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If you want to know what really goes on behind the closed doors of Planned Parenthood, Google "Live Action" and click on the Planned Parenthood Appleton clinic. It's clear nothing has changed in the 35 years since I visited Planned Parenthood. An unintended, undesired pregnancy clearly constitutes a significant life crisis for many women and demands responsible crisis counseling. Lila Rose, president of Live Action, confirmed that the young woman in the undercover video received no counseling except that of the nurse and abortionist. The nurse was adamant that a fetus is not a baby "until birth," while the abortionist...

Federal Bench: Yet another judicial nominee seeks to impose the "empathy" standard on the courts. He thinks judges should base rulings on a plaintiff's status, legislate from the bench and amend the Constitution. Indiana federal judge David Hamilton stands poised to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate to assume a seat on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals serving Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin. He's a former fundraiser for Acorn and a former leader of the Indiana chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. He is also another in a series of activist judges who believe the U.S. Constitution is not...

Women seeking an abortion must be told that the procedure ends a human life, a federal judge ruled Thursday, upholding part of a South Dakota law.U.S. District Judge Karen Schreier said doctors must disclose to pregnant women that “the abortion will terminate the life of a whole, separate, unique, living human being.�But she rejected other portions of the state’s 2005 informed consent law that required doctors to tell women that abortion increases the risk of suicide and that they have “an existing relationship with that unborn human being.�10-week old human fetus (Credit: Wikimedia Commons) “A legal relationship requires two people....

An Oklahoma judge decided Tuesday that doctors do not need to perform ultrasounds and offer women detailed information about the tests before performing abortions, striking down the strictest such law in the country. Oklahoma County District Judge Vicki L. Robertson ruled that the 2008 law, which included other abortion-related provisions, violated a state constitutional provision that requires laws to address only one subject. Thirteen states regulate the provision of ultrasounds by abortion providers, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive-health think tank. The provisions have been pushed by abortion opponents as a means of deterring women from having the procedures.

OKLAHOMA CITY, Aug. 19 (UPI) -- An Oklahoma judge struck down the state’s abortion law requiring ultrasounds, ruling it violated a requirement that legislation deal with a single subject. Oklahoma County District Judge Vicki Robertson ruled the 2008 abortion law was a compilation of five separate bills, but did not address other legal complaints on the law Tuesday, The Oklahoman reported Wednesday. The most controversial aspect of the law was a requirement that a doctor or medical technician performing an abortion give a pregnant woman an ultrasound before the procedure and display the images where the woman could see them,...

An Oklahoma judge on Tuesday overturned a state law that required women seeking an abortion to receive an ultrasound and a doctor's description of the fetus. Oklahoma County District Judge Vicki Robertson said the law violated constitutional requirements that a legislative measure deal only with one subject. She did not rule on the validity of the ultrasound provisions. Her ruling also overturned provisions in the law that allowed doctors and other healthcare providers to refuse to take part in an abortion for moral or religious reasons, required certain signs to be placed in clinics where abortions are performed, and prohibited...

Planned Parenthood has asked a judge to prevent South Dakota from suspending or revoking its license to perform abortions because of state claims that it violated a law requiring doctors to tell women that abortion ends a human life. Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota requested a temporary restraining order in response to a letter it received Monday from the state Department of Health. The letter, included in the court file, lists numerous deficiencies reportedly found in May during an inspection of the state's only abortion clinic, in Sioux Falls. The agency gave Planned Parenthood, which operates the clinic,...

Hartford, CT (LifeNews.com) -- Under a new bill pro-abortion Connecticut Gov. Jodi Rell signed into law last week, an ultrasound of an unborn child can't be done without a medical reason or authorization from a physician. The bill could have a negative impact on pregnancy centers that use ultrasounds to help women considering abortion.Studies have shown that ultrasounds, which show the humanity of the unborn children throughout pregnancy, convince at least 80 percent of women considering an abortion to keep their baby.Rell claimed she signed the bill because she is concerned about the health and safety of mothers and...

