NARAL ISSUES
GLOOM AND DOOM SUMMARY
By Ann E. Brennan, J.D., Dept. of State Legislation

On January 22, 1999, the National Abortion and Reproduc-tive Rights Action League (NARAL) publicly released its eighth edition of Who Decides? A State-by-State Review of Abortion and Reproductive Rights. Accord-ing to NARAL, abortion is in its most "precarious position" since legalized nationwide in 1973.

NARAL uses an "A-F" grading system to rank the states, taking into account (from a pro-abortion perspective) the laws of every state, positions taken by governors, the composition of state legislatures, and the stands on abortion of political parties.

Overall NARAL assigns the country a "D+," even though abortion is essentially legal through all nine months of pregnancy, for any reason, in every state. Washington state is listed as the most " pro-choice," even though it did lose some points because it "only" allows doctors to perform abortions and also allows doctors to opt out of doing abortions if it violates their conscience.

Twenty-nine states are listed under the heading of "anti-choice strongholds." NARAL considers even the most moderate, common sense regulation of abortion as "onerous," with Louisiana listed as the most "onerous" of them all. So what exactly does NARAL consider "onerous"?

Over the past 26 years the pro-life movement has been successful in passing common sense protections supported by the majority of the American public. And 1998 was a particularly good year, culminating in the passage of partial-birth abortion bans which brought the number up to half the states.

But partial-birth abortion bans are only one dimension of the grassroots legislative agenda. Pro-lifers are continuing to work tirelessly on legislation that includes parental involvement, woman's right to know, physician and pharmacist conscience clauses, defunding of abortion, reporting requirements, and clinic regulations. NARAL has acknowledged our efforts as being " diverse and sweeping."

Parental Involvement

Currently, there are 22 genuine parental involvement laws in effect. As noted in the story on page 9, about one state each year has passed a parental involvement law since the Supreme Court upheld such laws in the 1990 Hodgson decision.

In order for a parental involvement law to be constitutional it must contain what is known as a "judicial bypass." This means that if the minor does not want to involve a parent she may go directly to a judge for authorization.

The judge is supposed to look at the facts of the case and determine if the minor is mature enough to make the decision or if involving her parents would not be in her "best interest." Even with these provisions, such laws ensure that parents are involved in the pregnancy decisions of their minor daughter to help her through a difficult situation.

States that involve parents in their daughters' abortion decision experience not only a decrease in abortions but also a decline in the rate of teen pregnancy. For example, in Minnesota from 1981-86, when a parental notice law was in effect, the number of minors having abortions decreased by 34%, and the total number of pregnancies decreased by 27%. (The law was not in effect from 1987-90 because of court action. The law was ultimately upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in Hodgson and is currently in effect).

A vast majority - - 78% - - of Americans support parental involvement laws (New York Times/CBS News poll, Jan. 1998). NARAL opposes them.

Partial-Birth Abortion

Bans on partial-birth abortion have been passed in 25 states. Unfortunately, only seven are currently in effect. Granted, we'd like all of the laws to be in force but this is still encouraging for two reasons.

First, we passed them with the support of some "pro-choice" legislators. Second, the Supreme Court hopefully will eventually resolve the dispute in our favor.

This protective legislation prohibits an abortion procedure in which a living child is partially vaginally delivered from her mother's womb and then killed. The majority of Americans, 73%, oppose this heinous procedure (New York Times/CBS News poll, Jan. 1998). NARAL opposes these bans.

Woman's Right to Know

Since 1989, 15 states have passed woman's right to know legislation. Despite furious pro-abortion legal assaults, 13 are currently in effect.

These laws ensure that a pregnant mother contemplating abortion is given adequate factual information to make an informed decision and is given 24 hours to reflect on this information. Once again, a majority of Americans, 79%, favor this type of legislation. (New York Times/CBS News poll, Jan. 1998). NARAL opposes these laws.

Physician Conscience Clauses

Forty-six states have physician conscience clauses which allow medical professionals and health care facilities to opt out of performing abortions if doing so would violate their conscience. In 1998 South Dakota was the first state to extend conscience clause protection to cover pharmacists who do not wish to dispense abortifacients.

NARAL refers to South Dakota's law as a "new and unusual restriction." According to NARAL, doctors, pharmacists, and hospitals should be forced to be involved in abortion, even if it violates their conscience.

Medicaid Funding

Thirty-three states limit state funding of abortion under Medicaid to the full extent allowed under the 1993 Clinton regulations. Under the Clinton regulations a state must fund abortions in cases of life of the mother, rape, or incest.

Before the Clinton regulations took effect, a state only had to fund abortion in the case of life of the mother. NARAL thinks that Americans should be forced to pay for all abortions for women on Medicaid.

Clinic Regulation

Both reporting requirements and clinic regulations protect the health of women having abortions, yet NARAL opposes them also. At a minimum, reporting requirements direct an abortionist to report the number of abortions that he has performed in a given year.

More comprehensive reporting requirements mandate the reporting of the age of the pregnant mother, prior pregnancies, the age of the unborn child, the type of abortion procedure, and complications. Reporting requirements for abortion allow the state to monitor the "who, what, where, and why" of abortion.

By knowing the demographic profile of women who are having abortions and for what reasons, the state and the community will be able to respond to the needs of mothers. Clinic regulations protect mothers by ensuring that abortion clinics meet minimal standards of safety.

The latest report from NARAL leaves two main impressions. First, its report contains exaggerations. The main purpose of their publication is to galvanize what NARAL sees as "complacent" pro-abortionists. The best way to achieve this goal is to sound an alarm.

Second, however, that NARAL exaggerates does not diminish in the slightest the important gains the pro-life movement has made in passing protective pro-life legislation. The laws that have been passed are reasonable, are supported by a majority of Americans, and, most important, have saved lives.

As Mary Spaulding Balch director of the State Legislative Department, says, "Slowly but surely we are getting closer."