Abortion information you can use...

The U.S. Supreme Court’s Casey Decision allowed states to pass laws requiring parental notification.

Explain such a law.

Typically, such a law requires the abortionist to notify one or both parents of an unemancipated minor daughter prior to an abortion. A "minor daughter" being under 18 and living at home. Under most state laws this only requires notification. In some states it also requires consent.

The court has also required a "judicial bypass." This means that if the girl feels that she may be abused by her parents when they find out, she may go to a judge and ask for the court’s approval to abort without parental notification.

This requires some time?

Yes, and because of this, these laws are often paired with a waiting period. This would be a required 24 or 48 hour waiting period after she has been examined and the abortion agreed upon. Sometimes such a law is paired with parental notification. In some states these laws requiring a waiting period have been passed standing alone.

What has been the usual ruling of a judge?

With few exceptions, cases that have gone to judges who have given blanket approval for abortion.

What percent of teenagers tell their parents freely?

Why don’t they tell their parents?

The main reason is embarrassment, shame and reluctance to hurt their parents. There’s also a certain element of "My mom would just die!," and "my dad would kill me." In fact, such retaliation rarely happens.

But, there is a simple preventive measure.

What is that?

A pregnancy diagnosis is almost always made by a physician. If the girl fears her parents, ideally, that physician should call one or both parents into his office and break the news to them in front of the girl. If not face-to-face, this can be done by the physician over the telephone. The result of this is that the parents, particularly the father, have been notified that this authority figure knows and can and will report any child abuse. As a result, it never happens.

But think of the emotional impact of notifying the parents!

I believe the following article answers that:

Your Daughter — Pregnant?

And under 18 years? What does she think of you, her parents? Should she tell you? Sadly, few girls want to.

They think you’ll explode, condemn, reject, feel ashamed. She doesn’t want to hurt you. But she is alone, frightened, defiant, worried. Yes, but still a young girl who desperately needs your love and help. The Supreme Court ruling assures her that she can have her baby killed, can internalize all of the psychic trauma, the loneliness, the bitterness, and never know that . . .

If she had told you — Yes, you might have "exploded" initially. But then, with rare exceptions, you would have shared your tears and given her the help, support, and love she so desperately needed. To her surprise, you would not condemn, but offer all the love, help, and understanding you could in this time of trial. In my 25 years of counseling, I have found that when a girl does come to her parents and receives the help they can offer, it becomes the occasion of a real growth in maturity, self-confidence, and ability to love by the girl. She faces her responsibility and stands tall.

The family bond is strengthened by the sharing of the burden.

What effect have parental notification laws had on the abortion rate?

In some small states, like Massachusetts, the answer is confused because some teenagers cross into neighboring states for abortions. In a much larger state like Minnesota where such travel is almost prohibitive, the record is very clear.

What is the result?

In that state there were excellent records kept for several years with the law in place, several more with-out the law, and then again with the law. Results were very clear.

A 27% decrease in teen pregnancies? That’s never happened before, has it?

Correct. It was an amazing and heartwarming result. As everyone knows, government at all levels, private groups, schools, churches, etc., have all been trying to reduce teen pregnancies over the last several decades. The results of all of these have been essentially negative, hardly moving the percentage one way or the other. Then here we saw a full one-fourth decrease in teen pregnancies, an absolutely astonishing and heart-warming effect.

That’s exactly what Planned Parenthood has been trying to do. Were they pleased?

Not at all. In fact, they brought the lawsuit which enjoined the law. Planned Parenthood has constantly been telling the world that it wants to reduce teen pregnancies. Here was an outstanding example of an effective method, and Planned Parenthood showed its true stripes. It went to court to stop the only major successful program that limited teen pregnancies. So much for Planned Parenthood’s claims that it wants to reduce teen pregnancies.

But didn’t the Becky Bell case show otherwise?

The Becky Bell case ranks among the most totally misrepresented happenings in the history of the abortion conflict. Let’s recall her story.

Becky Bell is the now-famous 17-year-old Indianapolis girl who died September 16, 1988. Her death has been portrayed by pro-abortion groups all over the country as an example of why parental notification and consent laws are undesirable. The story as told by her parents and others is that she had an illegal induced abortion, became infected, developed pneumonia, and died from the infection. Indiana has a parental consent law that is being enforced. Her parents state that if she could have gotten a legal abortion in Indiana without her parents’ knowledge, she would be alive today. The fact is that Becky never had an induced abortion.

Becky had been involved sexually with a high school dropout as long as one year before her death. He also introduced her to drugs. Sometime in late 1987 or early 1988, her mother learned through a family friend that Becky might be pregnant, and immediately took her to Planned Parenthood where the tests proved negative. Soon after this, her parents also admitted her to the hospital for an almost two-month detoxification program.

After returning home, she apparently became pregnant in mid-May. This time, instead of telling her parents, she told only her best girl friend, Heather Clark, who accompanied her to Planned Parenthood. She was pregnant this time and was told about the Indiana consent law. According to the oft-repeated story of her friend Heather, during the four months of her pregnancy, Becky wavered about what to do. She talked of going to Kentucky for an abortion, or running away to California, having the baby, and placing the child for adoption. But the key part of Becky’s sad story is what happened the last six days of her life. She attended a drug party on a Saturday night, six days before she died. This is listed in the coroner’s report. It also details the fact that Becky told her mother that she thought some one had put speed or cocaine in her drink. It is known that she stayed in her room all of the following day, Sunday, telling her parents that she had flu.