President Obama / Judge David Hamilton Washington D.C., Mar 27, 2009 / 04:04 am (CNA).- President Barack Obama’s first judicial nominee’s record includes judicial decisions which obstructed the enforcement of Indiana’s informed consent law requiring women to be told the risks of abortion.President Obama on March 17 nominated Judge David Hamilton to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeal. He is presently U.S. District Chief Judge for the Southern District of Indiana.Over his seven years as a district judge, Judge Hamilton ruled against the Indiana informed consent law which required abortionists to inform women about the risks of abortion. The...

On Tuesday, January 13th, RFFM.org detailed the history of Illinois' Parental Notification Law (see: Illinois' Parental Notification of Abortion Act: Thomas More Society's Long Battle for Law's Enforcement: http://rffm.typepad.com/republicans_for_fair_medi/2009/01/illinois-parental-notification-of-abortion-act-thomas-more-societys-long-battle-for-laws-enforcement.html). On Wednesday, a three judge panel of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals conducted a hearing regarding the case titled, "David Zbaraz vs. Lisa Madigan". The case was not decided and the three judge panel said the case would be "taken under advisement." The Parental Notification Law was passed in 1995 and signed by then-Governor Jim Edgar. However, the law, which would require parents to be informed when their minor children...

An advocate group sued the state of Oklahoma over legislation that prohibits a woman from getting an abortion unless she undergoes an ultrasound first. The Center for Reproductive Rights claims in the lawsuit filed Thursday in Oklahoma County District Court that the requirement intrudes privacy and endangers health and assaults dignity. The law effective as of Nov. 1 would make Oklahoma the fourth state in the country that requires that an ultrasound be performed prior to an abortion so that the woman can have a chance of viewing the fetus. The other states are Alabama Louisiana and Mississippi. The Oklahoma...

Now here is an interesting little story that doesn't seem to be getting any media coverage. In South Dakota after being held up in courts since 2005, a new law finally took effect on July 21 requiring any abortion doctor to read a statement covering the possible ill effects that abortions have on women -- both mental and physical -- at least two hours before the procedure occurs. The one Planned Parenthood office in South Dakota had taken the state to court to stop this law being implemented, but lost their case on the 18th. On the day the law...

Sacramento, Aug 11, 2008 / 11:04 pm (CNA).- A California judge has ruled against Planned Parenthood and its allies who challenged the content of a voter information pamphlet’s arguments in support of Proposition 4, a ballot measure requiring abortionists to notify at least one adult relative before performing an abortion on a minor. The arguments reference the story of “Sarah,” a 15-year-old who died in 1994 after suffering complications from a secretly obtained legal abortion, in addition to stories of other underage girls who obtained abortions without their parents’ knowledge.Opponents of the pamphlet’s content argued that Sarah’s story should...

by Steven Ertelt LifeNews.com Editor July 21, 2008 Sioux Falls, SD (LifeNews.com) -- Monday was the first day that Planned Parenthood, which operates the only abortion business in South Dakota, had to comply with a new state law telling women the truth about abortion. Rather than tell women abortion kills children and has numerous risks, Planned Parenthood temporarily closed its doors.

Sioux Falls, SD -- Monday was the first day that Planned Parenthood, which operates the only abortion business in South Dakota, had to comply with a new state law telling women the truth about abortion. Rather than tell women abortion kills children and has numerous risks, Planned Parenthood closed its doors. The state law, which the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld last week, required abortion practitioners to inform every woman that she is terminating the life of a human being. It requires giving her information about the mental health complications such as a high risk of depression and suicide...

Women considering an abortion in South Dakota will receive more complete information about how the procedure will affect their bodies and what will actually happen to their unborn child thanks to a ruling by the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. South Dakota passed a law in 2005 requiring abortionists to inform women that the procedure ends the life of a living human being, and that they could suffer physical harm from the procedure as well. Jordan Lorence, senior counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), says Planned Parenthood immediately sued to block implementation of the law. "They don't want...

TOLEDO, OH, April 15, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In an effort to present pre-natal development "in an educational and non-confrontational manner," the Foundation for Life organization has rented space in a local mall for its "Truth Booth," featuring a set of ultrasound images tracing the development of a child from seven weeks of age until birth.The unmanned display is in a rented kiosk in Westfield Franklin Park Shopping Mall."Being unmanned will actually help people just wander up to it. They won't feel threatened. They won't feel like there's any pressure. Any preachiness or debate that will take place…They'll debate this...

