shall designedly administer to a pregnant woman or knowingly procure to be administered with her consent any drug or medicine, or shall use towards her any violence or means whatever externally or internally applied, and thereby procure an abortion, he shall be confined in the penitentiary not less than two nor more than five years; if it be done without her consent, the punishment shall be doubled. By ‘abortion’ is meant that the life of the fetus or embryo shall be destroyed in the woman’s womb or that a premature birth thereof be caused.

“Art. 1192. Furnishing the means

“Whoever furnishes the means for procuring an abortion knowing the purpose intended is guilty as an accomplice.

“Art. 1193. Attempt at abortion

“If the means used shall fail to produce an abortion, the offender is nevertheless guilty of an attempt to produce abortion, provided [410 U.S. 113, 118] it be shown that such means were calculated to produce that result, and shall be fined not less than one hundred nor more than one thousand dollars.

“Art. 1194. Murder in producing abortion

“If the death of the mother is occasioned by an abortion so produced or by an attempt to effect the same it is murder.”

“Art. 1196. By medical advice

“Nothing in this chapter applies to an abortion procured or attempted by medical advice for the purpose of saving the life of the mother.”

The foregoing Articles, together with Art. 1195, compose Chapter 9 of Title 15 of the Penal Code. Article 1195, not attacked here, reads:

“Art. 1195. Destroying unborn child

“Whoever shall during parturition of the mother destroy the vitality or life in a child in a state of being born and before actual birth, which child would otherwise have been born alive, shall be confined in the penitentiary for life or for not less than five years.”

²Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. 13-211 (1956); Conn. Pub. Act No. 1 (May 1972 special session) (in 4 Conn. Leg. Serv. 677 (1972)), and Conn. Gen. Stat. Rev. 53-29, 53-30 (1968) (or unborn child); Idaho Code 18-601 (1948); Ill. Rev. Stat., c. 38, 23-1 (1971); Ind. Code 35-1-58-1 (1971); Iowa Code 701.1 (1971); Ky. Rev. Stat. 436.020 (1962); La. Rev. Stat. 37:1285 (6) (1964) (loss of medical license) (but see 14:87 (Supp. 1972) containing no exception for the life of the mother under the criminal statute); Me. Rev. Stat. Ann., Tit. 17, 51 (1964); Mass. Gen. Laws Ann., c. 272, 19 (1970) (using the term “unlawfully,” construed to exclude an abortion to save the mother’s life, Kudish v. Bd. of Registration, 356 Mass. 98, 248 N. E. 2d 264 (1969)); Mich. Comp. Laws 750.14 (1948); Minn. Stat. 617.18 (1971); Mo. Rev. Stat. 559.100 (1969); Mont. Rev. Codes Ann. 94-401 (1969); Neb. Rev. Stat. 28-405 (1964); Nev. Rev. Stat. 200.220 (1967); N. H. Rev. Stat. Ann. 585:13 (1955); N. J. Stat. Ann. 2A:87-1 (1969) (“without lawful justification”); N. D. Cent. Code 12-25-01, 12-25-02 (1960); Ohio Rev. Code Ann. 2901.16 (1953); Okla. Stat. Ann., Tit. 21, 861 (1972-1973 Supp.); Pa. Stat. Ann., Tit. 18, [410 U.S. 113, 119] 4718, 4719 (1963) (“unlawful”); R. I. Gen. Laws Ann. 11-3-1 (1969); S. D. Comp. Laws Ann. 22-17-1 (1967); Tenn. Code Ann. 39-301, 39-302 (1956); Utah Code Ann. 76-2-1, 76-2-2 (1953); Vt. Stat. Ann., Tit. 13, 101 (1958); W. Va. Code Ann. 61-2-8 (1966); Wis. Stat. 940.04 (1969); Wyo. Stat. Ann. 6-77, 6-78 (1957).

[444] Ruling: Roe v. Wade. U.S. Supreme Court, January 22, 1973. Decided 7–2. Majority: Blackmun, Burger, Brennan, Douglas, Stewart, Marshall, Powell. Concurring: Burger, Douglas, Stewart. Dissenting: White, Rehnquist. <caselaw.findlaw.com>

[445] Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. Ratified July 9, 1868. <justfacts.com>

[446] Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. Ratified July 9, 1868. <justfacts.com>

Section 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age,(See Note 15) and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State.

Section 3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.

Section 4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.

Section 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.

[447] Entry: “privacy.” Roget’s Thesaurus. Simon & Shuster, 1999.

