Wait for what?

Abortion waiting period has no merit

Gov. John Engler must be rejoicing this week. With a new law requiring a 24-hour waiting period before having an abortion, the state of Michigan will give a lot of "irrational" women more time - and more anti-choice propaganda - to realize they can't make an intelligent decision about their own bodies.

The new law, which was put on the books last Thursday, forces women to sign a form and wait 24 hours after talking with their doctors before making the decision to have an abortion. The law also requires the clinic to provide state-issued information to each woman.

These pamphlets are essentially anti-choice propaganda, including black-and-white pictures of the fetus at various stages of growth and pamphlets about making an "informed decision." One of these pamphlets states, "responsible adults step forward daily and make a lifetime commitment to children."

A possible additional appointment to go over the mandated information and sign the forms will give women another chance to walk through crowds of screaming anti-choice protesters. This bill does not allow time for women to make an "informed decision," but it gives the state and protesters more time to make the experience as unpleasant as possible, and unjustly prevail upon a woman in a fragile time.

This law will cause not only extreme emotional problems but also logistical barriers. There is a lack of clinics and hospitals willing to perform abortions, so many women travel considerable distances for help. Choosing to get the information directly from the clinic and talk with a nurse or doctor about it - rather than impersonally via mail or fax - could add hotel bills to a total cost many pregnant women struggle to afford.

Often anti-choice activists use the argument that women are "too emotional" at such a time. But the question to ask is how legislators think they can quantify and judge such a situation without taking emotions into account. Many legislators justify their opinions by focusing attention completely on the fetus rather than the mother. They want to dismiss the woman and ignore that a fetus is part of that woman's body. What happens to the fetus affects the woman in a profound way.

Fortunately, state clinics were able to procure certain amendments before the law went into effect. The woman may choose not to look at the material given to her, and the waiting period may be waived if the situation threatens the life or health of the pregnant woman. As the law passed before, the 24-hour waiting period would still be in effect if the woman's health, but not life, was at stake. It is unthinkable that far-off legislators, believing a woman is making the wrong choice about her body, would put her health at risk.

This law is one of many recent attempts to place barriers before a legal surgical procedure. Already Michigan has passed a law prohibiting funding for abortions through Medicaid, which provides healthcare for the poor. The state has also made it illegal for girls under 18 to have an abortion without a written consent from a parent or guardian, and are in the process of banning certain types of late-term abortions.

Polls show that more than 80 percent of Americans believe abortion should be legal in some or all cases, but their complacencies for what are considered "small restrictions" allow right-wing legislators to regulate and suppress the procedure to increasing - and for some, devastating - extents. If this process of restricting and digging away at abortion rights continues, we will soon find there will be no choice left.

09-20-99