North Carolina Republican legislators overturned Democratic Governor Bev Perdue's veto of legislation that requires women to wait 24 hours and receive "counseling" before being provided an abortion. This includes information about the developmental stage of the fetus, and requires women to consider an offer to see the shape of the fetus and hear a heartbeat. This kind of so-called "counseling" is required now in half of all U.S. states.
Let me make one thing clear: I don't think women should use abortion as birth control. Period. That is just really stupid in this day and age of easily attainable birth control. But let me give you a couple of examples of why this new law is downright inhumane in some cases.
First, I happened to have worked years ago with a woman who married in her late 30's. She and her husband, in considering their ages, decided to start a family right away. This is in the early days of HMOs, and a sonogram wasn't done until 5 1/2 months in. It was then discovered that the fetus's condition was such that it would be unable to survive outside the womb. It was heartbreaking, but the couple made the entirely understandable decision to have a late 2nd trimester abortion. By the way, she had to fly from Missouri to Texas to have the procedure done. What would this law do to this woman and her husband? This isn't a single mother who got pregnant by accident with an unwanted baby. To make this couple and their family suffer more than they already had by needlessly requiring them to go through the machinations required by this ridiculous law would be nothing short of inhumane.
And how about a young girl of, say 12 or 13, who is the victim of incest or rape? What then? Are you going to have this child go through this "counseling"? Make her feel guilty if she doesn't want to (or shouldn't for obvious medical reasons) carry the baby to term? Seriously?
This law makes no provisions for such circumstances because anti-abortionists write these laws as if all unborn fetuses are perfect and their mothers are simply ridding themselves of an unwanted burden. Most women agonize over this decision. I doubt the majority of abortions are done flippantly. To put this kind of guilt trip on a woman who is already traumatized by the situation, particularly in cases such as the ones I outlined above, is simply mental torture perpetrated by right-wing religious zealots who don't understand the consequences of such an archaic and short-sighted law.