[448] Book: The American Constitution: Its Origins and Development(3rd edition).By Alfred H. Kelly and Winfred A. Harbison. W.W. Norton & Company, 1963.

Pages 458-463 trace the history of the Fourteenth Amendment.

[449] Ruling: Roe v. Wade. U.S. Supreme Court, January 22, 1973. Decided 7–2. Majority: Blackmun, Burger, Brennan, Douglas, Stewart, Marshall, Powell. Concurring: Burger, Douglas, Stewart. Dissenting: White, Rehnquist. <caselaw.findlaw.com>

Section IX: “We need not resolve the difficult question of when life begins. When those trained in the respective disciplines of medicine, philosophy, and theology are unable to arrive at any consensus, the judiciary, at this point in the development of man’s knowledge, is not in a position to speculate as to the answer.”

Section X: “In view of all this, we do not agree that, by adopting one theory of life, Texas may override the rights of the pregnant woman that are at stake.”

Section IX: “Texas urges that, apart from the Fourteenth Amendment, life begins at conception and is present throughout pregnancy…”

[450] Ruling: Roe v. Wade. U.S. Supreme Court, January 22, 1973. Decided 7–2. Majority: Blackmun, Burger, Brennan, Douglas, Stewart, Marshall, Powell. Concurring: Burger, Douglas, Stewart. Dissenting: White, Rehnquist. <caselaw.findlaw.com>

Section IX: “Viability is usually placed at about seven months (28 weeks) but may occur earlier, even at 24 weeks.”

Section XI: “For the stage subsequent to viability, the State in promoting its interest in the potentiality of human life…”

NOTE: The terms “potential life” and “potentiality of life” are used throughout the ruling in reference to pre-born humans at all stages of development.

[451] Ruling: Roe v. Wade. U.S. Supreme Court, January 22, 1973. Decided 7–2. Majority: Blackmun, Burger, Brennan, Douglas, Stewart, Marshall, Powell. Concurring: Burger, Douglas, Stewart. Dissenting: White, Rehnquist. <caselaw.findlaw.com>

Section IX: “the word ‘person,’ as used in the Fourteenth Amendment, does not include the unborn.”

Section IX lists all places where the word “person” appears in the Constitution and it amendments and then states: “But in nearly all these instances, the use of the word is such that it has application only postnatally. None indicates, with any assurance, that it has any possible pre-natal application.”

[452] Ruling: Roe v. Wade. U.S. Supreme Court, January 22, 1973. Decided 7–2. Majority: Blackmun, Burger, Brennan, Douglas, Stewart, Marshall, Powell. Concurring: Burger, Douglas, Stewart. Dissenting: White, Rehnquist. <caselaw.findlaw.com>

Section XI: “For the stage prior to approximately the end of the first trimester, the abortion decision and its effectuation must be left to the medical judgment of the pregnant woman’s attending physician. … The State may define the term ‘physician’ to mean only a physician currently licensed by the State, and may proscribe any abortion by a person who is not a physician as so defined.”

[453]Memorandum: “Re: No. 70-18—Roe v. Wade.” By Justice Harry A. Blackmun. Supreme Court of the United States, November 21, 1972. (Click for full text of letter)

Herewith is a memorandum (1972 fall edition) on the Texas abortion case.

This has proved for me to be both difficult and elusive. In its present form it contains dictum, but I suspect that in this area some dictum is indicated and not to be avoided.

You will observe that I have concluded that the end of the first trimester is critical. This is arbitrary, but perhaps any other selected point, such as quickening or viability, is equally arbitrary.

[454] Article: “The Abortion Papers.” By Bob Woodward. Washington Post, January 22, 1989. Page D1. <www.washingtonpost.com>

The opinion’s author, Justice Harry A. Blackmun, said in one internal court memo that he was drawing “arbitrary” lines about the times during pregnancy when a woman could legally receive an abortion. In another memo, Justice Potter Stewart, who joined the Blackmun opinion, said the determination in the opinion about these lines was “legislative.”

TheRoe v. Wadememos were found among the personal papers of the late Justice William O. Douglas, which became available to the public at the Library of Congress last year.

[455] Ruling: Roe v. Wade. U.S. Supreme Court, January 22, 1973. Decided 7–2. Majority: Blackmun, Burger, Brennan, Douglas, Stewart, Marshall, Powell. Concurring: Burger, Douglas, Stewart. Dissenting: White, Rehnquist. <caselaw.findlaw.com>

Section XI: “For the stage subsequent to approximately the end of the first trimester, the State, in promoting its interest in the health of the mother, may, if it chooses, regulate the abortion procedure in ways that are reasonably related to maternal health.”

