Measure 11 is a Poorly Crafted Law with Dangerous Consequences
·
Alleged Exceptions
“This [Initiated Measure 11] lays the foundation
for the next step,’ – a more-stringent ban like the one that failed in 2006.” – Patti Giebink,
Treasurer, VoteYesForLife.com, Wall Street Journal, 8/12/08
Those
pushing the new abortion ban are promoting Initiated Measure 11 as
2006-abortion-ban-lite. They claim the new law has adequate exceptions for
victims of rape or incest and to protect the health of the woman. Their
claims are both wrong and disingenuous: this new abortion ban is every bit as
dangerous as the one South Dakotans rejected in 2006.
One of the
primary authors of the abortion ban is a New Jersey trial lawyer named
Harold Cassidy. He wrote an obscure memo to radical abortion ban proponents
across the nation in which he defended the way the new law is written. He said
that their real intention is to pass Initiated Measure 11 and then work to
remove the “exceptions” for rape, incest and even the health of the woman from
the law. Cassidy said the bill creates a “foundation” for banning all abortions
in the United States .
“Those exceptions – as well as one for women in
poor health – are included in the new measure. But they are far from simple;
the full text of the proposed law is more than 2,400 words. In the voting booth
this November, citizens will be presented only a 249-word summary .” - Wall Street Journal, 8/12/08
·
Initiated Measure 11 Endangers Womens’ Health
“The exceptions in the new South Dakota proposal create some knotty questions for voters. For
instance, should a woman be forced to continue a pregnancy if the fetus isn’t
going to survive? How ill must a woman
be to qualify for an abortion under an exception for a woman in poor health?” - Wall Street Journal, 8/12/08
If Measure
11 passes, doctors would risk felony charges and up to 10 years in prison if
they believed terminating a pregnancy is best for their patient. The abortion
ban would have a chilling effect on a family doctor’s ability to care for
patients. Facing a health complication during a pregnancy is a difficult
thing for a family, and every situation is different. Families should be
allowed to weigh all options and determine what is right for their health and
well-being.
The
“health exception” contained in Initiated Measure 11 permits an abortion when
“there is a serious risk of a substantial and irreversible impairment of the
functioning of a major bodily organ or system of the pregnant woman,” unless in
reaching that judgment the physician “knowingly disregards accepted standards
of medical practice.” The “health exception” standards in the abortion ban are
dangerously vague.
The
following list includes a few examples of medical conditions that create health
complications for a woman during pregnancy. In all of these cases, an argument
could be made that the condition does or does not involve “serious risk of a
substantial or irreversible impairment of the functioning of a major bodily
organ or system of the pregnant woman.”
The problem with Initiated Measure 11 is that those disputes would be
settled in a courtroom after the fact and not left to the sound medical
judgment of South Dakota physicians consulting
with their patients.
·
Diabetes
with renal disease and retinopathy – Pregnant women with diabetic
complications risk worsening their condition if they carry a pregnancy to term,
which could lead to blindness or need for dialysis.
·
Cervical
cancer
– When cervical cancer is first diagnosed in early pregnancy, a woman’s life is
not immediately threatened. However, if the cancer is not treated until after a
nine-month pregnancy, her life span could be shortened. Similar situations may
arise for other forms of cancer first diagnosed during pregnancy.
·
Chorioamnionitis – This condition
involves an inflammation of embryonic membranes.
·
Severe
pulmonary hypertension – This condition involves increased pressure
within the lung’s circulation system.
[ American College of Obstetrics and
Gynecology Position Statement on 2006 Abortion Ban, 9/26/06 ]
These
conditions, and many others, sometimes warrant termination of a pregnancy to protect
a woman’s health and life. That decision should always be left to a woman, her
doctor, her family and others she elects to involve. Under Initiative Measure
11, Doctors would be threatened with felony charges and prison time for
exercising proper medical judgment in these situations. Such a situation has a
chilling effect on a doctor’s ability to properly care for his or her patients
and would jeopardize women’s health.
“Marvin Buehner, a Rapid City obstetrician and
gynecologist who is campaigning against the ban, says he has performed
abortions for seriously ill patients, including a woman with rectal cancer who
needed chemotherapy and radiation. But he says he wouldn’t perform that
abortion if the ban passed, at the risk of spending 10 years in prison. The
phrase ‘accepted standards of medical practice,’ he adds, ‘is so vague and
nebulous that no physicians I know, myself included, would take the chance.” - Wall Street Journal, 8/12/08
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