Pro-life legislation helps reduce abortion, a new Harvard-MIT Data Center
study indicates.
Just ask Louisiana.
Pro-life legislation helps reduce abortion, a new Harvard-MIT Data Center
study indicates.
Just ask Louisiana.
Parental involvement laws, bans on taxpayer-funded abortions, informed consent
laws and partial-birth abortion bans reduce the number of abortions performed
in areas, the recently-released study found.
“Those states that adopted pro-life legislation during the 1990s experienced
larger reductions in abortion rates and ratios than those states that did not
adopt such legislation,” the study concluded.
The study said pro-life legislation passed by state legislatures led to a 17.4
percent decline in abortions during the 1990s.
Laws prohibiting taxpayer-funded abortions with the use of Medicaid dollars
reduced the abortion rate by about 30 percent, the study showed.
States that passed Right to Know laws informing women of the consequences of
abortion saw the rate drop by 22 percent.
“In spite of Roe v. Wade, in spite of activist judges, in spite of often-biased
media, the pro-life community is helping thousands of women choose life,”
emphasized Clarke Forsythe, president of Americans United for Life, a bioethics
law firm devoted to promoting pro-life legislation.
In an assessment of state efforts to protect women and unborn children, Americans
United for Life released its inaugural State Report Cards in mid-January.
And who led the way? Louisiana.
The Bayou State, Texas, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Arkansas topped the list
of states credited for initiatives designed to protect women, their health and
their unborn children. Vermont, Oregon, Hawaii, New Hampshire and Alaska ranked
worst in their efforts to curb abortion.
Americans United for Life examined state laws in three primary areas to determine
the rankings – laws related to abortion, laws that protect unborn victims
of violence and laws that protect the rights of conscience of healthcare workers.
Researchers also evaluated the impact each state governor and attorney general
has on the laws passed as well as recent state court decisions.
Louisiana topped the list with a score of 36 out of a possible 42. While good,
even that showing indicates elected officials in each state can still do more
to safeguard women and the unborn, an Americans United for Life spokesperson
pointed out.
A letter grade reflecting the productivity of each states 2003 legislative
session also was listed, with states that passed two or more protective laws
receiving an A.
Nine states earned a top grade – Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Louisiana,
Missouri, Michigan, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.
“(But) While 2003 was a strong session for legislation that protects women
and unborn children in states like Texas, Missouri and Minnesota, the sad reality
is that 32 states scored below 25, failing to adopt and enforce many basic,
common-sense legal protections for women and unborn children,” noted Denise
Burke, Americans United for Life staff counsel.
“Too often, judges thwart the will of the people, invalidating laws such
as informed consent and parental notice laws, which have significant and widespread
public support. Governors and attorneys general have to be prepared to vigorously
defend these laws against the legal challenges.”
Louisiana received high marks because:
Its legislature allocated $1.5 million in federal funds in 2003
for services related to abortion alternatives for needy families.
In Louisiana, a physician may not perform an abortion until at
least 24 hours after a woman has been provided with information about the proposed
procedure, the alternatives to abortion, the probable gestational age of the
unborn child, the risks associated with abortion and more.
State taxpayers are not required to fund abortions except when
the procedure is necessary to preserve the womans health or the pregnancy
is the result of rape or incest.
Louisiana is one of only 12 states in the nation that define nonfatal
assaults on an unborn child as a crime.
In a related development, NARAL Pro-Choice America released its report card
on access to abortion services in the United States. The nations overall
grade for womens access to abortion dropped to a D last year, the report
card said.
Louisiana, North Dakota, Kentucky, Missouri and Ohio were ranked as the least
cooperative states in which to have an abortion while Connecticut, Washington,
Vermont, Oregon and California made the top of the list for easy access to abortions.
(BP)