Posted on 12/07/2004 12:51:44 PM PST by Ellesu
HELENA - A new member of the Montana House is sponsoring a bill that would require death certificates to be filed for all abortions that occur in the state.
But abortion rights advocates called Rep.-elect Roger Koopman's bill "mean-spirited" and predicted it will be defeated.
Koopman, a Bozeman Republican elected to the House in November, said he is introducing the measure because he believes women who choose to get an abortion should be made aware of the consequences.
"It's a small way for our society to acknowledge that a life did exist, even if they didn't get to see a sunrise or blow out a birthday candle," Koopman told Lee Newspapers in a story Tuesday.
Jessica Rhoades, executive director of the abortion-rights group NARAL, said the proposal serves no purpose "other than making women feel bad for making a difficult decision."
She predicted Montana lawmakers would not support such a bill.
"Honestly, I don't think it will be difficult to defeat," she said.
Koopman said his bill is not intended to restrict a woman's abortion rights, nor is it intended to intimidate those considering an abortion.
Instead, he said he hopes the measure will make some women think twice about ending their pregnancies.
Under current state law, death certificates are filed with counties and the state for fetuses that die after 20 weeks. Koopman said his bill would extend that law to cover all fetuses.
He has included a privacy exemption in the bill to restrict the public from access to death certificates from abortions performed before the 20th week of pregnancy.
"I am concerned about any privacy issues," Koopman said. "It's just a very private thing between the physician and the mother."
Rhoades said the government should be less concerned with making women "feel bad" about abortion and do more to prevent unintended pregnancies.
NARAL supports a proposal that would require all insurance companies in Montana to cover prescription birth control in the same manner they cover other prescription drugs. Some insurers do not cover prescription birth control.
What an excellent idea. I had never thought about that. Why shouldn't they be issued death certificates? Oh, that's right, they aren't human beings, just "globs of tissue". Abortion is murder.
"But abortion rights advocates called Rep.-elect Roger Koopman's bill "mean-spirited"
But killing the baby isn't.
Hmmm. Could also be a way to help raise revenue for the state. You have to purchase death certificates, don't you?
Abortion goes beyond "mean-spiritedness".
I was struck by the opposing statements.
No one said, "We aren't killing anyone. The unborn is not a person."
I guess they know what they are doing.
What if the abortion is a zygote? Will the zygote get a death certificate?
Excellent!
Mean spirited?
> said the proposal serves no purpose "other than making >women feel bad for making a difficult decision."
Poor little murdering mommy's. God forbid they actually feel BAD for killing thier unborn child.
And would they be Jane/John Doe #2,346,489 and #2,346,490 or have real designations? Like "Baby Girl" Lincoln. I only use that name to show what may have been lost to us during these abortion years.
Are deaath certificates required for miscarriages? Abortion is a forced miscarriage.
>Are death certificates issued for miscarriages and >stillborns?
Most states it is if it is after the 20 week.
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