STATES HAVE PRO-LIFE VICTORIES AS SESSIONS COME TO CLOSE

By Mary Spaulding Balch, NRLC State Legislative Director

With legislatures wrapping up their sessions, pro-lifers capped off an excellent year with a series of victories.

Pro-lifers in Arkansas started the year with a victory when the Woman's Right to Know Law was signed by pro-life Gov. Mike Huckabee February 21. The legislation protects the right of a woman to be given critical information about her developing unborn baby, the medical risks associated with abortion and childbirth, and material that lists agencies which offer alternatives to abortion. This information will greatly assist her in making an informed decision.

"It will no longer be business as usual in Arkansas abortion clinics," said Rose Mimms, executive director of Arkansas Right to Life, upon passage of the Woman's Right to Know Law. "Even though our opponents touted the legislation as meaningless, women seeking abortions in Arkansas will now be offered information about the development of their unborn child and alternatives to abortion that we know was never given before."

Commenting on the positive impact of pro-life legislation, Ms. Mimms told NRL News, "The numbers of abortions are sure to go down now that women will be given all the choices and not just sold an abortion." Arkansas' law took effect on May 1, 2001.

Pro-lifers barely had time to savor this victory when Virginia also passed a Woman's Right to Know Law, signed by Governor Jim Gilmore on March 26. "I am very pleased that, after several years of trying, the House and Senate have finally succeeded in passing legislation to require informed consent and establish a 24-hour waiting period for abortion," Gilmore said. "I congratulate Delegate Bob McDonnell and Senator Randy Forbes for their courageous efforts to secure the passage of this legislation." (Just last month, Forbes won a special congressional election, taking the seat previously held by a pro- abortionist.)

"Virginians recognize that no woman can make an informed choice in an informational void," said Virginia Society for Human Life (VSHL) President Louise D. Hartz. VSHL State Legislation Director Fiona Givens explained, "This Woman's Right to Know Bill will empower all women in the commonwealth who are considering abortion with the information they need to make an informed choice."

Virginia and Arkansas join 15 other states that protect a woman's right to be informed prior to undergoing an abortion.

Vermont also emerged victorious this year. A state that has been solidly in the pro-abortion "camp," to the point of receiving an "A" on NARAL's report card, Vermont did something unexpected thanks to Vermont Right to Life.

For the first time since Roe v. Wade, the Vermont House of Representatives passed a bill that would protect a parent's right to be notified prior to a minor daughter obtaining an abortion. One state newspaper went so far as to declare Vermont Right to Life one of the few winners in this year's legislative session.

"We are on a roll," said Mary Hahn Beerworth, executive director of Vermont Right to Life. "The people of Vermont support this bill, the House of Representatives supports this bill. Our daughters need this bill. Its fate is now in the Senate and that is where we will be next year."

Not to be outdone, the New Hampshire legislature also passed its first pro-life bill since Roe, when the Senate approved a bill that establishes protection for infants who are born alive. The House passed the bill earlier this year.

"This is a tremendous step forward for the old-fashioned notion that innocent babies of any age are to be considered with compassion," said Citizens for Life Executive Director Roger Stenson. "The title of the bill pretty much says it all: 'Live- Birth Infants Protection Act.' "

In South Carolina, on the very last day of the legislative session, in a very dramatic move and over the vocal objections of pro-abortion opponents, a bill allowing for a "Choose Life" license plate passed out of both houses of the legislature. It is now sitting on pro-abortion Governor Hodges's desk. "Never underestimate the impact of pro-life legislation and the pro- life message," said Holly Gatling, executive director of South Carolina Citizens for Life. "Our opponents know its strength and fight us every step of the way - - even on something as innocuous as a license plate message that simply states 'Choose Life.'

A look at the positive impact of pro-life legislation over the years in South Carolina shows why our opponents are worried!" (See accompanying graph.)