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Judge tosses right-to-know abortion law (Florida)
Palm Beach Post ^ | September 17, 2002 | Susan Spencer-Wendel

Posted on 09/18/2002 8:04:43 AM PDT by toenail

Judge tosses right-to-know abortion law

By Susan Spencer-Wendel, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Tuesday, September 17, 2002

WEST PALM BEACH -- In a blow to anti-abortion activists, a Palm Beach County judge struck down a law mandating what abortion doctors must tell and provide potential patients.

The decision, by Circuit Judge Ronald Alvarez, further freezes the law known as the Women's Right-to-Know Act. The act, challenged legally since its passage in 1997, dictated a generic checklist of things doctors must tell a patient with little regard for her individual situation. It required doctors to tell women the nature and risks of an abortion "that a reasonable patient would consider material" to making a decision, the age of the fetus and the medical risk of taking the pregnancy to term.

Alvarez wrote that the law infringes on a woman's ability "to receive her physician's opinion as to what is best for her considering her particular circumstances. This is constitutionally impermissible," Alvarez said.

"The handcuffs are off the doctors," said attorney Louis Silber, who represented Presidential Women's Center of West Palm Beach in its fight to overturn the law. "It removes a significant barrier or obstacle in the process."

What is particularly offensive is that a woman with an abnormal fetus or a raped woman would have to sit with a doctor and discuss taking the pregnancy to full term, Silber said.

After Women's Right-to-Know Act was passed, the Presidential Women's Center sued the Florida Department of Health, the agency that would discipline doctors for failing to perform the tasks. A local appeals court in 1998 granted a temporary block of the law, which has remained in force since, meaning the law has never been put in practice.

After the 4th District Court of Appeal's decision, the case sat for years until the Florida Attorney General's Office and Department of Health renewed their fight for the law, which eventually led to Alvarez's decision.

Silber called the state's continued fight the most vicious attack on women's clinics and reproductive rights he's seen in 14 years of abortion-rights litigation.

Alvarez's permanent injunction Friday sets the stage for a higher legal battle.

Department of Health General Counsel William Large said the agency respectfully disagrees with the opinion and will appeal it again to the 4th District Court of Appeal. From there it would move to the Florida Supreme Court.

The department is trying to protect the women of Florida, ensuring them the most information possible before receiving an abortion, Large said. Women who seek abortions are an extremely vulnerable population who rarely will take recourse when something goes wrong. The law protects them, he said.

"I don't believe there ever were any handcuffs on any physicians with respect to this statute," Large said.

Abortion-rights activists opposed the law saying it created a different set of informed consent standards for abortion providers than for regular doctors.

The president of the Palm Beach County Right to Life League, Richard Giesman of Palm Beach Gardens, said even then it wasn't enough. "If I'm going for open heart surgery, I want to hear all about it. I would want to see pictures of it. I want to understand everything," Giesman said. "We're doing an injustice to anyone not giving them the full information to make an informed decision."

Planned Parenthood chief Lillian Tamayo said it's not about withholding information from abortion seekers, but about creating a different standard for abortion providers than for other doctors.

"Criminal penalties could be expected or placed upon physicians for failing to provide certain kinds of information," Tamayo said. "That's wrong."

susan_spencer_wendel@pbpost.com


TOPICS: Culture/Society; US: Florida
KEYWORDS: abortion; activistjudges; consumerfraud
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To: Polycarp
Ping
21 posted on 09/18/2002 1:25:52 PM PDT by Desdemona
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To: toenail
Thanks for the post. You know, I just don't know how anyone could be pro-choice. My sister went through hell to get pregnant, was on bedrest at home and the hospital for a long time, the baby's umbilical cord, unbeknowest to the doctor's was wrapped around the body and the neck. My sister was hooked up to monitors 24 hours a day, and everytime the baby put pressure on the cord, the baby's breathing and heart rate would drop and all the bells and whistles would go off. Nurses would run into her room 7, 8 times a night and roll her back and forth in the hopes of changing the position. This went on for about a month. Finally, the baby went into distress and they had to do a c-section at 31 weeks. When this little angel was born, she could have been held with one hand. When I actually got to hold her the first time, I just stared at her and fought back the tears for a good hour just thinking about all the babies that are aborted at this stage. JThey are just so precious and beautiful. My sister trekked an hour each way to the hospital every day and spent an average of nine hours a day just bonding. My father also went in every day for a couple hours. The nurses said they have never seen a grandfather so devoted. I challenge every pro choicer to see first hand a little precious preemie and how beautiful and delicate they are and I'll bet many would change their stance on the "right to choose".
22 posted on 09/18/2002 1:32:15 PM PDT by diamond6
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To: All
Ping
23 posted on 09/18/2002 1:40:28 PM PDT by diamond6
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To: FourtySeven
Life Dynamics
24 posted on 09/18/2002 1:53:16 PM PDT by toenail
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To: toenail
Department of Health General Counsel William Large said the agency respectfully disagrees with the opinion and will appeal it again to the 4th District Court of Appeal. From there it would move to the Florida Supreme Court

So it's liberal scumbags right on up the line, all of whom can be counted on to carry water for their abortion mill masters. The baby killing business means lots of boats, vacations, caviar and wine for these people. And, of course, campaign fund bonanzas for every one of these scumbag Democrats. This law is dead in the formaldehyde as far as Florida is concerned.

Is this entirely a state issue, or could this somehow end up at SCOTUS?

25 posted on 09/18/2002 1:54:50 PM PDT by Lancey Howard
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To: RonF
I don't disagree with most of your response, but I see a fundamental difference between a patient going in for cardiac bypass and a patient going in for an abortion.

The risks to a bypass patient if he does not have the surgery are, potentially, severe illness and/or death. The risks of having surgery therefore usually outweigh the risks of avoiding it. Not much of a chance of financial loss in this case if both sides are fully outlined.

Abortion on the other hand, is by and large an elective procedure. The risks of not having an abortion are very slight, except in extreme cases. The risks of having an abortion, if explained fully, might very well outweigh the prospect of having a baby in the mind of the patient. MUCH greater potential for financial loss.

I appreciate your points regarding elective surgery in general. Maybe it's not abortion that should be singled out, but rather the entire genre of elective surgery.
26 posted on 09/18/2002 1:55:16 PM PDT by agrace
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To: diamond6
Nice post. Thanks for the uplifting story...and you make an excellent point.
27 posted on 09/18/2002 1:58:52 PM PDT by Judith Anne
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To: toenail
"Abortion doctor" is an oxymoron.
28 posted on 09/18/2002 6:20:01 PM PDT by Flashman_at_the_charge
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