In California, if you want an abortion
you may not even need a physician. If Bill
AB 154 passes both houses of the state legislature, Democrat Gov. Jerry Brown is
expected to sign it into law. The bill strips
the requirement that an abortion be performed by a licensed physician or
surgeon. Instead, a nurse practitioner,
certified nurse midwife, or physician assistant would be allowed to do a
suction aspiration or medical abortion on a woman. A suction aspiration abortion is when a vacuum
is inserted into a woman's cervix and removes the contents of the uterus. Suction aspiration abortions are not without
controversy. Brian Johnston, president
of California Pro-Life Council, said
that even former abortionists have spoken out against the technique. “The founder of National Abortion Rights Action League, Dr. Bernard Nathanson, who
subsequently became pro-life, says that vacuum aspiration abortion is
inherently dangerous to the mother, as the physician must blindly probe for the
baby.” The bill has been endorsed by the
California Medical Association, and
has been strongly supported by abortion advocates. Interestingly, in California, if an animal
needs an abortion, the procedure must be carried out by a licensed veterinary surgeon.
It appears, therefore, that the State of
California views humans as deserving a lower standard of care than a housecat.
Then there’s North Dakota, where a judge’s
ruling dismisses part of an abortion center’s lawsuit against a North Dakota
law that bans abortions on disabled unborn children. With the governor’s signature on the ban,
North Dakota became the first state to ban abortions based on genetic “defects”
like Down Syndrome. When diagnosed
before birth, such genetic abnormalities prompt couples to have abortions 90%
of the time. The state legislature
approved the measure and Republican Gov. Jack Dalrymple signed it in March 2013.
The measure also bans abortion based on
gender selection … an issue of increasing concern in the United States as
people from nations like China and India migrate to the U.S. and bring their
cultural preference for boys with them. District
Judge Daniel Hovland dismissed the legal challenge by the state’s lone abortion
business – Red River Women’s Clinic in Fargo (backed by the New York-based Center for Reproductive Rights) – in its
lawsuit filed in June. In an AP report, the abortion center claims the
ruling is okay … since it reportedly doesn’t do abortions for those reasons
anyway. However, they provided no proof
that it asks abortion clients if they are having an abortion because of a prenatal
diagnosis of Down Syndrome or another condition. Janet Crepps, an attorney for the Center for Reproductive Rights, said in
a statement that “it is not clear that the measure will have a direct impact on
any women seeking abortion services at the Red River Women’s Clinic at this
time.” At the time the law was signed
this year, Americans United for Life
President Charmaine Yoest told LifeNews
she was delighted Rep. Bette Grande championed the bill. The law is based on AUL-model legislation and
also makes North Dakota the fifth state to ban the sexist practice of ending a
child’s life based on its sex. The other
states that ban sex-selective abortions are Arizona, Illinois, Oklahoma, and
Pennsylvania.
King David, thinking of himself as a
person while he was growing in his mother’s womb, says of God, “You [God] formed my inward parts; You knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise You because I am fearfully and
wonderfully made … My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in the
secret place, when I was woven together … Your eyes saw my unformed body.”
(Psalm 139:13-16)
Rev.
Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.
Chaplain
(Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army
Pastor,
Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel
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