Thursday, April 19, 2007
AUGUSTA - Abortion foes in Maine celebrated Wednesday as the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a federal prohibition on so-called "partial-birth" abortions, but they also remained focused on their next priority: defeating a state measure that would provide public financing for abortions.
"Obviously, we're very happy about this decision because this is a particularly barbaric procedure that is medically unnecessary," Rita Feeney, president of Maine Right to Life, said of the controversial procedure upheld in the decision.
Feeney hoped the victory would inspire people opposed to the funding bill sponsored by Senate President Beth Edmonds.
Edmonds, D-Freeport, said she was disappointed in the court ruling but didn't think it would affect her bill. The measure, she said, is not about whether a woman should have an abortion but about helping those who would have to suffer financial hardship to have the procedure.
"It's a fairness issue," she said.
Abortion-rights supporters criticized the court ruling for not providing an exemption for the health of the woman and called on supporters to remain vigilant about further attempts to restrict abortion.
"The health of the woman has become secondary at the federal level, really the ability of physicians to make appropriate health care decisions has been subverted to politics," said Sarah Standiford, executive director of the Maine Women's Lobby.
Assistant House Minority Leader Robert Crosthwaite, R-Ellsworth, expects the court decision to raise the level of the abortion debate as Maine lawmakers consider Edmonds' proposal.
"I think it gets people talking about it," said Crosthwaite, an opponent of abortion and the bill. "It brings it back into the public discourse. But I don't think it's really connected."
The court decision accomplished what Maine abortion opponents were unable to do in the state. In 1999, Maine voters rejected a ban on the "partial-birth" procedure, with 56 percent opposed. Since then, similar proposals have been among the unsuccessful measures submitted in the Legislature to restrict abortion.
Michael Heath, executive director of the Christian Civic League, lauded abortion foes' efforts to get Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito on the bench.
"I think those efforts are going to be viewed by many as having been effective," he said.
About 2,500 abortions are performed in Maine annually, with nearly all done during the first trimester of pregnancy, said Dr. Dora Ann Mills, director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Mills said the term "partial-birth" abortion is not a medical one and could be applied to abortions that are not late term.
Abortion-rights supporters are not sure what restrictions their opponents will pursue next.
George Hill, president of the Family Planning Association of Maine, expected some kind of ripple effect to reach Maine.
"There are a variety of different approaches they've been using," he said, including parental notification and making patients look at ultrasound images of fetuses.
Staff Writer Ann S. Kim can be reached at 623-1031 or at:
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Please read more about what Rita Feeney, president of Maine Right to Life is so happy about:
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/magazine/articles/2004/01/25/my_late_term_abortion/?page=full
So what does it all really mean? It means that all abortions after the first trimester could be outlawed. No matter if the fetus has severe birth defects, including those incompatible with life (many of which cannot be detected until well into the second trimester). No matter if the mother would be forced to have, for example, a kidney transplant or a hysterectomy if she continued with the pregnancy. (Legislators did not provide a health exception for the woman, arguing that it would provide too big a loophole.)
The doctor who performed my termination talks about the women he has helped through the years -- the pregnant woman who was diagnosed with metastic melanoma and needed immediate chemotherapy, the woman who was carrying conjoined twins that had only one set of lungs and one heart, the woman whose baby had a three-chambered heart and would never live. Now, he is turning these women away. "Now, today, I can say no, but what is she going to do?" he says sadly. "What is she going to do?"
"Now, it's like the Stone Age, it's like a Muslim country here," says the doctor who performed my procedure. "This is the most backward law, it is not for a civilized country. If this was Iran, Iraq, I wouldn't be surprised. But to pass this law in the United States, what is this government doing?"
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"Michael Heath, executive director of the Christian Civic League, lauded abortion foes' efforts to get Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito on the bench."
Please be sure to thank Collins & Snowe for refusing to oppose the nominations of these men who have just voted to disallow a surgical procedure; even when a woman and her doctor agree that it is the only way to save her life.
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That there is no exception in this law relating to the health of the woman is wrong, period. A woman's life is as valuable if not more so than the child she is carrying. She should have the right to decide if she wants to save her life. If that means a partial birth abortion it should be allowed.
If abortion is allowed by private health care plans it should also be allowed by Mainecare. That should be the limit of public funding for abortions. I bet research would find that abortions would occur equally among the poor, the middle class, and the wealthy.
Many of us who support a woman's right to choose believe that choice is essential in a free society. Abortion is a serious matter between a woman and her doctor as well as anyone she chooses to involve in the decision. It is not an area where the government should intrude.
Religious organizations have plenty of opportunity to work to prevent abortion by assurting there are adequate support systems in place for single mothers as well as education and other ministery. There are fewer abortions today and that is a good thing. It also means that freedom and choice are best.
I also find it the height of hypocrisy for the anti-abortion fanatics to oppose abortion while also condemning single mothers. These people are showing their true colors which is total control of our bodies and our souls. They are worse than those we are fighting overseas.report abuse
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