Shaira law, Texas style
Quote:
The Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday upheld a Texas law that requires women seeking an abortion to have a sonogram exam and to listen to a physician's detailed description of the fetus, including whether it has developed limbs or internal organs.


According to the New England Journal of Medicine sonogram prior to abortion is not a medically necessary procedure. Describing the fetus offers no benefit to the patient and has no effect on the outcome. The only purpose of this "procedure" is to be distressing, costly and inconvenient.

The problem is that the legislature required extra steps from the patient with sole intent to discourage the procedure. While they can't outright ban it due to Roe vs Wade, they can make it more complicated, distressing and potentially expensive in hopes of turning more patients away.

This is prime example of evangelical influence is this is why separation of state and church must be enforced at all times.

Physicians and the First Amendment
Quote:
In the November elections, the citizens of three states resoundingly defeated initiatives aimed at curtailing reproductive rights.

The South Dakota law should alarm physicians and the public. If states are permitted to mandate ideological speech about abortion, what is to stop them from doing the same for end-of-life decisions, contraception, stem-cell therapies, vaccination, or any procedure or treatment that does not conform to the political ideology of the statehouse? The doctor–patient relationship is predicated on a foundation of trust. Doctors have an ethical responsibility to provide their patients with accurate medical information. But can a patient trust any interaction with his or her physician knowing that the physician's very words have been mandated by the state?




So much for the small government, so much for respecting the rights of individuals.

Last edited by sinij; 01/11/12 10:17 PM.
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