Roundup: Third-Trimester Abortions May Continue in Kansas

Jun 15, 2009, 11:36am

Third-Trimester Abortions May Continue in Kansas; Bills Threaten Abortion Care in Arizona; Are Threats and Violence Breaking Down Abortion Rights?

Third-Trimester Abortions May Continue in Kansas
According to the Huffington Post,
LeRoy Carhart told the Associated Press that third-trimester abortions
will still be accessible in Kansas. He did not say whether he intended to open a new facitility, or using Dr. George Tiller’s former
clinic.

Carhart told AP a day after the Tiller family announced they
would permanently close the clinic, "I just think that until everything
is in place, it’s something that doesn’t need to be talked about."

Carhart runs his own abortion clinic in Nebraska, but performed
late-term abortions at Tiller’s Wichita clinic because Nebraska has
very restrictive abortion laws, which do not allow abortions if the
fetuses are deemed viable.

The blog
also said, that although Carhart has never done a late-term abortion at
his own clinic, he welcomed the staff from Dr. Tiller’s clinic to help
train his staff in Nebraska.

Bills Threaten Abortion Care in Arizona
Brian Howard, CEO and president of Planned Parenthood of Arizona, wrote an opinion article in the Arizona Republic discussing the consequences of Senate Bill 1206, which would put restrictions on abortions. The article argues that those who back the legislation are not considering the affected women or their health care providers.

If passed, abortion care will only be available in three communities in
the state, which would increase expenses because women may have to
take more days off work, and if they are already mothers, arrange child
care while they are away. The bill will also implement a 24-hour
waiting period, which could cause medical risks for women.

According to the Arizona Republic,
the Bill guarantees health care services and other "safety net
services" for women considering abortion, but the article says the
Legislature recently adopted a budget that shrinks the services
guaranteed in the Bill.

Howard argues that Planned Parenthood does more than any other organization to prevent unplanned pregnancy.

He says:

"…it is particularly disheartening when abortion opponents
simultaneously oppose good legislation that would actually protect
Arizonans. House Bill 2544, which Planned Parenthood supports, requires
our schools to provide comprehensive, abstinence-based sex education.
The very same voices who are endangering abortion care have worked
equally hard to make sure HB 2544 doesn’t get a hearing – and it
hasn’t."

Are Threats and Violence Breaking Down Abortion Rights?
Protesters are gone and harassment has ceased. What was once the
site of a three-decade long battle, Dr. George Tiller’s clinic is
closed after he was killed May 31. According to a Reuters article, his murder was one of 60 threats and violent acts this year.

Vicki Saporta, chief executive of the National Abortion Federation,
says, "It’s a reign of terror against abortion providers."

Saporta is
part of a coalition of abortion rights leaders who recently met with
Justice Department officials to request more protection of abortion
clinics.

The article says:

In recent years, U.S. clinics have been bombed, set on fire,
threatened with anthrax and acid, and physicians have been stalked and
patients harassed.

During the first half of 2009, along with 67 burglaries, assaults
and other violent incidents, there have been 1,400 reports of hate mail
and/or harassing phone calls received by clinics, the highest level in
a decade, according to the federation.

OTHER NEWS TO NOTE:

June 15: Christian Century: Pro-choice perspective

June 15: LifeNews: Pro-Life News: Obama, Abortion, LeRoy Carhart, Futile Care, Terri Schiavo, Ireland, Minnesota

June 15: The Item: Birth control items strewn about front yard

June 14: Examiner: Anti-abortion hoax on internet

June 15: China Daily: Rich flout family planning

June 14: Press Association:Parents ‘no longer prudish on sex’

June 15: USA Today: Your Health: A ‘long-term struggle to sell vasectomy’

June 15: TVNZ: Primary sex ed programme upsets lobby group

June 14: Yemen News Agency: Awareness course on reproductive health family planning launched in Marib

June 15: Times of India:5 abortions later, wife files plaint

June 13: Kansas City Star: Was suspect in Tiller case a ‘lone wolf’?