Such was the case for Angie*, who was diagnosed with a fatal fetal anomaly 28 weeks into a wanted pregnancy.
Angie and her husband visited several specialists and each time were given the same prognosis: her fetus's brain was malformed and it would die before birth or very shortly thereafter. The couple was devastated and Angie could not bear the thought of continuing her pregnancy and the mental anguish of delivering a child who had no chance of survival. She chose to obtain abortion care and has never once regretted her decision. For women like Angie, an exception that acknowledges mental health is crucial to preserving their lives and health.
Historically, the Supreme Court has recognized the importance of women's health, and 35 years ago, established that medical judgments should encompass emotional and psychological, as well as physical health factors. In Roe v. Wade, the Court ruled that the right to privacy found in the United States Constitution included the right of women to decide whether and when to have children. The Court also indicated that a woman's health must remain paramount and that all laws-even those concerning abortions after the first trimester-must have an exception to preserve the life or health of the woman. On the same day, in Doe v. Bolton, the Court provided guidance on a health exception stating that "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."
However, last year the Supreme Court took a significant departure from previous rulings when it upheld a federal ban on certain abortion procedures that lacked an exception to protect the health of the woman in Gonzales v. Carhart and Gonzales v. Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
This decision permits the government to interfere with a woman's right to choose to terminate a pregnancy and effectively overturns a core tenet of Roe v. Wade by abandoning over 30 years of protection for women's mental and physical health. This ruling jeopardizes the health of women like Angie and invites politicians to meddle even further into the doctor-patient relationship by passing additional restrictions on abortion.
As we continue the struggle to preserve women's reproductive freedom, we must remain vigilant that women's health-both physical and mental-must be protected.
* Names have been changed to protect the privacy of our callers.
Crisis Pregnancy Centers (CPCs) have a long history of intentionally misleading women to prevent them from accessing abortion care. The first CPCs were established in the 1960s after state legislatures repealed their laws criminalizing abortion. Today there are as many as 4,000 CPCs in the United States, compared to the less than 2,000 facilities that actually provide abortion care for women.
Many CPCs use deceptive advertising practices to fool women into thinking that they are legitimate medical clinics that provide a variety of reproductive health care services, including family planning and abortion care. In reality, most CPCs do not provide full options counseling and generally will not refer for abortion care or birth control.
These fake clinics use deceptive advertising practices such as intentionally placing advertisements under the "abortion services" heading of phone and Internet directories and choosing names that are similar to abortion clinics to confuse women about what types of services they provide. Many CPCs are connected with religious organizations, but few disclose that fact in their advertising. Additionally, CPCs often locate themselves in close proximity to legitimate reproductive health care facilities. We have heard from many patients who mistakenly visited a CPC because it was on the same street-or even next door-to the actual abortion provider where they had an appointment.
CPCs target young and low-income women. They lease buildings near colleges and universities, advertise in school newspapers, and lure women into their facilities with the offer of a free pregnancy test and options counseling.
Once they get women inside their doors, CPCs often force women to watch graphic, misleading videos; pressure women with religious sermons; and provide medically inaccurate information about a false link between abortion and an increased risk of breast cancer, the effects of abortion on future fertility, and the mental health effects of abortion. Some CPCs further mislead women by giving them false pregnancy test results so that they will postpone obtaining abortion care. Others have been known to give women ultrasounds depicting gestational ages more advanced than their actual pregnancies in order to make them think that they are too far along to access abortion services. In some cases CPCs even promise to provide financial assistance to women if they carry their pregnancies to term, but this assistance usually doesn't last once a woman's pregnancy has advanced past the legal termination limit in her state. Even after women leave CPCs, they sometimes continue to be mistreated. In a clear violation of patient confidentiality, many CPCs call women and harass them about their decision to obtain abortion care for weeks after they visit the center.
Many CPCs even receive federal funding. Under the Bush Administration, CPCs have received more than $30 million in federal funding, and legislators frequently attempt to fund CPCs at the state level through state-sponsored programs, specific grants, or tax credits. In 2006, Representative Henry Waxman (D-CA) released a study, which found that 87% of the federally funded CPCs provided inaccurate and misleading information including the false link between abortion and breast cancer, the effects of abortion on future fertility, and the mental health effects of abortion. It is reprehensible that federal taxpayer dollars are being used to support fake clinics that deliberately deceive women with false medical information.
