"A woman seeking an abortion is often in a crisis situation or is under pressure from the child's father or her parents. She deserves to be fully informed with accurate and scientific information concerning a procedure that ends the life of her baby and is likely to have a detrimental effect on her for the rest of her life.
"The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Gonzales v. Carhart, which upheld the ban on the gruesome partial birth abortion, gave credence to South Dakota's informed consent legislation," continued Schauer. The Supreme Court acknowledged the "special relationship that a mother has with her unborn child that ought to be respected in the eyes of the law." HB1166 requires that the woman seeking an abortion be told that she "has an existing relationship with that unborn human being and that relationship enjoys protection under the United States Constitution."
The Supreme Court affirmed informed consent statutes by saying the "state has an interest in ensuring so grave a choice is well-informed."
Women have been sold a pack of lies by abortion providers, who tell them that they were pregnant with a "blob of tissue." According to the deposition for HB1166, abortionists at Planned Parenthood in Sioux Falls use dehumanizing terms for the baby such as "remove the pregnancy" or "contents of the uterus." The staff fails to provide any information on fetal development unless requested by the woman. Furthermore, neither the state director nor the "patient educators" have any knowledge of fetal development.
Any responsible doctor would reveal all the known risk factors regarding a condition, procedure or drug. Why should we expect anything less for a procedure that ends the life of an unborn child and causes deep emotional trauma and many times causes physical risks to the mother?
Concerned Women for America is the nation's largest public policy women's organization.