The Milpitas science teacher who showed eighth-graders a graphic anti-abortion video remains on paid leave but has resigned from teaching at Russell Middle School effective June 30. It is not clear whether Randy Yang, a first-year teacher, will return to the classroom this semester. Superintendent Karl Black, citing confidentiality rules, refused to comment. In a closed session, the Milpitas Unified School District board accepted Yang's resignation Feb. 12, Black said. On Jan. 23, Yang showed clips of the controversial film "The Silent Scream," which depicts a fetus being aborted. The film was not part of the curriculum. The next day...

Opponents Call Proposal Micromanaging Medical Care TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Two state lawmakers said they have a plan to reduce the number of abortions in Florida. The proposal would require women to have an ultrasound before they could have an abortion in Florida. Sen. Dan Webster and Rep. Trey Traviesa are sponsoring the bill. Under Webster's plan, doctors would be required to give a woman the option of seeing the ultrasound pictures unless she's the victim of rape, incest or human trafficking. If the woman does not want to see the ultrasound, she would be required to sign a waiver. Figures...

DENVER (BP)--A Colorado ministry to women in crisis pregnancies recently received a big boost toward its efforts to save human lives -- a new sonogram machine. The SBC's Psalm 139 Project -- an effort of the convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission to educate Southern Baptists on the value of ultrasound technology in crisis pregnancy situations -- selected Riverside Pregnancy Center to receive the equipment. The project also provides a way for individuals to contribute to a fund that places the machines in qualified centers. Psalm 139 was the inspiration for the project. The Old Testament verses affirm the fact...

Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), now running for president on his pro-life agenda, has introduced a bill that would require doctors to perform an ultrasound, then show it to a pregnant woman, before performing an abortion. "We can reduce the number of abortions and help people reflect on the humanity of the unborn child by providing more information to women," said Brownback. According to a posting on his website, the bill, officially known as the Ultrasound Informed Consent Act, places the requirements on the doctor, not the woman. A doctor would be required to share the ultrasound results with the woman...

LAST WEEK, the New Jersey Supreme Court decided that patients are not entitled to truthful answers when they ask doctors direct questions about medical procedures. When Rosa Acuna learned she was six weeks to eight weeks pregnant, she asked if she was carrying a baby at that stage. Her doctor replied that her fetus was "not a living human being," but rather "just tissue at this time." As a result, Rosa agreed to an abortion. She suffered emotional distress upon discovering later that the abortion had indeed killed an existing human being. While expressing sympathy for Rosa's "deep pain," the...

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Sam Brownback, the Kansas senator and Republican presidential candidate, has introduced a new bill that would require abortion practitioners to perform an ultrasound and allow women contemplating an abortion to see the pictures of their unborn child. The hope is that it will persuade many women to keep their baby.The Ultrasound Informed Consent Act is similar to bills lawmakers in states like Texas, South Carolina and Georgia have proposed.Pregnancy centers routinely show women ultrasound photos and a high percentage of women decide against having an abortion."It is necessary and right to provide a woman seeking...

New Jersey’s supreme court has just decided that, as far as state law is concerned, an abortionist can give false information to a woman trying to decide whether to have an abortion. Is there a “baby in there”? That’s what Rose Acuna wanted to know from her obstetrician-gynecologist. She was six to eight weeks along at the time. “Don’t be stupid. It’s only blood,” the physician, Sheldon Turkish, allegedly replied. (Turkish argues that he probably said, “It’s just tissue.”) So, three days later, Acuna went ahead with the abortion. Acuna then suffered complications. She’d had an “incomplete abortion,” and a...

-SNIP- The increasing use of ultrasound exams at crisis pregnancy centers brings criticism from clinics that provide abortion. They see its use as manipulating pregnant women. Eve Espey, obstetrician/gynecologist at University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, said CPCs are looking at legislation to force women to view an ultrasound before having an abortion. "I think it's very much a coercive measure," said Espey, "because I think it gets back to your basic right to have the information you want to have."