Section X: “Examples of permissible state regulation in this area are requirements as to the qualifications of the person who is to perform the abortion; as to the licensure of that person; as to the facility in which the procedure is to be performed, that is, whether it must be a hospital or may be a clinic or some other place of less-than-hospital status; as to the licensing of the facility; and the like.”

[456] Ruling: Roe v. Wade. U.S. Supreme Court, January 22, 1973. Decided 7–2. Majority: Blackmun, Burger, Brennan, Douglas, Stewart, Marshall, Powell. Concurring: Burger, Douglas, Stewart. Dissenting: White, Rehnquist. <caselaw.lp.findlaw.com>

[457] Ruling: Roe v. Wade. U.S. Supreme Court, January 22, 1973. Decided 7–2. Majority: Blackmun, Burger, Brennan, Douglas, Stewart, Marshall, Powell. Concurring: Burger, Douglas, Stewart. Dissenting: White, Rehnquist. <caselaw.findlaw.com>

Section VIII:

[458] Ruling: Doe v. Bolton. U.S. Supreme Court, January 22, 1973. Decided 7–2. Majority: Blackmun, Brennan, Stewart, Marshall, Powell. Concurring: Burger, Douglas. Dissenting: White, Rehnquist. <caselaw.findlaw.com>

Section IV: “[T]he medical judgment may be exercised in the light of all factors—physical, emotional, psychological, familial, and the woman’s age—relevant to the well-being of the patient. All these factors may relate to health.”

[459] Ruling: Roe v. Wade. U.S. Supreme Court, January 22, 1973. Decided 7–2. Majority: Blackmun, Burger, Brennan, Douglas, Stewart, Marshall, Powell. Concurring: Burger, Douglas, Stewart. Dissenting: White, Rehnquist. <caselaw.findlaw.com>

Section XI: “On the basis of elements such as these, appellant and some amici argue that the woman’s right is absolute and that she is entitled to terminate her pregnancy at whatever time, in whatever way, and for whatever reason she alone chooses. With this we do not agree.”

[460] Ruling: Roe v. Wade. U.S. Supreme Court, January 22, 1973. Decided 7–2. Majority: Blackmun, Burger, Brennan, Douglas, Stewart, Marshall, Powell. Concurring: Burger, Douglas, Stewart. Dissenting: White, Rehnquist. <caselaw.findlaw.com>

Section VIII: “The privacy right … cannot be said to be absolute.”

Section VIII: “[M]ost of these courts have agreed that the right of privacy … is not absolute and is subject to some limitations; and that at some point the state interests as to protection of … prenatal life, become dominant. We agree with this approach.”

Section IX: “As we have intimated above, it is reasonable and appropriate for a State to decide that at some point in time … potential human life, becomes significantly involved. The woman’s privacy is no longer sole and any right of privacy she possesses must be measured accordingly.”

Section X: “We repeat, however, that the State does have an important and legitimate interest in … protecting the potentiality of human life.”

[461] Ruling: Doe v. Bolton. U.S. Supreme Court, January 22, 1973. Decided 7–2. Majority: Blackmun, Brennan, Stewart, Marshall, Powell. Concurring: Burger, Douglas. Dissenting: White, Rehnquist. <caselaw.findlaw.com>

[462] Ruling: Roe v. Wade. U.S. Supreme Court, January 22, 1973. Decided 7–2. Majority: Blackmun, Burger, Brennan, Douglas, Stewart, Marshall, Powell. Concurring: Burger, Douglas, Stewart. Dissenting: White, Rehnquist. <caselaw.findlaw.com>

[463] Ruling: Doe v. Bolton. U.S. Supreme Court, January 22, 1973. Decided 7–2. Majority: Blackmun, Brennan, Stewart, Marshall, Powell. Concurring: Burger, Douglas. Dissenting: White, Rehnquist

NOTE: Appendix “A” contains the relevant text of the Criminal Code of Georgia.

[464] Ruling: Doe v. Bolton. U.S. Supreme Court, January 22, 1973. Decided 7–2. Majority: Blackmun, Brennan, Stewart, Marshall, Powell. Concurring: Burger, Douglas. Dissenting: White, Rehnquist. <caselaw.findlaw.com>

Section IV: “C. … We agree with the District Court…. [T]he medical judgment may be exercised in the light of all factors—physical, emotional, psychological, familial, and the woman’s age—relevant to the well-being of the patient. All these factors may relate to health.”

