Abortion - Google News - Healthy News Daily

http://news.google.com/news?pz=1&ned=us&hl=en&q=Abortion Google News http://news.google.com/news?pz=1&ned=us&hl=en&q=Abortion https://ssl.gstatic.com/news-static/img/logo/en_us/news.gif http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNFupi5UI1yDg7P0e98o57YyRnxxgA&url=http://www.latimes.com/opinion/editorials/la-ed-abortion-buffer-zones-20131202,0,2320336.story http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNFupi5UI1yDg7P0e98o57YyRnxxgA&url=http://www.latimes.com/opinion/editorials/la-ed-abortion-buffer-zones-20131202,0,2320336.story <div> <table class="cubeAd"><tr><td class="adLabel">Advertisement</td></tr><tr><td valign="middle" align="center"> </td> </tr></table></div> <p>A Massachusetts law that says "no person" may enter or remain in the 35-foot buffer zones established outside abortion clinics in the state has set off a controversial legal battle about the proper balance between the rights of speakers and the rights of those who must listen to them. Although several federal courts have upheld the law over the last few years, the Supreme Court has now agreed to review it. The high court should uphold it as well.</p> <p>The petitioners, including a grandmother in her 70s who stands outside abortion clinics hoping to talk to women on their way in, claim that the law is an impermissible infringement on their right to express their opinion. They complain that they are held so far back from clinic entrances that they are prevented from communicating with the women in a conversational tone of voice, with eye contact, with offers of counseling. They are unable to hand out informational leaflets. Shouting from a distance, they say, is ineffective or counterproductive. When they do find a woman willing to have a conversation before she gets to the 35-foot zone, they are thwarted from continuing it once she moves into the zone.</p> <p>The U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, which upheld the law in January, noted that the 1st Amendment doesn't guarantee the right to an attentive audience "available at close range." But it does require that, in seeking to protect audiences from "hindrance, harassment, intimidation or harm," the state not place any more burden on the right of free speech than necessary.</p> <p><a href="http://www.latimes.com/opinion/opinion-la/la-ol-five-disheartening-moments-for-women-in-2013-and-one-disappointment-20131129,0,4779601.photogallery"><strong>YEAR IN REVIEW: Five disheartening moments for women in 2013 -- and one disappointment</strong></a></p> <p>No principle is more fundamental to a free society than the right to speak out in protest, but just because speech is vital does not mean that all other rights yield to it at all times. Indeed, time, place and manner restrictions are common.</p> <p>In this case, the buffer zone is justifiable. Though there are many civil, reasonable antiabortion protesters in the world, history shows that some have turned the perimeters of reproductive health clinics into battlegrounds, using intimidation and sometimes violence. The fatal shooting of two clinic workers in Brookline, Mass., in 1994 by an opponent of abortion was the impetus for the law that is being challenged. It's true that the law excludes all protesters, not just violent ones, from the buffer zone. But the state shouldn't have to wait to see if a particular protester is going to harass people or turn violent.</p> <p>The Guttmacher Institute, a research organization that supports reproductive health services and abortion rights, says that family planning clinics continue to report incidents of bombings, arson and vandalism, as well as violent protests and blockades. Fifteen states and the District of Columbia prohibit various acts directed at clinics and workers, including blocking entrances, threatening or intimidating staff and patients, making harassing phone calls to staff, damaging property or making excessive noise outside clinics. Along with Massachusetts, two other states have set up protective zones.</p> <p>Besides, the 35-foot buffer zone doesn't entirely prevent face-to-face conversations. A protester can't walk and chat with a woman all the way to the clinic entrance, but a woman on her way to the clinic can pause outside the zone to have a conversation if she chooses. And even from 35 feet, the voices of protesters can be heard and their signs can be read.</p> <p>The petitioners also argue that the law amounts to unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination because clinic employees are able to enter the buffer zone and talk to women. But healthcare workers assisting their clients aren't engaging in advocacy; they're doing their jobs. The court should reject this claim.