On April 28th, after learning about the new Oklahoma law which requires that
pregnant women view an ultrasound image of their unborn baby, as well as
listen to a verbal description of the same, prior to having an abortion, I
wrote the following:

----- Begin Quote -----

I think that this is a positive development for abortion foes! This will
force women to see what they are actually about to murder in cold blood,
with the abortionist's help. Perhaps, and hopefully, seeing the fetus will
convince some women to change their minds, and not go ahead with this
gruesome act of slaughter against the unborn innocent.

----- End Quote -----

Sadly, based on the few studies that have been conducted -- and outside of
the USA no less -- as well as on comments that have been made by some
abortion providers, it appears that laws such as the Oklahoma law are having
very little positive effect on pregnant women, and their decision regarding
whether or not to abort their baby.

Obviously, I find this very sad, and very troubling. That these American
women can continue to be so hard-hearted, and can continue to insist on
having their abortion even after seeing their unborn child, is nothing short
of astounding, and tragic.

Take the case of the woman named Laura who is mentioned in the following
article. She absolutely refused to look at the image of her unborn child;
and she is not alone. Many women are choosing to do this. According to this
report, before the Oklahoma law was struck down, ALL of the women refused to
look at the ultrasound image of their unborn child, and NONE of them changed
their minds about having the abortion. Here is a paragraph from the full
article below:

----- Begin Quote -----

During the six days the law was in effect, all of the patients at the
Reproductive Services abortion clinic in Tulsa averted their eyes from the
ultrasound screen, said Linda S. Meek, the clinic's director. But they could
not avoid hearing descriptions of fetal length and heart activity, she said.
Many left in tears, but none changed course.

"It's very intrusive, and very cruel," Ms. Meek said.

----- End Quote -----

Can you believe the cold attitude of this Ms. Meek? She claims that it is
intrusive and very cruel to force a woman to view her unborn child, yet,
apparently, she sees nothing cruel in snuffing out the life of an unborn
child.

God help these hard-hearted American women! God needs to shake them up, and
put His fear into them, because they certainly haven't got it now!  :(

Following below is the full article.


States Enlist Ultrasound to Raise Bar for Abortions

By KEVIN SACK - NYT

May 27, 2010


BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- "It's going to be cold, and some pressure, O.K.?"

The medical assistant guided the gelled ultrasound transducer across the
pregnant woman's belly. The patient, a 36-year-old divorced woman named
Laura, stared straight ahead, away from the grainy image on the screen to
her side.

The technician told Laura she was at 11 weeks. "Do you want to see your
ultrasound?" she asked. "I'd rather not," Laura answered promptly.

Laura, who asked that her last name not be used, had come to the New Woman
All Women Health Care clinic in Birmingham with her mind set on having an
abortion. And she felt that seeing the image of her bean-size fetus would
only unleash her already hormonal emotions, without changing her mind.

"It just would have added to the pain of what is already a difficult
decision," she said later.

Over the last decade, ultrasound has quietly become a new front in the
grinding state-by-state battle over abortion. With backing from
anti-abortion groups, which argue that sonograms can help persuade women to
preserve pregnancies, 20 states have enacted laws that encourage or require
the use of ultrasound.

Alabama is one of three states, along with Louisiana and Mississippi, that
require abortion providers to conduct an ultrasound and offer women a chance
to peer inside the womb.

Late last month, Oklahoma went a step further. Overriding a veto by Gov.
Brad Henry, a Democrat, the Republican-controlled Legislature enacted a law
mandating that women be presented with an ultrasound image and with a
detailed oral description of the embryo or fetus.

A state judge quickly stayed the requirement pending a July hearing in a
suit filed by two abortion providers. But the measure has prompted outrage
among abortion rights advocates and raised questions about the impact of
ultrasound laws.

In one of the few studies of the issue -- there have been none in the United
States -- two abortion clinics in British Columbia found that 73 percent of
patients wanted to see an image if offered the chance. Eighty-four percent
of the 254 women who viewed sonograms said it did not make the experience
more difficult, and none reversed her decision.

