Dr. Tiller’s facililty, “Women’s Health Care Services, P.A.” is located in the state of Kansas. K.S.A. 65-6701, known as the “Women’s Right-to-Know Act,” places requirements on abortion providers in Kansas and on their patients.
At least 24 hours prior to performing an abortion patients must receive information on a variety of topics including:
Gestational development of the embryo/fetus
The name of the doctor who will perform the abortion
The probable gestational age of the pregnancy
Complications of childbirth
Abortion methods and potential complications
The “Women’s Right-to-Know Act” requires the State of Kansas to publish materials and establish a 24-hour hotline for women seeking information on abortion and continuing pregnancy including parenting and adoption. The handbook, “If You Are Pregnant” is available in electronic format on Dr. Tiller’s website. **Patients are required to have this information/booklet 24 hours prior to an abortion procedure. **
Furthermore, it is unlawful in the state of Kansas for any individual to coerce a woman to undergo an abortion. Dr. Tiller’s required reading for all patients includes this information:
“Many public and private agencies exist to provide counseling and information on available services. You are strongly urged to seek their assistance to obtain guidance during your pregnancy. In addition, you are encouraged to seek information on abortion services, *alternatives to abortion, including adoption, and *resources available to postpartum mothers. The law requires that your physician or the physician’s agent provide the enclosed information.” (K.S.A. 65-6701 et. seq.)
One item on Dr. Tiller’s “Informed Consent Form”, which is made available to every patient to fill out 24 hours in advance of the procedure, is this: "You are free to withhold or withdraw your consent to the abortion at any time prior to invasion of the uterus without affecting your right to future care or treatment and without the loss of any state or federally-funded benefits to which you might otherwise be entitled."
The referenced report in the Catholic News Agency appears to me to be flawed. If the girl had actually wanted the abortion, I don’t believe the father could have stopped it, so the point that he arrived “just minutes too late . . . the [fetus] was already dead . . .” would, in that case, be moot. The article states that it was the mother who wanted the girl to have the abortion and “threatened to disown the girl if she did not have one.” The mother, then, would be in direct violation of the laws of the state of Kansas. And it seems the 24-hour waiting period was completely eliminated from the story. It seems to me that the true failure here was the girl’s inability to stand toe to toe with her overbearing mother and “just say no”, as you might have suggested she say to the boyfriend when sexual activity entered the picture.
Too many inconsistencies in this story for me. I don’t think the whole picture has been presented. I don’t believe it.
marietta
