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Don't be fooled by arrogance of the anti-abortionists The Oregonian Republican legislators in Oregon and elsewhere are sponsoring an unusually robust agenda of anti-abortion bills this year, at the urging of radical right-wing groups. The Oregon legislative session is barely a month old, and already seven bills have been introduced that would seriously interfere with women's medical privacy and add outrageous impediments to women's rights. Fortunately, Gov. Ted Kulongoski says none of these bills will become law with his signature. But Republican House leaders chose to give the anti-women's-rights bills time on the legislative calendar and, so far, five of the bills have been scheduled for hearings set to end this week. House Bill 2504 improperly intrudes in medical practice by banning a little-used, late-term surgical procedure, often called partial-birth infanticide by foes. HB 2547, the so-called "informed consent bill," requires health-care providers to tell patients of unsubstantiated links between abortion and other health conditions. The bill improperly inserts politics into the practice of medicine. The bill also imposes a 24-hour waiting period. HB 2550 requires medical professionals to tell women things that they do not know to be true. They would, for example, be required to tell patients that fetuses might feel pain and would be required to ask patients if they wanted anesthetic administered to the fetus before an abortion. This kind of propaganda is designed solely to dissuade women from acting in their own interests with unproven theories of fetal development. HB 2552 is another parental-notification measure. Minors age 15 and older have a statutory right to confidential medical care. This was affirmed in a statewide vote in 1990. Some version of this measure, which singles out 15- to 17-year-old girls, appears every session. HB 2563 requires that abortions be performed at ambulatory surgicenters. This would reduce access to abortion by adding unreasonable regulatory burdens to abortion clinics. Currently, only one clinic in the state would qualify. This isn't going on only in Oregon. It is part of a national campaign to overturn Roe v. Wade backed by pro-life groups such as Operation Rescue and Operation Outcry. The difference in campaigns this year is that they depend mainly on misdirection. Thus interference with medical practice is presented as promoting women's rights to be better informed; or the rights of fetuses to prenatal care; or, in all matters involving minors, the issue is parental rights. In Kentucky the state senate recently passed a fetal homicide bill. In Virginia, which already has a parental-notification law, the anti-abortion lobby is now pushing for parental consent. In language that is both unctuous and arrogant, these bills claim to enhance women's rights to be fully informed health-care consumers. In fact, the goal of all these bills is to limit women's rights to make their own decisions about abortion. Women's rights to terminate a pregnancy are settled areas of law and majority public opinion. The state simply has no business legislating private medical affairs or family discussions about teenage pregnancy or abortion. Lawmakers shouldn't be misled about the ultimate aim of the anti-abortion efforts. They can be sure the public won't be fooled. LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -