Project 3

Issues/sources:
Federal Abortion Ban/Planned Parenthood - http://www.plannedparenthood.org/issues-action/abortion/case-14347.htm

Parental Consent Law/Texas Alliance for Life - http://www.texasallianceforlife.org/legislation_main.htm

Unequal Access to Abortion/National Abortion Federation - http://www.prochoice.org/about_abortion/access/index.html


Annotated Bibs:

"Unequal Access to Abortion." National Abortion Federation (2003) 01 MAY 2008 .

Summary: This article directly pertains to my research paper because it deals with access to abortion. It discusses how many women, even in the U.S., do not have access to abortions. Some of these women are held back because of location, but many are held back because of lack of information. In Canada, the main problem preventing women from getting abortions is the lack of providers. The National Abortion Federation is in the process of increasing availability to abortions across the U.S. and Canada through their Access Initiative Program. The National Abortion Federation is also working hard to prevent hospitals, such as the hospital at New Brusnwick, from terminating their abortion services by writing letters of protest.

Quotes:
1. "The most recent survey found that 87% of all U.S. counties have no identifiable abortion provider."
2. "State laws...make getting an abortion more complicated than is medically necessary, and fewer hospitals [are] providing abortion services."
3. "Women from diverse backgrounds face unique cultural and information barriers to obtaining information about pregnancy options and safe, high quality abortion care."


Pojman, Joe. "Statewide Pro-Life Organization to Push Adoption of Parental Consent for Abortion Bill." Texas Alliance for Life 16 DEC 2004 01 MAY 2008 .

Summary: This article is mainly about the laws in Texas that notify parents that their child is getting an abortion. Although these laws already exist, many conservatives in the state believe they are not enough. Currently, a parent is notified by phone and email, but the conservatives argue that this is not efficient enough. They are proposing a law that would require parents to submit a written affidavit of parental consent. This would require extensive time and also it would require the parents to visit a lawyer to obtain the document. Needless to say, I think this is absurd. My father is a lawyer so I understand the time that would go into obtaining an affidavit because I work for him during the summer.

Quotes:
1. "In Texas, parents have no right to intervene when a physician seeks to perform an abortion on their young daughter."
2. "Abortion is major surgery and parents are left in the dark. We want to restore parents’ rights to protect the health and well-being of their little girls."
3. "Texas law currently requires abortion providers to attempt to notifiy parents that their minor daughter seeks to have an abortion. However, the notification law is inadequate. Parental notifications by phone or mail may never reach a parent or guardian because messages can be left at the wrong phone number or wrong address."


"U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Federal Abortion Ban." Planned Parenthood 01 MAY 2008 .

Summary: This article is about the Federal Abortion Ban passed in 2003. It makes it a crime to obtain an abortion into and after the second trimester of pregnancy. Doctors say this is the healthiest time to get an abortion, not to mention it enables women to make educated, informed decisions on something that will greatly impact their life. Planned Parenthood is greatly opposed to this law, which attempts to take away from a woman's right to choose. The article is very against President Bush as he is a great pro-life supporter. It states that we have taken a step back since the time of roe v. wade, and that Planned Parenthood plans to do something about it.

Quotes:
1. "The ban criminalizes abortions in the second trimester of pregnancy that doctors say are often the safest and best to protect women's health."
2. "If President Bush were given a free hand to nominate ideological hardliners to the court, the U.S. Supreme Court would undermine protections for women's health and safety."
3. "The Supreme Court ruled that politicians now will be making medical decisions instead of women and doctors."