One of the most intense battlegrounds in the abortion debate these days revolves around a simple question: What do women need to know before they terminate a pregnancy? South Dakota lawmakers want to compel doctors — under penalty of a month in jail — to tell women that the abortion they seek will kill a "whole, separate, unique, living human being." South Carolina is on the verge of requiring that a woman review ultrasound images of her fetus with a physician before consenting to end a pregnancy. In Mississippi, a woman must be given a chance to listen in as...

Springfield, IL (LifeNews.com) -- A new survey shows women considering an abortion want to know information about the risks and dangers associated with it beforehand. The survey stands in stark contrast to the position abortion advocates take in opposition to legislation allowing women to know the potential medical problems abortion presents. The Journal of Medical Ethics published the results of the survey of 187 women in July.The survey polled women seeking obstetric and gynecological services at a Wisconsin women's health clinic and they were asked to give their opinions about receiving information for elective medical procedures.In the survey they ranked...

ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON -- In a public health emergency, suspected victims would no longer have to give permission before experimental tests could be run to determine why they're sick, under a federal rule published Wednesday. Privacy experts called the exception unnecessary, ripe for abuse and an override of state informed-consent laws. Health care workers will be free to run experimental tests on blood and other samples taken from people who have fallen sick as a result of a bioterrorist attack, bird flu outbreak, detonation of a dirty bomb or any other life-threatening public health emergency, according to the rule issued...

Monday March 20, 2006 LANSING, Mich. (AP) Gov. Jennifer Granholm has decided to sign a bill requiring abortion providers to give a pregnant woman the option of seeing ultrasound images taken of her fetus before an abortion, spokeswoman Liz Boyd says. Granholm generally has opposed anti-abortion legislation. Boyd said Sunday that the legislation was drafted in cooperation with abortion-rights groups and would not change current practice. It would change what is known as Michigan's informed consent abortion law, which includes a 24-hour waiting period. Until now, Michigan law has required that women seeking abortions have a chance to review diagrams...

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Indiana women seeking an abortion would be told that life begins at conception under a proposal that would give the state one of the farthest-reaching abortion consent laws in the country. Only one state -- South Dakota -- has gone so far in what it orders doctors to tell women before they can get abortions, and a court has blocked that law. Supporters say the legislation would provide women key information before making an irreversible decision, but critics argue it blurs the line between church and state and could infringe on doctors' First Amendment rights. "To put...

Indiana women seeking an abortion would be told life begins at conception under a proposal that would give the state one of the furthest-reaching abortion consent laws in the country. Only one state — South Dakota — has gone so far in what it orders doctors to tell women before they can get abortions, and that law has been blocked by a court. Supporters say the legislation would provide women key information before making an irreversible decision, but critics argue it blurs the line between church and state and could infringe on doctors' First Amendment rights. "To put our religion...

LANSING -- Michigan women contemplating abortion would be given the option of viewing ultrasound images of their fetuses as well as photographs taken during the ultrasounds, under a bill headed to the Michigan House. The House Health Policy Committee voted 14-2 Tuesday to approve a bill by Rep. Dave Robertson, R-Grand Blanc, that adds the requirement to the state's informed consent law. "Nothing in the legislation compels any woman to look at the images,'' Robertson said. "This acknowledges the fact that technology has advanced and ultrasound has become commonplace.'' Opponents said it would add another roadblock for women seeking legal...

(Indianapolis) -- The Governor has signed a law requiring abortion providers to tell women about the availability of ultrasound imaging before ending their pregnancies. The bill requires health care providers to present a pregnant woman with information on ultrasounds and the ability to hear fetal heartbeats. Governor Mitch Daniels signed it into law at the Statehouse today before going to Evansville for an anti-abortion banquet tonight. Daniels plans to attend the Vanderburgh County right to life spring banquet, which is billed as one of the nation's largest anti-abortion banquets. Indiana Right to Life says more than 2,000 people are expected...

