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The Straight Story

(48,121 posts)
Fri Jun 21, 2013, 04:30 PM Jun 2013

Ohio's Gargantuan Anti-Abortion Bill Is Anti-Doctor, Anti-Patient, and Beyond

It doubles the waiting period for a wealth of "misinformation." It makes ultrasounds mandatory, even for rape victims. It foces doctors to discuss with their patients a disputed study linking abortion to breast cancer, to introduce them to the myths of "fetal pain," to and tell them how much money they'd lose if they didn't have to perform abortions. Doctors hate it. Republican lawmakers love it. In a year when abortion restrictions have been getting harsher and harsher from the state houses to the U.S. House of Representatives, the so-called Ultrasound Access Act might be the biggest and baddest piece of anti-abortion legislation to make its way through the laboratories of democracy yet.

Doctors would have to:

Explain risks associated with the abortion procedure. HB 200 specifically includes risk of infection, hemorrhage, cervical or uterine perforation and infertility.

Explain that abortions carry increased risk of breast cancer. That risk is not clear and has been scientifically disputed. "Both the Susan G. Komen Foundation and the American Cancer Society say no such link exists," reports The Columbus Dispatch. According to the website of the Cancer Society, "Linking these topics creates a great deal of emotion and debate. But scientific research studies have not found a cause-and-effect relationship between abortion and breast cancer."

Provide a conflict-of-interest disclaimer. Indeed, doctors would have to tell a patient that they're making money from abortions — and exactly how much. The disclaimer must also include "a statement concerning the monetary loss to the physician or facility that would result from the woman's decision to carry the woman's pregnancy to term," according to the bill. Meaning, the bill's sponsors want to make it very clear that doctors are making money off the procedure... like they do with all medical procedures. What's more, according to the Cleveland Plain-Dealer, "Doctors who do not adhere to the new rules would be subject to a first-degree felony charge and a fine of up to $1 million."

Perform an ultrasound. And if requested, provide the a clear picture of the fetus.

Explain "all relevant features" of the ultrasound, "including an audible heartbeat, if present."

Explain fetal pain, even if it may not be there — even if it's impossible to exist until later. The bill states that the physician must "Describe the development of nerve endings of the embryo or fetus and the ability of the embryo or fetus to feel pain at each stage of development." But according to the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists ,which bases their judgment of The Journal of the American Medical Association's 2005 study, fetal perception of pain is unlikely until the third trimester. Ohio is one of 41 states with a post-viability abortion ban (except in cases of health of the mother), so this point would be pointless, since these prerequisites only apply to people without that emergency exception, who are essentially banned from abortions. But the bill seems to want to use other findings of fetal pain, like the disputed study cited by the fetal-pain legislation currently making its very controversial rounds in Washington, which fueled the conservative push for a nation-wide ban on abortions after 20 weeks.

Live within the newly defined limits of "medical emergency" to claim a waiver. From Wednesday's testimony, per the Plain-Dealer:


http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics/2013/06/ohio-anti-abortion-bill/66442/
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