</p> <p>The 1st Amendment rights of protesters must be weighed against the ability of people to enter and exit health facilities without being intimidated and harassed by others determined to talk women out of having a legal procedure. In 1994, the Supreme Court held that "the 1st Amendment does not demand that patients at a medical facility undertake Herculean efforts to escape the cacophony of political protest." The court should uphold the Massachusetts law, which targets speech only to the extent of attempting to ensure an environment in which women have access to safe, legal and effective medical services.</p> <p><em>This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers.</em></p> Mon, 02 Dec 2013 13:00:26 +0000 en text/html http://www.latimes.com/opinion/editorials/la-ed-abortion-buffer-zones-20131202,0,635926,print.story http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNFvGVILLAQocVHo6WPhK4TIBDVs6g&url=http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/03/us/lawsuit-challenges-anti-abortion-policies-at-catholic-hospitals.html http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNFvGVILLAQocVHo6WPhK4TIBDVs6g&url=http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/03/us/lawsuit-challenges-anti-abortion-policies-at-catholic-hospitals.html  <div class="columnGroup first"> <meta name="emailThisHash" content="pfaIKIfJdWygsprxu0XMTg"/><div class="articleBody"> <span itemprop="copyrightHolder provider sourceOrganization" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Organization" itemid="http://www.nytimes.com"> <meta itemprop="name" content="The New York Times Company"/><meta itemprop="url" content="http://www.nytco.com/"/><meta itemprop="tickerSymbol" content="NYSE NYT"/></span> <meta itemprop="copyrightYear" content="2013"/><nyt_text><nyt_correction_top/><p itemprop="articleBody"> The <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/a/american_civil_liberties_union/index.html?inline=nyt-org" title="More articles about American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)" class="meta-org">American Civil Liberties Union</a> announced on Monday that it has filed a lawsuit against the nation’s Roman Catholic bishops, arguing that their anti-<a href="http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/surgery/abortion/overview.html?inline=nyt-classifier" title="In-depth reference and news articles about Abortion." class="meta-classifier">abortion</a> directives to Catholic hospitals hamper proper care of pregnant women in medical distress, leading to medical negligence. </p> </nyt_text></div> <div class="articleInline runaroundLeft">  </div> <div class="articleBody"> <p itemprop="articleBody"> The <a title="ACLU release" href="https://www.aclu.org/religion-belief-womens-rights/aclu-sues-bishops-behalf-pregnant-woman-denied-care-catholic-hospital">suit was filed in federal court</a> in Wisconsin on Friday on behalf of a woman who says she did not receive accurate information or care at a Catholic hospital there, exposing her to dangerous infections after her water broke at 18 weeks of <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/health/diseasesconditionsandhealthtopics/pregnancy/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier" title="Recent and archival health news about pregnancy." class="meta-classifier">pregnancy</a>. </p><p itemprop="articleBody"> In an unusual step, she is not suing the hospital, Mercy Health Partners in Muskegon, but rather the <a title="Website" href="http://www.usccb.org/">United States Conference of Catholic Bishops</a>. Its <a title="Churchs directives (PDF)" href="http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/human-life-and-dignity/health-care/upload/Ethical-Religious-Directives-Catholic-Health-Care-Services-fifth-edition-2009.pdf">ethical and religious directives</a>, the suit alleges, require Catholic hospitals to avoid abortion or referrals, “even when doing so places a woman’s health or life at risk.” </p><p itemprop="articleBody"> The suit opens a new front in the clash over religious rights and medical care. The Catholic Church has fought against requiring all health plans to include coverage of <a href="http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/specialtopic/birth-control-and-family-planning/overview.html?inline=nyt-classifier" title="In-depth reference and news articles about Birth control and family planning." class="meta-classifier">contraception</a> and is likely to call the new lawsuit an