Becky apparently began hemorrhaging five days later — Friday morning — the day she died. Her mother recalls that she said earlier that day, "Mommy, I started," with a smile, which she thought was odd because Becky usually dreaded the cramps associated with her period. After the bleeding started, Becky, who had resisted going to the doctor, now agreed to seek medical help. Her father took her to the hospital that afternoon. She died that night. Heather Clark flatly insists that Becky did not attempt to abort. She has stated that Becky talked about getting a legal abortion in Kentucky right up until the day she died. (Heather believes Becky had a miscarriage.) Furthermore, after Becky’s death, her mother found a list of abortion clinics and adoption agencies in her daughter’s purse. Also, Heather Clark has stated that the day before Becky died, "Becky asked me for the phone number of a Planned Parenthood clinic in Louisville." Your authors have a copy of the autopsy report. It lists "manner of death" as "undetermined." It then lists "cause of death" as "septic abortion with pneumonia." Remember, in medical reports, miscarriages are referred to as "abortions" or "spontaneous abortions." This is what has caused the confusion as, by carefully reading the autopsy report, it is obvious that the primary cause of death was fulminating, cavitating pneumonia and sepsis, along with evidence of a spontaneous abortion (miscarriage). The autopsy report reads as follows:

"The uterus, fallopian tubes and ovaries are present. They are of usual size and shape for age.  No tumors are present. There is evidence of recent pregnancy with recent partial abortion. The uterus is enlarged consistent with current pregnancy of age approximately 2-3 months. The cervix is dilated uniformly without evidence of mucosal or submucosal injury. Extruding from the cervical os is hemorraghic and necrotic red-tan and grey-brown tissue consistent with products of conception. The lower third of the uterine cavity has only the flat mucosa without obvious evidence of instrumentation. However, the upper 2/3 of the uterine cavity has a mixture of blood clot and necrotic and hemmorraghic products of conception. There are no recognizable fetal parts, and the amniotic membrance has been ruptured, leaving only a small area recognizable as thin blue-tan glistening membranes. There is no evidence of hydatid mole or invasive chorio-carcinoma. The serosa of the uterus is smooth and glistening and without exudate, and there are no areas of perforation or pus in or around the uterus. The right ovary has a 1 x 1 1/2 x 1 inch bright yellow corpus luteum. The remainder of the ovaries shows unremarkable for age ovaries. There are no injuries of the vagina."

Let us translate. That she was pregnant is obvious. The cervix in a 17-year-old’s first pregnancy would have to be stretched open by an abortionist, causing some tearing of the lining of that cervix, even by the most gentle dilation. If a trained abortionist had performed an abortion, there would have been evidence of scraping, trauma, scratching, and tearing. Had an untrained person attempted an abortion, there would have been much more damage to the cervix and uterus. To have a cervix "dilated uniformly without evidence of mucosal or submucosal injury" totally rules out the use of any instrumentation; rather, it tells any physician that this was a spontaneous abortion (miscarriage), not an induced abortion.

The description of what "extrudes" from the "cervical os" (cervical opening) is the normal leftover from a nearly completed miscarriage. The report then further states that the lower third of the uterus was "without obvious evidence of instrumentation." The report describes the remaining tissue in the upper two-thirds as exactly what one would expect from a miscarriage. Then the report speaks of the serosa, which is the outer covering of the womb, which is described as "smooth, glistening and without exudate." Exudate would be pus or oozing if the organ was infected. If this had been a case of septic abortion, this tissue would be shaggy and discolored (not "smooth, glistening and without exudate"). Further, the report stated, "there are no areas of perforation or pus." Finally, there are "no injuries of the vagina." Clearly she did not have an induced abortion. The autopsy report of the lungs and pleural (chest) cavities take up over half a page of single-spaced reporting, and describe the near total destruction of those organs by infection.

Dr. Nathanson, who performed thousands of abortions before he completely reversed his position and became a pro-lifer, agrees that "there is no evidence for an induced abortion at all." He states that the cause of death was obviously overwhelming pneumonia unrelated to the miscarriage, with no evidence of significant infection inside or outside of the uterus.

The report details that the germ that killed Becky (streptococcus pneumoniae) is a common pneumonia germ unlikely to originate from a contaminated abortion procedure.

Dr. Curtis Harris, a teaching Endocrinologist from Oklahoma City and president of the American Academy of Medical Ethics, has consulted in detail with four prominent specialists in the fields of infectious disease, Ob/Gyn. Infertility, and Pathology. All of them have agreed that Becky had a spontaneous miscarriage; that her uterus was not infected; that in all likelihood her drug taking was the primary cause of the infection, perhaps causing vomiting and aspiration of the vomitus into the lungs or through toxicity; that the miscarriage was likely directly related to drug ingestion; and that she died from overwhelming sepsis from the lung infection, which was completely unrelated to her spontaneous miscarriage. He and the consultants asked for slides for pathologic consultation and examination. Was she on drugs? Blood specimens analyzed were negative for alcohol, cocaine, speed and "other drugs," but there was no examination for marijuana. The blood was taken one week after the above party at which time all of the drugs should have cleared her system, with the exception of marijuana, but it was not tested for.

Conclusion