That generally has also been the case in Alabama, which enacted its law, the
first of its kind in the United States, in 2002.

"About half of women opt to view them," said Diane Derzis, who owns the
Birmingham clinic. "And I've never had one patient get off the table because
she saw what her fetus looks like."

In some instances, the ultrasounds have affected women in ways not intended
by anti-abortion strategists. Because human features may barely be
detectable during much of the first trimester, when 9 of 10 abortions are
performed, some women find viewing the images reassuring.

"It just looked like a little egg, and I couldn't see arms or legs or a
face," said Tiesha, 27, who chose to view her 8-week-old embryo before
aborting it at the Birmingham clinic. "It was really the picture of the
ultrasound that made me feel it was O.K."

The National Abortion Federation, which sets quality standards for abortion
providers, does not require ultrasounds in the first trimester. But many
clinics routinely perform them to look for anomalies and to establish a
precise gestational age, which can determine the method of extraction.

Abortion rights advocates oppose laws that require ultrasounds, even if
viewing the images is voluntary.

"The laws don't work," said Vicki A. Saporta, the federation's president.
"They inappropriately interfere with the patient-doctor relationship, and
they don't respect women's ability to make informed choices."

The anti-abortion movement has regularly used ultrasonic imagery dating back
to "The Silent Scream," the influential 1984 film that depicts an abortion
in progress. More recently, Focus on the Family spent an estimated $10
million to buy ultrasound equipment and provide training for centers that
steer women away from abortion.

"To be able to put a face on that baby humanizes this process and really
allows the mother to connect," said Carrie Gordon Earll, a Focus on the
Family spokeswoman. "Ultrasound is one of the ultimate examples of informed
consent because you are seeing what you are giving permission to happen."

As with many abortion regulations, state laws regarding ultrasound vary
widely. Five states, including two that enacted laws this year, require that
abortion providers offer to conduct ultrasounds, according to the Guttmacher
Institute, which monitors reproductive health issues. In eight others,
providers who perform ultrasounds as a standard practice must offer patients
a chance to see them.

Ultrasound bills were introduced in 21 statehouses in 2010, according to the
institute. Gov. Charlie Crist of Florida, a Republican, must soon decide
whether to sign legislation that would require doctors to perform
ultrasounds and show and describe the images to patients unless they sign a
refusal.

Oklahoma's new law exempts women who need an abortion for emergency medical
reasons. But it does not allow exceptions for victims of rape or incest.

During the six days the law was in effect, all of the patients at the
Reproductive Services abortion clinic in Tulsa averted their eyes from the
ultrasound screen, said Linda S. Meek, the clinic's director. But they could
not avoid hearing descriptions of fetal length and heart activity, she said.
Many left in tears, but none changed course.

"It's very intrusive, and very cruel," Ms. Meek said.

The Alabama law has had no apparent impact on the number of abortions, which
hovers around 11,300 a year. State law also requires that women receive a
pamphlet on fetal development and a directory of adoption agencies during a
24-hour waiting period.

Staff members interviewed at three of the seven abortion clinics in the
state estimated that 30 percent to 70 percent of women chose to see
ultrasound images. But they said it was uncommon for women to be dissuaded.

It had happened occasionally, they said, when a sonogram revealed a multiple
pregnancy or when a woman was already deeply unsure about her choice.

But a number of women at the Birmingham clinic, which was the site of a
fatal bombing in 1998, said they simply did not want to subject themselves
to images that might haunt them. "You almost have to think of it as an
alien," said Carmen, 28, who was there for her second abortion in three
years.

Like other patients, Laura, who has a 17-year-old son, said she took offense
at the state's implicit suggestion that she had not fully considered her
choice.

"You don't just walk into one of these places like you're getting your nails
done," she said. "I think we're armed with enough information to make adult
decisions without being emotionally tortured."


Jeff Snyder, SysOp - Armageddon BBS  Visit us at endtimeprophecy.org port 23
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