CPCs should not be allowed to threaten women's health through deception and mistreatment. Last year NAF worked with Representative Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) who introduced the "Stop Deceptive Advertising for Women's Services Act" in the U.S. House of Representatives. Specifically, this legislation authorizes the Federal Trade Commission to regulate the deceptive advertising practices of CPCs, which regularly advertise that they provide abortion care when they in fact do not provide such care. We congratulate Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) for taking the lead in the Senate to introduce companion legislation today on April Fool's Day-to prevent women from being further fooled and harmed by these fake clinics.
Today is a day of action, and we are calling on activists to contact their Senators and ask them to co-sponsor the "Stop Deceptive Advertising for Women's Services Act." Members of Congress need to understand how women are harmed by fake clinics masquerading as reproductive health care facilities. To learn more about ways you can take action against CPCs and to find contact information for your elected officials, visit our website www.prochoice.org.
Women facing an unplanned pregnancy deserve accurate and complete information. For unbiased information about pregnancy options, referrals to providers of quality abortion care, and funding assistance, contact the toll-free NAF Hotline at 1-800-772-9100.
]]>Unlike other health care professionals, abortion providers face unique challenges, which often include harassment, intimidation, vandalism, and in some cases violence. Since 1977, the National Abortion Federation (NAF) has been compiling statistics on violence against abortion providers and has documented seven murders, 17 attempted murders, 41 bombings, 175 arsons, and thousands of incidences of picketing and harassment. In addition to dealing with hostile protesters at their facilities, many providers have been picketed at home, or had inflammatory flyers distributed to their neighbors and family members.
Often at great risk to themselves, abortion providers remain dedicated to protecting the lives and health of women by providing them with quality reproductive health care. There aren't many professions that would require a person to deal with such threats and harassment, and the men and women who brave this path are truly heroes.
While major acts of violence have decreased in recent years due in part to the passage and enforcement of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, and improved law enforcement response in the capture and prosecution of anti-abortion criminals, the threat of such violence remains. Just this past December, several of our members in New Mexico were victims of arson and vandalism, with one clinic suffering severe smoke and fire damage that forced them to permanently move to another location in order to continue to care for women.
In response to the violence, the New Mexico House of Representatives passed a unanimous resolution in January, "condemning violence directed at abortion and contraceptive clinics and commending law enforcement for its work to end the violence." The resolution went on to commend federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies on their collaboration, investigation, and quick response in arresting two suspects in connection with the arsons and vandalism. An identical resolution has also been introduced in the state Senate.
It is important that communities, legislators, law enforcement, and the courts send a clear message that violence against abortion providers is not acceptable and will not be tolerated. We cannot allow anti-abortion extremists to take the law into their own hands to promote their personal, political agendas.
Today is a day that we remember the seven individuals tragically murdered by anti-abortion extremists: Dr. David Gunn, Dr. John Bayard Britton, James H. Barrett, Shannon Lowney, Leanne Nichols, Officer Robert Sanderson, and Dr. Barnett Slepian. These individuals paid the ultimate price and their memories inspire us as we continue working to protect a woman's right to choose abortion care.
NAF represents health care professionals at clinics, doctors' offices, and hospitals, who together care for more than half the women in the U.S. and Canada who choose abortion each year. Please join us in supporting the men and women who dedicate their lives to providing women with quality reproductive health care by signing NAF's petition to show your appreciation for abortion providers.
]]>The symposium brought together abortion providers, legal scholars, politicians, reproductive rights experts, and students to examine the core themes of the decision and the future of abortion rights in Canada. The lawsuit's namesake Dr. Henry Morgentaler attended and spoke about the day the Supreme Court decriminalized abortion, which he called, "the best day of my life."
In the years leading up to the Morgentaler decision, abortion was permitted only in very limited circumstances. Hospitals with Therapeutic Abortion Committees could approve and provide abortion care only in cases of life or health endangerment. In order to obtain a legal abortion, women were forced to face an intimidating process of going before a hospital committee to petition for care. This policy established unequal access to abortion throughout the provinces and territories, and made it particularly difficult for women outside major urban centers to obtain abortion care. It is estimated during this time that 35,000 to 120,000 illegal abortions took place each year in Canada, and we may never know the actual number of women who sacrificed their lives and health through back alley or self-induced abortions.
Throughout history major movements have been started by dedicated people who were willing to stand up and give a voice to people in need. The battle for abortion rights was fought in Parliament, in the courtroom, and in the streets. Just as they had done for voting rights and human rights, women mobilized--this time around obtaining the right to have a safe and legal abortion.