attack on its core religious principles. </p><p itemprop="articleBody"> Catholic hospitals account for about one in six of the country’s hospital beds and in many regions their influence is spreading as they forge alliances with non-Catholic medical groups. </p><p itemprop="articleBody"> “This isn’t about religious freedom, it’s about medical care,” said Louise Melling, deputy legal director of the civil liberties union, in a telephone news conference on Monday. </p><p itemprop="articleBody"> Both the Muskegon hospital and the bishops conference declined to comment. </p><p itemprop="articleBody"> Tamesha Means, the plaintiff in the lawsuit, said that when she was 18 weeks pregnant her water broke and she rushed to Mercy Health, the only hospital in her county. </p><p itemprop="articleBody"> Her fetus had virtually no chance of surviving, according to medical experts who reviewed the case, and in these circumstances doctors usually induce labor or surgically remove the fetus to reduce the mother’s chances of infection. </p><p itemprop="articleBody"> But the doctors at Mercy Health, Ms. Means said in the lawsuit, did not tell her that the fetus could not survive or that continuing her pregnancy was risky and did not admit her for observation, instead sending her home. </p><p itemprop="articleBody"> She returned the next morning, bleeding and in pain, and was sent home again. That night she returned a third time, feverish and writhing with pain; she miscarried at the hospital and the fetus died soon after. </p><p itemprop="articleBody"> At the news conference Monday, <a title="Staff page" href="http://www.obgyn.wisc.edu/directory/detail.aspx?id=25">Dr. Douglas W. Laube</a>, an obstetrician at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, described the care Ms. Means received as “basic neglect.” </p><p itemprop="articleBody"> He added, “It could have turned into a disaster, with both baby and mother dying.” </p><p itemprop="articleBody"> A.C.L.U. officials said they had filed suit against the bishops rather than one hospital because there had been several examples in recent years in which Catholic hospital policies on abortion had interfered with needed medical care. </p><p itemprop="articleBody"> John M. Haas, president of the <a title="Website" href="http://ncbcenter.org/">National Catholic Bioethics Center</a> in Philadelphia and an adviser to the bishops, said he could not speak about the current suit because he was unfamiliar with it. But he said that the bishops’ directives to hospitals were more nuanced than many critics allege, allowing for actions to treat a woman for a serious threat even if that treatment might result in the loss of the fetus. </p><p itemprop="articleBody"> He said that some doctors or hospital officials might have mistaken interpretations of the bishops’ rules and added that doctors were required to tell patients of the potential risks and alternatives they face, though they may not provide direct abortion referrals. </p><p itemprop="articleBody"> In a widely reported case, the diocese of Phoenix <a title="Times article" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/22/us/22brfs-HOSPITALLOSE_BRF.html">stripped a hospital of its Catholic affiliation</a> in 2010 when doctors said they performed an abortion to save the life of a woman, and refused to say they would not do it again. </p> <noscript> <img src="http://meter-svc.nytimes.com/meter.gif"/></noscript> <nyt_correction_bottom><div class="articleCorrection"> </div> </nyt_correction_bottom><nyt_update_bottom/></div> </div>  <div class="columnGroup "> <div class="articleFooter"> <div class="articleMeta"> <div class="opposingFloatControl wrap"> </div> </div> </div> </div>  <div class="columnGroup "> <meta name="emailThisHash" content="pfaIKIfJdWygsprxu0XMTg"/></div>  <div class="columnGroup "> </div>  <div class="columnGroup "> </div>  <div class="columnGroup "> <div class="singleRuleDivider"/> </div>  <div class="columnGroup last">  <div class="columnGroup" id="adxSponLink"/>   </div> <p><em>This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers.</em></p> Mon, 02 Dec 2013 23:28:06 +0000 ERIK ECKHOLM en text/html http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/03/us/lawsuit-challenges-anti-abortion-policies-at-catholic-hospitals.html?_r=0 http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNHE8FvmtJ7Ve5iphOlfEhHBvf1OMw&url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/12/02/us-usa-abortion-michigan-idUSBRE9B10V520131202 http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNHE8FvmtJ7Ve5iphOlfEhHBvf1OMw&url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/12/02/us-usa-abortion-michigan-idUSBRE9B10V520131202 <div class="relatedPhoto landscape" id="articleImage"> <img src="http://s1.