WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) introduced the Woman’s Right to Know Act to protect the health of pregnant women and unborn children by providing adequate medical information for informed consent before abortions.
“Expectant mothers should be protected. Essential to this is making sure they know everything they can know about how to protect their bodies. This bill provides information which all too often is not shared,” said Dr. Cassidy.
“For far too long, organizations like Planned Parenthood have targeted vulnerable women and pressured them to make life and death medical decisions without informed consent,” said Senator Blackburn. “The Woman’s Right to Know Act protects the sanctity of life for women and children across the nation by establishing long-overdue standards for the predatory abortion industry.”
They were joined by co-signers Senators Steve Daines (R-MT), Mike Braun (R-IN), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Joni Ernst (R-IA), and Rick Scott (R-FL) in addition to Representative Vicky Hartzler (R-MO) who introduced the House version of this legislation.
“States throughout America have begun enacting laws to ensure that women considering abortion procedures have the full breadth of information and knowledge of the consequences surrounding an abortion procedure. In any medical decision, knowledge is power – and this one carries a multitude of mental and physical health risks for women,” said Rep. Hartzler. “I thank Senator Marsha Blackburn for introducing the Senate version of this bill and am eager to work with my colleagues to ensure this pro-woman legislation is passed to expand these safeguards for expecting mothers.”
“The tragic reality of legal abortion includes the way in which Corporate Abortion fails to do no harm to the preborn as well as their mothers. Failing to fully explain what is happening to a growing child and what could happen to a mother is a dereliction of duty,” said Kristan Hawkins, President of Students for Life of America. “Frankly, the very least that we should expect from those profiting from ending lives is that they are honest and accurate about how abortion harms women and their preborn children. Students for Life America applauds Sen. Marsha Blackburn for again prioritizing women in holding Corporate Abortion accountable for how their horrific, life-ending business harms those who are exposed to their enterprise.”
Background
The Woman’s Right to Know Act sets reasonable medical requirements for physicians to meet in order to protect both the life of the mother and the child before an abortion can be performed:
- Abortion providers must explain all the medical risks associated with an abortion procedure;
- Abortion providers must explain the probable gestational age and development features of the unborn child at the time the abortion is to be performed; and
- Abortion providers must present this information at least 24 hours in advance of an abortion procedure.
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