As women organized in our quest for reproductive freedom, one man stood out as a leader for our cause and a champion for our rights. Dr. Morgentaler defied the law and opened the first Canadian freestanding abortion clinic in Montreal in 1969. For the next 20 years he continued to fight the system and even served prison time for providing women with safe abortion care. At tremendous risk to his life and personal safety, Dr. Morgentaler remained committed to liberalizing Canada's abortion law and continued to speak out for women's reproductive freedom. These efforts were successful, and today Canada is one of only a few countries without a federal law restricting abortion.
Symposium presenters including Carolyn Bennett, M.P. and CBC columnist Heather Mallick reflected on this decision's impact on the Canadian health system, the political landscape, and the women of Canada. Several providers spoke about witnessing the devastation of illegal abortion and their commitment to caring for women. One provider said, "After an operation patients frequently say ‘Thank you Doctor,' but abortion is the only operation I know of where they also sometimes say, ‘Thank you for what you do.' I love my work. I get enormous personal and professional satisfaction out of helping people, and that includes providing safe abortions. The people that I work with are extraordinary, and we all feel that we are doing important work, making a real difference in peoples' lives." However, the moving stories of abortion providers were also accompanied by a reminder that there is still a need to improve abortion training and awareness among family physicians.
Although abortion has been decriminalized for 20 years, challenges to accessing abortion care in Canada still exist. Even though abortion is considered a safe, legal, and insured service, access is variable across the country and some women are still denied equal access to abortion care. Currently, there are no abortion services available in Prince Edward Island, and access remains a challenge for rural women throughout Canada. In New Brunswick, a woman can only obtain a publicly funded abortion if provided by an ob/gyn in a hospital with written approval from two doctors. This policy contradicts the Morgentaler decision and unfairly restricts access for women in the province.
Women not living in their home province or territory also face challenges because abortion is not part of the inter-provincial billing agreement. In fact, abortion is the only time-sensitive and medically necessary procedure excluded from the list of services on the inter-provincial billing agreement. This policy requires students attending school in another province, or women who have recently moved and are in the process of transitioning their health care benefits, to pay the full cost of their abortion care out-of-pocket, or incur additional expenses traveling back to their home province in order to obtain a publicly funded abortion.
Anti-choice physicians can also present barriers to access. Although many abortion providers accept self-referrals, some facilities require women to obtain a physician referral before they can access abortion care. Many women often go to their family physician for this referral or simply to get information about their options. The Canadian Medical Association's policy of allowing physicians to refuse to refer patients for abortion care is a clear violation of CMA's own Code of Ethics, which requires physicians to first consider the well-being of the patient; to practice medicine in a manner that treats the patient with dignity; and to provide patients with the information they need to make informed decisions about their medical care. The CMA's policy treats women unfairly and impedes women's access to care.
Now more than ever, it is important that we don't lose sight of the women who continue to face these obstacles in order to obtain the abortion care they need. We must continue to work together to ensure that women have the same access to abortion care whether they live in an urban center or a small town, or whether they live in British Columbia or Prince Edward Island.
It is critical to the lives and health of Canadian women that abortion is safe, legal, and accessible. Many of the symposium attendees were students who have never lived in a world without legal abortion. We welcome them to join us in remaining vigilant to preserve this freedom so that we never have to return to the days of back alley abortions where our sisters, mothers, and friends had to risk their health-and sometimes even their lives-to end an unwanted pregnancy.
]]>This summer in Birmingham, OSA has been protesting at Planned Parenthood and the New Woman, All Women clinic. New Woman, All Women was the clinic that was bombed by convicted murderer Eric Robert Rudolph in 1998. An off duty police officer, employed as a security guard, was killed and a nurse, Emily Lyons, was brutally and permanently injured. This year the protestors also traveled approximately 60 miles to target the West Alabama Women's Center in Tuscaloosa. West Alabama Women's Center has also dealt with anti-abortion extremists in the past. In January 2006, a local man drove his car through the clinic's entrance. He was convicted of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, which prohibits someone from using "force, threat of force or physical obstruction" to prevent someone from providing or receiving reproductive health services.
A staff member from the National Abortion Federation (NAF) is on the ground in Birmingham this week working with law enforcement and clinic staff in order to ensure that patients have safe access to abortion care and that services are unimpeded. Here is her account of Monday's events:
About 15 people demonstrated at Planned Parenthood, while about 100 gathered at the New Woman, All Women clinic. Protesters carried graphic signs and shouted at clinic staff and law enforcement. Trucks, also bearing graphic signs, drove throughout the city, provoking numerous calls from concerned citizens who complained about the trucks. The group then gathered in the Five Points neighborhood and held a rally and signing of an "emancipation proclamation for the unborn children of our land." There was a visible law enforcement presence at all the venues. Despite the disruption, both clinics remained open and cared for their patients.