NOTE: Contrary to some commentaries on this case, these statements do not constitute a new ruling. This aspect of the law was not before the court in this instance. It was before the lower court and ruled upon, and the appeal was not accepted by the Supreme Court. In the quote above, the Supreme Court was simply restating their decision in Roe v. Wade. As Section II of Doe v. Boltonstates: “The extent, therefore, to which the District Court decision was adverse to the defendants, that is, the extent to which portions of the Georgia statutes were held to be unconstitutional, technically is not now before us.”

[465] Ruling: Doe v. Bolton. U.S. Supreme Court, January 22, 1973. Decided 7–2. Majority: Blackmun, Brennan, Stewart, Marshall, Powell. Concurring: Burger, Douglas. Dissenting: White, Rehnquist. <caselaw.findlaw.com>

Section I:

[F]or an abortion to be authorized [410 U.S. 179, 184] or performed as a noncriminal procedure, additional conditions must be fulfilled. These are… (3) reduction to writing of the performing physician’s medical judgment that an abortion is justified for one or more of the reasons specified by 26-1202 (a), with written concurrence in that judgment by at least two other Georgia-licensed physicians, based upon their separate personal medical examinations of the woman … (5) advance approval by an abortion committee of not less than three members of the hospital’s staff….

[466] Ruling: Doe v. Bolton. U.S. Supreme Court, January 22, 1973. Decided 7–2. Majority: Blackmun, Brennan, Stewart, Marshall, Powell. Concurring: Burger, Douglas. Dissenting: White, Rehnquist. <caselaw.findlaw.com>

Section II: “The [District] court, however, held that Georgia’s interest in protection of health, and the existence of a ‘potential of independent human existence’ … justified state regulation of ‘the manner of performance as well as the quality of the final decision to abort’ … and it refused to strike down the other provisions of the statutes.”

Section IV:

The appellants next argue that the District Court should have declared unconstitutional three procedural demands of the Georgia statute: (1) that the abortion be performed in a hospital accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals:¹¹(2) that the procedure be approved by the hospital staff abortion committee; and (3) that the performing physician’s judgment be confirmed by the independent examinations of the patient by two other licensed physicians. …

We hold that the JCAH-accreditation requirement does not withstand constitutional scrutiny in the present context. …

[467] Article: “Veto-Proof Majority in House Votes to Prohibit Late-Term Procedure.” By Diane M. Gianelli, American Medical News, November 20, 1995.

“Warren Hern, MD. The author of Abortion Practice, the nation’s most widely used textbook on abortion standards and procedures. Dr. Hern specializes in late-term procedures.”

[468] Webpage: “Biography: Warren M. Hern, M.D., M.P.H., Ph.D., Director.” Boulder Abortion Clinic, April 7, 2004. <www.drhern.com>

Page 2:

In 1976, Dr. Hern was one of the founding institutional members of the National Abortion Federation and served on its Board of Directors for four years. For the first two years of the organization’s existence, Dr. Hern served on the Standards Committee and then chaired that Committee for two years. He prepared for publication the first version of the National Abortion Federation Program Standards for Abortion Services, released in 1981.

Page 3: “During the controversy surrounding the so-called “Partial Birth Abortion” debate, Dr. Hern was one of the experts in late abortion sought out by the national media for comment on this political strategy.”

[469] Article: “Debate Might Be Less About Abortion Than Politicking.” By Mimi Hall. USA Today, May 15, 1997. Page 5A.

“ ‘I say every pregnancy carries a risk of death,’ says defiant physician Warren Hern of Boulder, Colo., who performs late-term abortions.”

[470] Article: “Daschle Bill May Not Ban Anything; Abortionists Could Use Own Judgment.” By Frank J. Murray. Washington Times, May 15, 1997.

… Dr. Warren Hern, who literally wrote the textbook on “Abortion Practice.”

The Denver gynecologist said the fact of occasional death in childbearing can justify any abortion, no matter how late it is done.

“I will certify that any pregnancy is a threat to a woman’s life and could cause ‘grievous injury’ to her ‘physical health,’ ” Dr. Hern said, using key words from the Daschle bill….

