Abortion information may be put online
Associated PressPIERRE, S.D. - Information that doctors are required to provide women who are considering abortions should also be put online, the House Health Committee decided Saturday.
For a decade, the Health Department has published a pamphlet that contains the information, said Rep. Phyllis Heineman, R-Sioux Falls. She said SB172 would require the department to also place information on its Web site about abortion, fetal development and adoption.
The bill, ushered unanimously to the House floor, sets a Jan. 1, 2004, deadline to get that accomplished.
Most young women considering abortions are Internet savvy, and it just makes sense to provide them with online information, Heineman said.
"They need to have all of the facts when they make this decision," she said, adding that abortion should be as rare as possible.
"It's a decision they live with forever, and they need to know everything," Heineman said. "For young people, the Internet becomes almost the only place they go for information and research," she said.
Rep. Bill Thompson, D-Sioux Falls, said he hoped that the Web site also would offer women information about possible complications of childbirth. It also should have facts on the cost of raising children, the importance of prenatal care, and postpartum depression, he said.
"All information needs to be there," Thompson said. "I don't fear information whatsoever. My fear is that people will not have enough information."
Heineman said the Health Department provides much, if not all, of that information now on its Web site.
State law currently requires doctors to inform women seeking abortions about the availability of the Health Department brochure. SB172 would require doctors to also inform patients about the Web site.
Online topics would cover fetal development, how abortions are done, abortion risks, counseling, parental notification, available medical benefits and services, and how to contact adoption agencies.