Clinics and their national organizations work before and during these protests to ensure the safety of their staffs and patients. Despite the intimidation and harassment they face during these protests, clinic staff continue to come to work and patients continue to seek the health care services they need. We work closely with local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies to ensure that they have the intelligence information that they need to prepare for and respond to the protests and to ensure that their community stays safe.
Even with a law enforcement presence, the protestors have still intimidated women and trespassed onto clinic property. OSA traveled to Tuscaloosa on Tuesday with approximately 100 protestors -- many of whom were children and teenagers. Our staff member spent the day monitoring the situation and assisting the clinic:
The protesters trespassed onto clinic property, placed fliers containing the doctor's name and photograph on cars in the parking lots of the clinic and the surrounding buildings, and harassed and grabbed patients entering the clinic. In addition, two protesters even pretended to be patients and entered the clinic in order to further intimidate patients. The protesters were eventually moved to the public sidewalk where they continued their demonstration for about two to three hours, despite not having a required permit.
Although media coverage of the protest claimed the protesters "weren't allowed on the private property surrounding the Women's Center" and that they had a permit for Tuesday's demonstration, the protesters were in fact breaking the law in Tuscaloosa. While the protesters were not allowed on private property, that did not stop approximately 100 protesters from storming the clinic parking lot and positioning themselves on the clinic steps where they yelled and grabbed women in an attempt to stop them from entering the clinic. While the protesters had a permit for a protest on Wednesday, they did not have a valid permit to hold their demonstration in Tuscaloosa on Tuesday. Despite their clear violations of the law, no protesters were arrested. These facts were also not included in the news coverage of the events, which failed to present an accurate portrayal of the turbulent scene surrounding the clinic.
Many of the protesters on the clinic steps of the West Alabama Women's Center were children coached by their parents to break the law and trespass on private property in order to yell and intimidate women entering the clinic. Children are often used in protests because it is assumed that police will not arrest a child, or even if they are arrested, the penalties will be less severe for minors.
OSA is certainly proud of their "child warriors." Their website is full of pictures of children protesting in Birmingham and participating in religious rallies. It is disturbing to see so many children spreading a message of hate that they likely do not fully understand. Our experience with clinic violence and disruption has made it clear that there is nothing responsible or acceptable about teaching your children to intimidate women making private health care decisions or that violence against abortion providers is justifiable.
Fortunately, the number of participants in these types of anti-abortion events is decreasing. When Operation Rescue started in the 1980s, they were known for large-scale sieges of clinics. These blockades spurred hundreds of arrests. Today these types of events like the one being held in Birmingham only draw 100-125 people. The very visible prosecution and conviction of anti-abortion extremists like Rudolph along with the enforcement of the FACE Act have led to a decrease in major acts of violence against abortion providers in recent years. However, abortion providers still often face intimidation, threats, and picketing -- sometimes even at their homes or churches. Last year our members reported 548 incidences of hate mail/harassing calls, 336 incidences of trespassing, and 13,505 incidences of picketing.
Even though major acts of violence have decreased in recent years, many anti-abortion extremists still believe that it is justifiable to murder doctors because they provide women with safe and legal abortion care. Abortion providers and clinic staff continue to face threats and potential violence every day. For more information about the types of threats they face and the frequency of incidences, visit NAF's violence statistics.
]]>Certain CPCs, many of which receive federal funding, use deceptive advertising practices to give the appearance that they are legitimate medical clinics that provide a variety of reproductive health care services, including family planning and abortion care.
In reality, most CPCs do not provide full options counseling and generally will not refer for abortion care or birth control. Their deceptive advertising practices include intentionally placing advertisements under the "abortion services" heading of phone and internet directories, choosing names that are similar to abortion clinics to confuse women about what types of services they provide, and posting misleading advertisements about the types of services and referrals that they provide.
CPCs have a long history of intentionally misleading women to prevent them from accessing abortion care. Through our members and through our hotline, we have heard numerous stories about the deceptive and harmful tactics employed by CPCs in furtherance of their mission to prevent women from having abortions. Many of these women have joined our Patient Partnership and shared their stories with policy makers and the media. These women have reported that their confidentiality has been violated and that mistreatment by CPCs has threatened their health. Yet each year CPCs receive millions of dollars in federal and state aid.
Women who mistakenly visit CPCs describe being harassed, intimidated, and given blatantly false information at their appointments. Representative Henry Waxman released a study last year which found that 87 percent of the federally funded centers surveyed provided false and misleading information about the link between abortion and breast cancer, the effect of abortion on future fertility and the mental health effects of abortion. CPCs have also been known to make misleading statements to women about birth control methods, including claims that emergency contraception is an abortifacient and that condoms are ineffective both at preventing unintended pregnancy and at protecting against HIV.
One of the participants in our Patient Partnership said that the advertisements she received in the mail said things like "medical referrals" and "aid in obtaining community resources." She stated: "none of these were true, and the ad mentions nothing about religion, church, and being anti-contraception and anti-choice." Women feel betrayed when they find out that instead of receiving accurate information or services, they are being pressured with someone else's religious beliefs and agenda.
Women seeking reproductive health care should be able to make informed decisions and access medically accurate information about their options. CPCs should not be permitted to engage in deliberate attempts to divert women away from receiving abortion care by utilizing deceptive tactics. It's reprehensible that tax payer dollars are going to organizations that regularly and deliberately misinform and deceive women. CPCs take money that should go to legitimate, reputable organizations, which provide comprehensive reproductive health care to women.
If you have experience with a deceptive CPC and would like your voice to have an impact on the policy issues affecting abortion care, please visit http://www.prochoice.org/get_involved/tellyourstory.html and share your story.
]]>Vicki Saporta is the President and CEO of the National Abortion Federation (NAF).
March 10 is the National Day of Appreciation for Abortion Providers. The abortion provider community is made up of medical professionals who are both highly skilled and uniquely dedicated to protecting the lives and health of women by providing them with quality reproductive health care.
But abortion providers are much more than highly trained medical professionals: they are also heroes.
]]>Vicki Saporta is the President and CEO of the National Abortion Federation (NAF).
March 10 is the National Day of Appreciation for Abortion Providers. The abortion provider community is made up of medical professionals who are both highly skilled and uniquely dedicated to protecting the lives and health of women by providing them with quality reproductive health care.
But abortion providers are much more than highly trained medical professionals: they are also heroes.
Abortion providers are on the front lines of the critical struggle to ensure that abortion is safe and accessible. They regularly defend women's lives and health against aggressive abortion extremists seeking to deprive women of access to safe abortion care. Putting their lives on the line, abortion providers are the ones who make choice a reality for women. In the face of past assassinations and ongoing violence and threats, abortion providers continue to display steadfast bravery and unwavering dedication to preserving women's lives and health.
March 10 was designated as the National Day of Appreciation for Abortion Providers in 1996 to commemorate the 1993 assassination of Dr. David Gunn, the first provider murdered by an anti-abortion extremist. The National Abortion Federation (NAF) has been compiling statistics on violence and disruption against abortion providers since 1977. During this time seven providers have been murdered and there have been 17 attempted murders, 41 bombings, and 173 arsons.
NAF was instrumental in advocating for the passage of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act and the creation of the National Task Force on Violence Against Health Care Providers. FACE was signed into law by President Clinton in 1994, and prohibits the use of "force, threat of force or physical obstruction" to prevent someone from providing or receiving reproductive health services. Attorney General Janet Reno established the National Task Force on Violence Against Health Care Providers in 1998 following the murder of Dr. Barnett Slepian. The Task Force coordinates national investigation and prosecution of incidents of abortion violence with a focus on connections that may exist between individuals involved in criminal anti-abortion activities; serves as a clearinghouse for information relating to acts of violence against abortion providers, and collects and coordinates data identifying national trends related to clinic violence; and works to enhance training of federal, state, and local law enforcement on clinic violence issues.
The enforcement of the FACE Act and improved law enforcement response to clinic violence has led to a decrease in major acts of violence against abortion providers in recent years. However, anti-abortion extremists continue to harass and intimidate providers and clinic staff, often targeting them at home. Many anti-abortion extremists still believe that it is justifiable to murder doctors because they provide women with safe and legal abortion care. We must continue to send a clear message that violence against abortion providers will not be tolerated and perpetrators of such crimes will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
NAF represents physicians, advanced practice clinicians, nurses, counselors, administrators, and other health care professionals at more than 400 facilities in 47 states and 8 Canadian provinces. Throughout the year, and especially this month, we want to let our members know that we understand and appreciate their sacrifices and dedication. Please take a moment to show your support for the men and women who dedicate their lives to providing women with quality abortion care by signing NAF's petition to let them know how much you appreciate their commitment to ensuring women's reproductive freedom.
]]>