What is the Freedom of Choice Act?

Background to The Freedom of Choice Act: In April, 2007, the Supreme Court voted by a narrow margin of 5-4 to uphold the Partial Birth Abortion Ban signed by President Bush in 2003. This ban criminalizes abortions in the second trimester of pregnancy (18-26 weeks). One can assume that means it also bans abortions even later in pregnancy.

The Supreme Court's decision became known as the Federal Abortion Ban, which those who are pro-choice feel can lead to the slippery slope of banning all abortions.

But many people don't know that in America, since Doe v. Bolton (the lesser known case following Roe v. Wade) you could obtain a legal abortion actually up to the day you are ready to deliver, because the wording is so weak. This included procedures such as the Partial Birth Abortion being done on babies which are too large to be called "just a fetus" - big enough so that you can see they are a human baby and too big to be extracted by a tubal procedure. The word "vialibility" was used in the Partial Birth Abortion Ban wording...meaning when a baby can be considered to exist as a baby.

The Freedom of Choice Act will overrule any previous federal, state or local government measure to "deny or interfere with a woman's right to choose" an abortion "before viability".

The problem is - who will measure "viability"? Some doctors (medical doctors - not religiously affiliated) say life begins at conception. Others say when the fetus in the womb looks like a baby. Yet others say a baby isn't a baby until it's breathing on its own after delivery. Who do we go by?

In vitro babies as young as 4 months' gestation are being operated on to correct things like spina bifida. Four months' gestation is only 16 weeks!! They then remain in the womb until a normal birth at 9 months.

The Freedom of Choice Act will also nullify any statute or ruling at federal, state, or local level which prevents abortion "for the health of the mother". Again - who will judge what is the health of the mother? This phrase is so loosely defined that a woman could ask for an abortion on the basis of a headache, up to and including the day of delivery. The Freedom of Choice Act leaves this up to the abortion provider. They are not an unbiased source for this decision.

I sympathize with all women who are in a tight spot with an unwanted pregnancy. I've done volunteer counseling of post-abortive women in a non-judgmental environment. I've also helped women who decided to give birth with no one else approving of their decision. None of these are the best situation.

But the truth must be known, because many women I've spoken with, including a very dear friend, in the end felt that "pro-choice was NO choice" - the abortion was the worst choice they ever made or could make.

What is Partial Birth Abortion? (Intact Dilation and Extraction) - The unborn baby is turned into breech position on purpose. But when a baby is wanted, and it is in breech position, isn't this considered a dire, dangerous situation for both the mother and the baby? Doesn't the whole family rush to the hospital? And yet, people are being told this is the best way to abort a baby "for the health of the mother". The baby is extracted except for the head. A puncture is made in the baby's skull so that the brain and other material inside the skull is removed, deflating the head so that a dead but otherwise whole (intact) baby is delivered through the vaginal opening.

In 1996, a group of four impeccably credentialed physicians representing PHACT (Physicians' Ad Hoc Coalition for Truth, a non-religious organization of over 500 doctors including former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop) wrote an article for the Wall Street Journal entitled: "Partial Birth Abortion is Bad Medicine." The paper was entered into a 2003 testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives. They wrote (bolding is mine):

"We are the physicians who, on a daily basis, treat pregnant women and their babies...We can no longer remain silent while abortion activists, the media and even the President continue to repeat false medical claims..."Contrary to what abortion activists would have us believe, partial-birth abortion is never medically indicated to protect a woman's health or her fertility. In fact, the opposite is true: The procedure can pose a significant and immediate threat to both the pregnant woman's health and fertility."

Koop has repeatedly stated that abortion is never necessary to save the life of the mother, and Caesarean section is always the preferable method.

Feminists for Life, another organization not religiously affiliated, has also put out a document against PBA. See sources at end of this article.

If passed, The Freedom of Choice Act can lead to the negation of the Partial Birth Abortion Ban on the basis of judging "viability". It will probably also negate the Born Alive Infant Protection Act. The Born Alive Infant Protection Act prevents hospitals and abortion clinics from leaving babies who have survived an abortion to die untreated outside the womb. This common procedure was brought out in the open by Jill Stanek, a Chicago nurse. Barack Obama never voted for the Born Alive Infant Protection Act. Barack Obama supports The Freedom of Choice Act.

Do we really want The Freedom of Choice Act? Think about it again - who will decide when a baby is viable, and what honestly constitutes the health of the mother?

Sources:

Letter to Wall Street Journal: Drs. Romer, Smith, Cook and DeCook, "Partial Birth Abortion is Bad Medicine", New York NY: Wall Street Journal, Sept. 19, 1996. Portions found in Official Record, U.S. Senate Republican Policy Committee, March 7, 2003, during re-visiting of the Partial Birth Abortion Ban under President Bush.

Feminists for Life article: http://www.feministsforlife.org/WDB/wdbpbapr9-03.pdf.

Partial Birth Abortion Act: http://news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/abortion/2003s3.html - this will look like a blank page at first. Scroll down.

Born Alive Infant Protection Act: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/08/20020805-6.html.