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20131202&t=2&i=816866486&w=460&fh=&fw=&ll=&pl=&r=CBRE9B11MLV00" border="0" alt="Rick Snyder, the Republican governor of Michigan, speaks during an interview in New York, November 8, 2013. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton" /><div class="rolloverCaption" id="captionContent"> <div class="rolloverBg"> <div class="captionText"> <p>Rick Snyder, the Republican governor of Michigan, speaks during an interview in New York, November 8, 2013. </p> <p class="credit">Credit: Reuters/Shannon Stapleton</p> </div> </div> </div></div><span id="articleText"> <span id="midArticle_start"></span> <span id="midArticle_0"></span><span class="focusParagraph"><p><span class="articleLocatio</span>n">(Reuters) - The Michigan legislature will consider a proposal this week that, if enacted, would make it the ninth state to prohibit insurance companies from offering abortion services unless women pay an extra fee in addition to the usual premium.</span></p> </span><span id="midArticle_1"></span><p>The proposal will go before the majority-Republican legislature as a petition organized by Right to Life of Michigan, an anti-abortion group, that was approved on Monday by the Michigan Board of Canvassers.</p><span id="midArticle_2"></span><p>Under Michigan's constitution, the legislature could approve the proposed "Abortion Insurance Opt-Out Act" by a simple majority vote that does not require the signature of Republican Governor Rick Snyder.</p><span id="midArticle_3"></span><p>Snyder, who identifies himself as pro-life, vetoed a similar measure lawmakers approved less than a year ago. He said in a letter to constituents that the bill went too far because it treated situations involving rape and incest as elective abortions, and because it interfered with the private insurance market.</p><span id="midArticle_4"></span><p>"Michigan citizens do not want to pay for someone else's abortion with their tax dollars or health insurance premiums," Right to Life of Michigan President Barbara Listing said in a statement. "Abortion is not health care; abortion kills a living, developing human being."</p><span id="midArticle_5"></span><p>The Michigan petition is one of a series of state initiatives in recent years that attempt to limit abortions, including banning the procedure after 20 weeks and enacting new restrictions on abortion providers.</p><span id="midArticle_6"></span><p>Eight states now have similar abortion insurance laws, according to Elizabeth Nash, state issues manager for the Guttmacher Institute, a pro-abortion rights research group.</p><span id="midArticle_7"></span><p>Nash said the Michigan proposal would force women to decide to purchase the additional coverage without knowing whether they would ever need an abortion, and would not allow a woman to buy coverage after getting pregnant by any means, even rape.</p><span id="midArticle_8"></span><p>"Seeking an abortion isn't something that anyone plans for," Nash said.</p><span id="midArticle_9"></span><p>Michigan House Democrats slammed the petition in a statement, saying it would hurt victims of rape and incest.</p><span id="midArticle_10"></span><p>"Right to Life wants to further traumatize these women by denying health care coverage to terminate a pregnancy forced upon them in the most heinous of circumstances," said Rep. Pam Faris, a Democrat.</p><span id="midArticle_11"></span><p>The Michigan legislature will receive the petition on Tuesday after returning from a two-week break. If the legislature rejects it, or does nothing with the proposal in 40 days, it will be put to a statewide vote on the November 2014 ballot.</p><span id="midArticle_12"></span><p>The petitioners submitted about 316,000 signatures - only 258,088 were required for it to be approved for consideration, according to the state elections board. The signatures submitted represent about 3 percent of Michigan's population of 9.9 million.</p><span id="midArticle_13"></span><p>(Reporting by Mary Wisniewski; Editing by <a href="http://blogs.reuters.com/search/journalist.php?edition=us&n=david.gregorio&">David Gregorio</a>)</p><span id="midArticle_14"></span></span><p><em>This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers.</em></p> Mon, 02 Dec 2013 21:08:23 +0000 Mary Wisniewski en text/html http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/12/02/us-usa-abortion-michigan-idUSBRE9B10V520131202

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