Rep. Mary Nolan weighs in on HB2605

Last week, there was a vibrant discussion on HB2605 - the latest edition of GOP legislation to restrict a woman's right to choose; this time, it's about parental notification. Deep in the comments, State Representative Mary Nolan weighed in. An excerpt:

While loudly proclaiming that they just wanted to make sure that naive young girls don't have to make complicated medical decision alone, the advocates of the extreme measure admitted that they didn't care about restricting access to any medical service except abortion. How about for a cesarean delivery (about 100 times riskier than an abortion)? Nope. How about prescription of psychotropic medication? Nope.

Would you consult with a lawyer if you needed a heart transplant? Would you want to sit down and discuss your decision to donate a kidney with a judge? Would you want somebody with ZERO medical training to weigh in on your medical procedures and then instruct your doctor on whether to proceed?

That is what our teenage Oregon women -- your sister or cousin or niece or neighbor or girlfriend -- would have to do if HB 2605 were to become law. Republicans in the House chamber want to require a 15-year-old who gets pregnant by her mother"s live-in boyfriend to demonstrate the legal savvy to appear before an administrative law judge - and even the Oregon Court of Appeals - to plead for permission to get an abortion.

Read her full comment and discuss there.

May 09, 2005 Posted in open discussion.