Women's 'Right to Know' Seen As Important

July 2001

The Joint Committee on the Judiciary faces the daunting task of making decisions on 800 bills. A dozen of these proposals concern abortion, including three which would expand abortion rights.

We asked several pro-life leaders their opinion on the various bills and what their expectations are. As diverse as the pro-life community is, all leaders had pretty much the same viewpoint.

Laurie LeTourneau, President of Life Action League of Massachusetts, told us, "The most important bill to me is the Women's Right to Know (H3953) because it is crucial that women be apprised of the myriad of problems associated with abortion. Every woman should be told of the abortion and breast cancer link, as well as what a developing fetus looks like and the fact that the baby has a beating heart at three weeks. They should also be given the names of hotlines for crisis pregnancy centers for those who need financial or emotional help. All women undergoing an ultrasound should be allowed to view the baby at these abortion clinics."

Her expectations are not high, LeTourneau told us. She said, "Knowing the pitiful crew at the State House, I would imagine they will do nothing about these bills."

Bill Cotter of Operation Rescue, Boston, also has less than a positive outlook on the chance for passage of the pro-life bills. He said, "It doesn't look good because the Senate has a 2-to-1 pro-abortion majority and the House has a majority. The governor, of course, is in favor of abortion." Despite his negative outlook, Cotter thinks that the most important bill is "Informed Consent."

Gerry D'Avolio, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Catholic Conference, told us that he expects the committee to put a lot of the controversial bills into study committees. He says this is akin to putting them in the ground and erecting a gravestone. Like the others, D'Avolio considers

H 3953 the most important bill the committee will consider this week. He said that he has heard a lot of comment on the bill and he knows the committee has been hearing about it, too. He said that he's also been hearing that "the pro-abortion forces are afraid of informed consent. But it should be an easy one to like - it's intended to help women."

If these bills do not receive favorable reports from the Judiciary Committee, D'Avolio says that pro-lifers need to take part of the blame. "We need to do more in the grassroots," he explained, adding that specifically the Catholic Conference needs to do more to get out and educate people.

LeTourneau disagrees with that viewpoint. She would place the blame squarely on the shoulders of the legislature. She said, "The Judiciary has a moral responsibility to vote these bills out of committee favorably and bring them to the whole legislative body. If not, then the Attorney General should have pressure put upon him to follow the laws and make sure every woman has the right to know the physical and emotional pitfalls to an abortion.