The Legislative Press and Public Information Bureau
Distributed January 18, 2002
For more information,
contact: Meredyth R. Waterman, Publicist
State House Room 20
(401) 222-2457
Email: mwaterman@rilin.state.ri.us
Rep. Palumbo submits legislation to encourage informed decisions about abortion
STATE HOUSE -- Rep. Peter G. Palumbo (D-Dist. 25) has submitted legislation that would require physicians to inform women about abortion and alternatives to it and would institute a 24-hour waiting period before abortions could be performed in Rhode Island.
The Women’s Right to Know Act (2002-H 6726) is intended to make sure women are given all the facts they need and are given adequate time to consider them before having an abortion. It does not outlaw abortion in any way, but simply makes sure women fully understand the process and the alternatives before they make the critical and difficult decision about whether to have one.
"The Women’s Right to Know Act basically sets up a 24-hour waiting period to give women time to consider their list of options," said Representative Palumbo, a deputy majority leader whose district includes portions of Cranston and Warwick. "We have a law that makes someone wait 24 hours to purchase a gun. People can also wait 24 hours to have an abortion. It’s just some time to think about whether this is what they really want to do."
Under the act, physicians who perform abortions would be required to give women information about the procedure, the fetus’s level of development at the time of the development and the medical risks involved both with having the child and having the abortion.
The doctor would also have to give her Department of Health pamphlets about local agencies that offer alternatives to abortion and about available public and private assistance for prenatal care, childbirth, and services available to help with children and families. Unless the woman has been raped, doctors would also be required to inform women that the father of their unborn child is legally liable to help support the child if he or she is born. The printed information must be published in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Cambodian and French.
All the required information would have to be given to the woman at least 24 hours before she has the abortion, and the woman would not be required to pay for the procedure until the 24-hour waiting period has expired.
The legislation also prohibits anyone from coercing a woman to have an abortion, including parents or guardians of a minor. In cases where a parent or guardian cuts off support of a girl who refuses to have an abortion, she would be declared legally emancipated for the purposes of receiving public support.
Any violation of the act would be considered a felony and could also be used as grounds in a civil malpractice suit or wrongful death suit, regardless of whether the unborn child could have lived outside the womb at the time of the abortion or was born alive.
The bill contains provisions exempting cases of medical emergency and cases where furnishing the required information would have a severe adverse affect on the physical or mental health of the woman.
"This legislation ensures that women have all the information they need to make their decision. The decision about whether to have an abortion is not an easy one and should be made very carefully. Making an uninformed decision can have a devastating impact that a woman can regret for the rest of her life," said Representative Palumbo.
Representative Palumbo introduced the Women’s Right to Know Act in the House Jan. 9. It was referred to the House Judiciary Committee, of which Palumbo is a member. No hearing has yet been scheduled.
Representative Palumbo last week also submitted the Parental Right to Know Act, which would allow parents and guardians, by written request, to access to any and all records kept about their child if that child is younger than 18. Those records would include those kept by physicians and medical institutions as well as those created by public or private schools, a municipality or the state. The Parental Right to Know Act was introduced Jan. 10 and has been forwarded to the Judiciary Committee.
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