[471] Ruling: Planned Parenthood of Southeastern PA v. Casey.United States Supreme Court. June 29, 1992. <caselaw.findlaw.com>

Consideration of the fundamental constitutional question resolved by Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113, principles of institutional integrity, and the rule of stare decisis require that Roe’s essential holding be retained [505 U.S. 834] and reaffirmed as to each of its three parts: (1) a recognition of a woman’s right to choose to have an abortion before fetal viability and to obtain it without undue interference from the State, whose pre-viability interests are not strong enough to support an abortion prohibition or the imposition of substantial obstacles to the woman’s effective right to elect the procedure; (2) a confirmation of the State’s power to restrict abortions after viability, if the law contains exceptions for pregnancies endangering a woman’s life or health; and (3) the principle that the State has legitimate interests from the outset of the pregnancy in protecting the health of the woman and the life of the fetus that may become a child. …

Roe’s rigid trimester framework is rejected. To promote the State’s interest in potential life throughout pregnancy, the State may take measures to ensure that the woman’s choice is informed. Measures designed to advance this interest should not be invalidated if their purpose is to persuade the woman to choose childbirth over abortion. These measures must not be an undue burden on the right.

[472] Ruling: Planned Parenthood of Southeastern PA v. Casey.United States Supreme Court. June 29, 1992. <caselaw.findlaw.com>

Adoption of the undue burden standard does not disturb Roe’s holding that, regardless of whether exceptions are made for particular circumstances, a State may not prohibit any woman from making the ultimate decision to terminate her pregnancy before viability.

Roe’s holding that “subsequent to viability, the State, in promoting its interest in the potentiality of human life, may, if it chooses, regulate, and even proscribe, abortion except where it is necessary, in appropriate medical judgment, for the preservation of the life or health of the mother” is also reaffirmed.

[473] Article: “The Baby Who’s Not Supposed to Be Alive.” By Pat Wingert. Newsweek, August 21, 2007. <www.newsweek.com>

“The chance of survival for a 21-week six-day old fetus is zero. That’s something Miami obstetrician Guillermo Lievano thought he knew for sure. Then he delivered Amillia Taylor, who weighed just 10 ounces, and appears to be the youngest premature baby ever to survive, beating the record by more than a week.”

[474] Ruling: Planned Parenthood of Southeastern PA v. Casey.United States Supreme Court. June 29, 1992. <caselaw.findlaw.com>

[T]he State may take measures to ensure that the woman’s choice is informed, and measures designed to advance this interest will not be invalidated as long as their purpose is to persuade the woman to choose childbirth over abortion. These measures must not be an undue burden on the right.

As with any medical procedure, the State may enact regulations to further the health or safety of a woman seeking an abortion. Unnecessary health regulations that have the purpose or effect of presenting a substantial obstacle to a woman seeking an abortion impose an undue burden on the right. [505 U.S. 833, 879]

Our adoption of the undue burden analysis does not disturb the central holding of Roe v. Wade, and we reaffirm that holding. Regardless of whether exceptions are made for particular circumstances, a State may not prohibit any woman from making the ultimate decision to terminate her pregnancy before viability.

[475] Paper: “Termination of Pregnancy for Fetal Anomaly: A Population-Based Study 1995 to 2004.” By M. Wyldes. BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, May 2007. Pages 639-642. <onlinelibrary.wiley.com>

Location: West Midlands region of Britain

Sample period: 1995-2004

Sample size: 808,237 conceptions; 646,342 births

Number of preborn humans aborted because they had conditions such as Down’s Syndrome, heart defects, and kidney problems = 3,189

Median age at time of abortion: 19 weeks (range of 8 to 40 weeks)

Number of live births: 102

Median survival time: 80 minutes (37 newborns survived for an hour or less, six for 6 hours or more)

[476] Article: “Fetus.” By Frank D. Allan. Encyclopedia of Human Biology. Academic Press, 1997. Volume 3.

Page 962 states that in the third month, “Electrical activity of the nervous system is discernible…. Attempts to suckle have been seen in utero and in aborted fetuses of 3 months.”

[477] Paper: “An Infant Who Survived Abortion and Neonatal Intensive Care.” By P. Clarke & others. Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, January 2005. Pages 73-74. <www.tandfonline.com>

Page 73: “A 24-week gestation male infant was born alive in November 2002, several days after repeated attempts at medical termination of pregnancy.”

[478] Article: “Boy Is Aborted 3 Times and Lives.” By Lois Rogers and Sarah-Kate Templeton. London Times, February 13, 2005. <www.thesundaytimes.co.uk>

“A BABY survived at least three attempts to abort it from the womb and was born alive at 24 weeks old.”