An appeals court on Wednesday rejected a state law that would require doctors to tell women about the risks of abortion before performing the procedure. The law, also known as the ''Women's Right to Know Act,'' also would have compelled doctors to give patients a state-produced flier on alternatives to abortion, including information about medical assistance benefits for prenatal care, childbirth and neonatal care. The materials also would include a description of the fetus. The Fourth District Court of Appeal ruled that the statute was unconstitutionally vague and ''runs afoul'' of Florida law for several reasons, including violating a woman's...

New York, NY (LifeNews.com) -- In a stunning admission last week, an attorney representing a national group of abortion businesses admitted that women don't need to know of the risk of premature delivery in a pregnancy following a partial-birth abortion. The frank admission came during closing arguments of the New York trial of a lawsuit filed seeking to overturn the ban on partial-birth abortions, one of three such suits nationwide. During his closing arguments on behalf of the National Abortion Federation, attorney Stephen Hut and Judge Richard Casey discussed a study conducted by Dr. Steven Chasen who practices maternal fetal...

Among the various regulations of abortion that states may deploy and still get past Supreme Court whim, perhaps those most feared by the pro-abortion crowd are those requiring informed consent. The reason is fairly simple: The more a young woman learns about abortion, the less likely she is to regard it as a neutral "choice" devoid of other consequences. Now there are statistics behind this intuition. In 1990, there were 1,035,573 reported abortions in the 46 states that report such data to the Centers for Disease Control; by 1999, the toll fell to 854,416. A new Heritage Foundation analysis examines...

Emergency Patients Unwittingly Get Artificial Blood Paramedics in five U.S. cities have started infusing experimental artificial blood into victims of car crashes, shootings and other life-threatening emergencies without first getting their consent, as most research projects require. Ambulances and medical helicopters racing to bring hemorrhaging patients to more than a dozen other hospitals around the country, including possibly two in Virginia, will eventually join the test of the synthetic oxygen-carrying liquid, called PolyHeme. Supporters say the study is the only means to prove that the pouches of red fluid offer one of the longest-sought tools in medicine -- a way...

Allows family members to sue, requires telling patient that state prefers birth BOISE _ Despite a split among anti-abortion advocates, the Idaho Senate approved an anti-abortion bill Friday that allows immediate family members to sue if they believe a relative's abortion damaged them. The bill, SB 1321, is focused on strengthening Idaho's 1983 informed consent law that requires women to be informed of risks and alternatives and given detailed information about fetal development before having an abortion. "Giving information -- how can this be wrong?" said Senate Health and Welfare Chairman Skip Brandt, R-Kooskia, the bill's sponsor. The bill adds...

You know the famous blob of tissue that Americans have been arguing about for more than 30 years? Well, it turns out that the women who have abortions have about as much standing as that "product of conception." Last week, Senator Sam Brownback (R., Kan.) sponsored hearings in the Senate to review the impact of abortion on women and, ultimately, to call for greater research. Note well, this was not intended to be an abortion debate. Rather, it was meant to offer a close look at the effects, positive or negative, of abortions on the women who have them. Approximately...

Thursday, March 4, 2004 To: CAP board members and friends of CAP From: Len Munsil, President (1) GOV. NAPOLITANO VETOES INFORMED CONSENT! Despite thousands of calls and e-mails, despite informed consent being favored by nine out of 10 Americans, despite 30 states already having such laws, Gov. Janet Napolitano this afternoon vetoed the informed consent bill as soon as it hit her desk. (For weeks she’s been saying she had not looked at the bill and would not make up her mind until it got to her desk and she had a chance to review it – apparently that wasn’t...

<p>Abortion foes began blanketing the airwaves in Phoenix and Tucson on Monday with television ads urging Gov. Janet Napolitano to sign a bill that requires a 24-hour waiting period for abortions.</p> <p>The 30-second spots sparked an enormous response: By 5 p.m. Monday, Napolitano's office had received more than 600 calls, 1,000 e-mails and 200 faxes on the subject, an overwhelming majority in favor of her signing the measure.</p>

Women considering abortion should be given all the facts Tribune Editorial They’re playing politics down at the Legislature with Senate Bill 1077. In fact, the politics of this bill now sprawl all over the airwaves, in the form of commercials designed to convince Gov. Janet Napolitano to sign the measure. It is a public relations blitz unlike any in recent Arizona memory. And no wonder: Lives are at stake. Senate Bill 1077 is about abortion. It requires the “voluntary and informed consent of the woman on whom the abortion is to be performed or induced.” This consent must be...

