Indiana lawmakers are working on measures to ban late-term abortions and defund Planned Parenthood. In Iowa, lawmakers in the House — which returned to Republican control last month — also are drafting legislation to further protect preborn babies. And in Ohio, Planned Parenthood is headed to trial after it reportedly failed to notify a girl's parents before performing an abortion.
"These developments should be an encouragement for pro-lifers who have long been fighting to uphold the worth and value of women and preborn children," said Dawn McBane, bioethics analyst for CitizenLink.
"The majority of Americans now see themselves as pro-life."
Lawmakers in Indiana and Iowa are working to mirror Nebraska's new pro-life law, which protects babies after 20 weeks unless the mom's life is in danger. Nebraska's law has prompted notorious abortionist LeRoy Carhart to make plans to leave the state and set up clinics in Indiana and Iowa.
Indiana and Iowa prohibit late-term abortions, but allow abortionists to proceed if it's determined that a woman's "health" is in danger.
"Our concern is that if LeRoy Carhart or any other doctor finds a hospital to partner with, there's nothing in Indiana law that will prevent him from doing as many late-term abortions as he wants to," Mike Fichter, president of Indiana Right to Life, told The Indianapolis Star.
"There's a very real potential that Indianapolis will become a hub for late-term abortions unless the Legislature acts quickly on this."
Pro-life lawmakers in Indiana also are seeking to pull funding from Planned Parenthood, which, according to the state's executive director, receives about $2 million from the federal government every year.
Meanwhile, Planned Parenthood of Southwest Ohio will go before a jury in February after a Hamilton County judge ruled that a Cincinnati abortion clinic breached a state statute by failing to brief a teenager on the risks of abortion 24 hours before an abortion.
In 2004, the then-13-year-old girl was impregnated by John Haller, her 22-year-old soccer coach, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. Planned Parenthood failed to report the case as child abuse. Haller later served three years in prison for sexual battery.
Brian Hurley, the attorney representing the teen, said the clinic also failed to obtain consent from one of her parents before the abortion — which state law requires.
"We believe as a result of Planned Parenthood's action," he said, "she's been significantly harmed psychologically and emotionally."
Contact: Jennifer Mesko
Source: CitizenLink
Publish Date: December 13, 2010