[479] Article: “We’re Twinseparable! Happy with His Brother, the Boy Who Refused to Die.” By Lucy Laing. LondonDaily Mail, November 3, 2007. <www.dailymail.co.uk>

[480] Article: “Mother’s Anger Turns to Delight After Her Baby Survives an Abortion.” By Liz Hull. LondonDaily Mail, June 5, 2008. <www.dailymail.co.uk>

[481] Article: “In Debate on Abortion, 2 Girls Make It Real.” By Tamar Lewin. New York Times, October 27, 1991. <www.nytimes.com>

“Ms. DePaul will not identify Gianna’s birth mother, the doctor who performed the abortion, the clinic or the nurse who, she said, rescued Gianna by transferring her to a hospital nursery. But to support her story she released some of the medical records from the adoption, including a section called ‘Complications of Birth,’ which has the notation, ‘Born during saline abortion.’ ”

[482] Transcript: “Testimony of Gianna Jessen.” Subcommittee on the Constitution, Judiciary Committee, U.S. House of Representatives, July 20, 2000. <commdocs.house.gov>

Page 54: “I … was delivered alive on April 6, 1977, at 6 a.m. in a southern California abortion clinic.”

[483] Article: “ ‘I Survived an Abortion Attempt’.” By Jane Elliott. BBC News, December 6, 2005. <news.bbc.co.uk>

“She has cerebral palsy as a direct result of the procedure carried out on her in the womb. … She started to walk with leg braces and by the age of four was walking with the aid of a walker—now she walks without any assistance.”

[484] Webpage: “Gianna Jessen.” Accessed August 2008 at <www.giannajessen.com>

“On April 30, 2005 she completed her first 26.2 mile marathon…. On April 23, 2006 she completed the London Marathon as well. … In fact she has run a marathon, is an accomplished singer and writer and travels the world to campaign against abortion.”

[485] Transcript: “Testimony of Jill L. Stanek, Mokena, IL.” Subcommittee on the Constitution, Judiciary Committee, U.S. House of Representatives, July 20, 2000. Pages 34-39. <commdocs.house.gov>

My name is Jill Stanek, and I am a registered nurse who has worked in the Labor and Delivery Department at Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn, Illinois, for the past 5 years. Christ Hospital performs abortions on women in their second or even third trimesters of pregnancy. Sometimes the babies aborted are healthy, and sometimes they are not. …

… It is not uncommon for a live aborted baby to linger for an hour or two or even longer. One of these babies was known to live for almost an entire 8-hour shift.

In the event that a baby is aborted alive, he or she receives no medical assessments or care, but is given only what the Christ Hospital calls “comfort care.” Comfort care is defined as keeping the baby warm in a blanket until he or she dies, although even this so-called compassion is not always provided. It is not required that these babies be held during their short lives.

One night, a nursing co-worker was taking an aborted Down’s syndrome baby who was born alive to our Soiled Utility Room because his parents did not want to hold him and she did not have time to hold him. I could not bear the thought of this suffering child dying alone in a Soiled Utility Room, so I cradled and rocked him for the 45 minutes that he lived. …

Other co-workers have told me upsetting stories about live aborted babies whom they have cared for. I was told about an aborted baby who was supposed to have spina bifida, but was delivered with an intact spine. Another nurse is haunted by the memory of an aborted baby who came out weighing much more than expected—almost 2 pounds. She is haunted because she doesn’t know if she made a mistake by not getting that baby any medical help. A support associate told me about a live aborted baby who was left to die on a counter in our Soiled Utility room wrapped in a disposable towel. This baby was accidentally thrown in the garbage. Later, when they were going through the trash trying to find the baby, the baby fell out of the towel and onto the floor.

I was recently told about a situation by a nurse who said, “I can’t stop thinking about it.” She had a patient who was 23-plus weeks pregnant, and it did not look as if her baby would continue to be able to live inside of her. The baby was healthy and had up to a 39 percent chance of survival, according to our national statistics. But the patient chose to abort. The baby was born alive. … After delivery, the baby, who showed early signs of thriving—her Apgars improved—was merely wrapped in a blanket and kept in the Labor and Delivery Department until she died two and a half hours later.

[486] Transcript: “Testimony of Allison Baker, Charlottesville, VA.” Subcommittee on the Constitution, Judiciary Committee, U.S. House of Representatives, July 20, 2000. Pages 40-43. <commdocs.house.gov>

I am also an RN. I worked at Christ Hospital for a year between the time of August 1998 to August 1999. I am now presently a pediatric nurse in Charlottesville.