The Arizona Legislature has passed the abortion informed consent bill! This legislation requires that a doctor provide a woman considering an abortion with basic medical information about the abortion procedure, its risks and available alternatives. The woman then would have a 24-hour reflection period to consider the information and decide whether or not to proceed with the abortion. According to a 2003 Gallup Poll, 88 percent of Americans support informed consent laws. More than half of states already have such a law in place. We know that when women have full information, more of them will choose life, and lives...

Planned Parenthood of Hayward failed to follow its own consent and information policies when it administered an abortion pill to 18-year-old Livermore woman Holly Patterson, according to a report from the California Department of Health Services released Tuesday. Seven days later, Patterson died of septic shock caused by inflammation of the uterus. The health department's investigation found that Patterson did not sign one of the three forms the clinic requires of patients seeking non-surgical abortion services. The state review also found that the clinic failed to provide Patterson with "full information and education on the procedure of self-administration of a...

INFORMED CONSENT PASSES SENATE!  Moments ago, the Senate passed our informed consent bill on abortion (SB1077) by an 18-11 vote!  This is a miraculous turnaround from one year ago, when the bill died in the Senate after several Democrats succumbed to the pressure from Gov. Napolitano to vote against something they really supported.  When that happened, we urged many of you to let them know of your disappointment, and partly as a result of that outrage from their districts they voted “yes” today, despite enormous pressure! Please use the following link to send a “thank you” e-mail to these...

The 31st anniversary of Roe vs. Wade last week was played out with familiar theatrics. "Thousands" marched against abortion in the cold streets of Washington.     In the evening, believers in the morally obtuse cult of "choice" chose a warm hotel ballroom in which to celebrate their success in reducing a baby to a meaningless blob with no intrinsic value.     There are hopeful signs the pro-life movement is starting to win the abortion war that has divided the country more than three decades. Abortions in America declined from about 1.03 million in 1992 to 854,000 in 2000, a reduction of more...

On Thursday, the Texas Board of Health gave final approval to rules for the state's new informed consent abortion law. The rules include a requirement that a woman provide identification -- which would be kept on file. Abortion rights activists have criticized the proposal amid privacy concerns and questions about whether it's an attempt to intimidate women. A law that took effect Jan. 1 requires women to wait 24 hours before getting an abortion in Texas. The law also requires women be offered printed materials regarding fetal development and the risks of having an abortion. The rules apply to abortions...

A therapy that increases patients' survival rate to 4.7 percent from 1.5 percent may not sound like a breakthrough, but that is how an editorial in a medical journal last week described a new treatment to revive people whose hearts had suddenly stopped. The new advance was an old drug, vasopressin, injected before a shot of the standard therapy, adrenaline. In people who had no pulse or electrical activity in their hearts, a condition called asystole that is almost always fatal, 12 of 257, or 4.7 percent, who got vasopressin survived, in contrast to only 4 of 262, or 1.5...

AUSTIN — Illustrated on the front and back with a light pink photograph of a flower, the 20-page booklet looks inviting, but it already is fueling fresh political conflict over abortion. Abortion rights advocates say the Texas Department of Health bent to Republican pressure by inserting information unsupported by science or required by law into the pamphlet "A Woman's Right to Know." The department recently posted it online and distributed copies to clinics statewide. As it held hearings and posted drafts on its Web site, the agency got plenty of advice on what to put in the booklet from legislators,...

The state of Texas is now informing women considering an abortion that the procedure boosts the risk of delivering a future baby with cerebral palsy. According to the Reduce Preterm Risk Coalition in Vancouver, Canada, Texas is the first state in the nation to officially make such a warning. A state law, the Woman's Right to Know Act, requires all doctors to make available certain information to women contemplating an abortion. Included is the booklet "A Woman's Right to Know," published by the Texas Department of Health, which contains the warning about cerebral palsy and other diseases for which premature...