Many have said it, but I’ll say it again:  NC HB 854 (aka Woman’s Right to Know Act) is a solution in search of a problem.  This bill assumes that women are impulsive and thoughtless when it comes to decisions about their families and their health.   Furthermore, it implies that abortion providers are nonchalant about their work and unconcerned with the realities of their patients.  These “allegations” are both unfounded and unfair.

The “purpose” of this Act is itself misleading:  “to require… the informed consent of a pregnant woman before an abortion….”  It insinuates that, without this law, women are having abortions performed on them without their consent!?  As a matter of course, all medical procedures require informed consent, and abortion is no different.  Healthcare professionals share a uniform understanding of informed consent that includes risks, benefits and alternatives; abortion providers are no different.  In fact, given the controversial shroud under which abortion providers work, no one is more concerned about adequate consent procedures than they – for the physical and emotional well-being of their clients, as well as for their own legal protection.

The authors and supporters of this bill are, in effect, using shame to discourage abortion.  But “guilting” women into having children is no more acceptable than “guilting” them not to.  Imagine arriving at your first prenatal visit, wrapped in the glow of your excitement at the knowledge of your soon-to-be child, to be presented with mandated, scripted information that includes things like 1) all possible complications of pregnancy and childbirth; 2) all known potential birth defects and infant illnesses; 3) the average amount of sleep loss following childbirth; 4) the total cost of raising a child; 5) the possible impact of child rearing on your career, your relationship and your sex life, etc.  “Now, before I show you this ultrasound, are you SURE you want to have a baby?  I am required to remind you that you can obtain a safe and legal abortion up to 20 weeks of pregnancy.  I can provide you with the names and contact information for several reputable abortion clinics in the area, if you like.”  While some or all of this information may be of value to you, a responsible and ethical healthcare provider would never assume that you want or need it, or force it upon you.  By the same token, the state cannot and should not assume that it knows best what information to provide to each individual woman seeking abortion services, or how and when to provide it.

The authors and supporters of this bill are, in effect, creating additional burdens and hardships in order to make abortion inaccessible.  The imposition of arbitrary timeframes – disguised as meaningful pauses for reflection – serve only as financial and logistical roadblocks for women involved in a precarious balancing act of childcare coverage, transportation arrangements and time off from work.  Adding time and steps to the process also increases the overall cost of providing services, resulting in higher fees for patients, and – potentially – in fewer available providers (as increasing costs and unreasonable regulations force some of them to throw in the towel altogether). 

The anti-abortion movement has been unsuccessful in garnering the support of the majority of Americans because, quite simply, Americans support a woman’s right to abortion as a viable alternative to unwanted pregnancy.  Given this reality, the anti-abortion contingency long ago changed its strategy to include back-door tactics like this one, camouflaged as harmless – even helpful — measures that ultimately impede women’s ability to obtain the kind of care they want, need and deserve.  Let’s call a spade a spade:  this bill is not about informing women.  Rather, it is a condescending and manipulative piece of legislation that seeks to restrict abortion by shaming women and complicating their lives.  I guess (the majority of) our legislators just think we are stupid, stupid, stupid.