During this time, I witnessed three cases. When I first started, I was on day shift. I walked into the Soiled Utility Room to throw something away, and laying on the metal part of the table with nothing underneath, there was a fetus, a baby, moving vigorously, just laying there.

I went out to find the nurse who was responsible for this baby, and she said that the mother had been what they call a therapeutic abortion, as Jill had explained, and that she just didn’t have time to do anything with the baby at the time, and that if I could, could I wrap the baby and put the baby in a warmer.

So I went to the Soiled Utility Room, wrapped the baby, and held the baby and found a warmer and placed the baby in the warmer. And for about two and a half hours, the baby maintained a heartbeat, the baby was alive. …

The next case that I actually participated in was I had come on to shift and there was a patient that had delivered a baby, a 20-week fetus who had spina bifida. The baby, once again, was alive and the baby had a heartbeat. It took an hour and 45 minutes for this baby to finally expire. …

The last case that I experienced while I was there was a 16-week fetus that was aborted, and the baby was supposed to have had Down’s. And the baby at 16 weeks was born with a heartbeat, and the parents thought that the baby would die right away because it was so early. The baby ended up living for approximately 45 minutes, and during this time, the parents were very upset and kept questioning me and other nurses: how come their baby wasn’t dead, when was their baby going to die, why was their baby alive?

[487] Article: “Bill Proposes Care for Fetus After Abortion.” By Dave McKinney. Chicago Sun-Times. March 31, 2001.

“A spokesman for Christ Hospital’s parent, Advocate Health Care, said it provides ‘compassionate care’ for its patients and estimated that between 10 percent and 20 percent of fetuses with genetic defects that are aborted survive for short periods outside the womb.”

[488]Senate Bill 1095: “An Act Concerning Infants Who Are Born Alive.” State of Illinois, 92nd General Assembly, 2001. <www.ilga.gov>

(a) In determining the meaning of any statute or of any rule, regulation, or interpretation of the various administrative agencies of this State, the words “person”, “human being”, “child”, and “individual” include every infant member of the species homo sapiens who is born alive at any stage of development.

(b) As used in this Section, the term “born alive”, with respect to a member of the species homo sapiens, means the complete expulsion or extraction from its mother of that member, at any stage of development, who after that expulsion or extraction breathes or has a beating heart, pulsation of the umbilical cord, or definite movement of voluntary muscles, regardless of whether the umbilical cord has been cut and regardless of whether the expulsion or extraction occurs as a result of natural or induced labor, cesarean section, or induced abortion.

(c) A live child born as a result of an abortion shall be fully recognized as a human person and accorded immediate protection under the law.

[489]Senate Bill 1662: “An Act Concerning Infants Who Are Born Alive.” State of Illinois, 92nd General Assembly, 2002. <www.ilga.gov>

NOTE: The operative language is the same as the bill quoted in the footnote above.

[490] Vote: “Senate Bill 1095 (Third Reading)—an Act Concerning Infants Who Are Born Alive.” State of Illinois Senate, 92nd General Assembly, March 30, 2001. <www.ilga.gov>

“34 YEAS … 5 NAYS … 13 PRESENT … P[resent] Obama”

NOTE: In the Illinois legislature, a vote of ‘Present” has the same effect as a vote against a bill. This was implicitly stated by Obama in a debate with Alan Keyes on October 12, 2004when he asserted that “21 other senators, Democrat and Republican … objected to the bill.” As shown in this vote record and the next, only by counting the “Present” votes can the number of 22 be reached.

[491] Vote: “Senate Bill 1662 (Third Reading) – an Act Concerning Infants Who Are Born Alive.” State of Illinois Senate, 92nd General Assembly, April 4, 2002. <www.ilga.gov>

“30 YEAS … 12 NAYS … 10 PRESENT … N[ay] Obama”

[492] Congressional Record H796. United States House of Representatives, March 12, 2002. <www.gpo.gov>

The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. STEARNS). The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. SENSENBRENNER) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 2175 [Born-Alive Infants Protection Act].

The question was taken.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of those present have voted in the affirmative.

[493] Congressional Record S7084. United States Senate, July 18, 2002. <www.gpo.gov>

There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read the third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and that any statements relating to the bill be printed in the RECORD.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

The bill (H.R. 2175) was read the third time and passed.

[494] Public Law 107-207: “Born-Alive Infants Protection Act of 2002.” 107th United States Congress. Signed into law by President George W. Bush on August 5, 2002. <www.gpo.gov>

An Act

To protect infants who are born alive. [H.R. 2175] …

(a) In determining the meaning of any Act of Congress, or of any ruling, regulation, or interpretation of the various administrative bureaus and agencies of the United States, the words ‘person’, ‘human being’, ‘child’, and ‘individual’, shall include every infant member of the species homo sapiens who is born alive at any stage of development.

(b) As used in this section, the term ‘born alive’, with respect to a member of the species homo sapiens, means the complete expulsion or extraction from his or her mother of that member, at any stage of development, who after such expulsion or extraction breathes or has a beating heart, pulsation of the umbilical cord, or definite movement of voluntary muscles, regardless of whether the umbilical cord has been cut, and regardless of whether the expulsion or extraction occurs as a result of natural or induced labor, cesarean section, or induced abortion.

[495]Transcript: “Alan Keyes and Barack Obama Debate.” Moderated by Jim Anderson. Illinois Radio Network, October 12, 2004. <www.keyesarchives.com>

Keyes: Well, I think it’s very clear. The Born Alive Infant Protection Act that was aimed at making sure that children born alive after an abortion procedure would not be set aside to die like garbage—when babies at exactly the same stage of development are being accessed and then saved right there down the hall in the same hospitals where they are boasting about their ability to save preemies. I think that we have to take seriously the testimony of people like Jill Stanek and others, and not pretend that this problem does not exist. …

And I think that’s a travesty. Senator [Obama] ignored that travesty, not once, not twice, but three times on the plea now, I suppose, that this problem does not exist. I guess he’s calling the nurses involved liars.

Obama: … You know, if Ambassador Keyes had called me up, he could have saved himself a trip because existing Illinois law mandates that any infant that has a chance for survival is provided life-saving treatment. Not only that, you’ve got to have a second doctor there to certify that in fact that is the case. That continues to be the case, that is current law today, as it should be.

Now, the bill that was put forward was essentially a way of getting around Roe vs. Wade, which is why 21 other senators, Democrat and Republican, why the Illinois Medical Society objected to the bill. At the federal level there was a similar bill that passed because it had an amendment saying this does not encroach on Roe vs. Wade. I would have voted for that bill.

[496] Senate Bill 1082: “An Act Concerning Infants Who Are Born Alive.” State of Illinois Senate, 93rd General Assembly, 2003. <www.ilga.gov>

NOTE: The operative language is the same as in the two other Illinois bills cited above: Senate Bill 1095 (2001)and Senate Bill 1662 (2002).

[497] “Amendment To Senate Bill 1082.” Filed by Senator Richard J. Winkel, Jr. (Republican). State of Illinois Senate, 93rd General Assembly, March 11, 2003. <www.ilga.gov>

Amend Senate Bill 1082 on page 1, by replacing lines 24 through 26 with the following:

“(c) Nothing in this Section shall be construed to affirm, deny, expand, or contract any legal status or legal right applicable to any member of the species homo sapiens at any point prior to being born alive as defined in this Section.”

[498] “Status of Senate Bill 1082.” State of Illinois Senate, 93rd General Assembly, 2005. <www.ilga.gov>

Date	Chamber	Action
3/11/2003	Senate	Senate Committee Amendment No. 1 Filed with Secretary by Sen. Richard J. Winkel, Jr.
3/11/2003	Senate	Senate Committee Amendment No. 1 Referred to Rules {See third note below. All amendments are initially referred to this committee.}
3/12/2003	Senate	Senate Committee Amendment No. 1 Rules Refers to Health & Human Services{See note below. This committee was chaired by Obama.}

[499] Webpage: “Health & Human Services Committee–Members.” State of Illinois Senate, 93rd General Assembly. Accessed July 2008 at <www.ilga.gov>

“Chairperson: Barack Obama [Democrat]”

[500] Senate Committee Action Report: “Senate Bill 1082.” Illinois Senate Committee on Health and Human Services, March 12, 2003. <www.nrlc.org>

“Final Action … DPA [Do Pass As Amended] … Obama, Barack—No … Total—4 Yes, 6 No”

[501] Article: “Lawmakers approve abortion-friendly legislation.” By Kristy Hessman. Associated Press, March 13, 2003.

Also on Thursday, the [Illinois] Senate Health and Human Services Committee rejected a bill that declares any fetus with a beating heart or muscle movement outside the womb as “born alive.” …

The sponsor, Sen. Rick Winkel, R-Champaign, said the bill is modeled after a recent federal policy that defines a “born-alive” infant. …

Winkel’s bill got four “yes” votes and six “no” votes. …

The bills are … SB1082….

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