Health board signs off on proposed abortion rules
The Associated Press
December 19. 2002 4:57PM
The state Board of Health has approved proposed rules requiring women to wait 24 hours before getting an abortion and a doctor to grant permission before a patient can leave the clinic.
The rules, approved Wednesday, must still go through a public hearing period and be approved by a separate licensing advisory committee, a process expected to last at least until March.
The rules are being implemented in the wake of a new abortion law that went into effect in Alabama in October.
"The regulations will improve the quality of care women receive when they have abortions without unduly impacting their ability to get an abortion," said State Health Officer Dr. Donald Williamson.
But John Giles, director of the Christian Coalition of Alabama, said at the meeting that language in the rules allows physicians contracting with clinics to come into the state and perform abortions and then leave.
"If a woman has a problem, she has to fend for herself," he said.
The new law, dubbed the "Women's Right To Know Act" by advocates, requires physicians to talk with women about the risks of abortion and alternatives at least 24 hours before performing the procedure. It also requires that the patient be made aware of the father's obligations.
Critics have said the law is an impediment to a woman's constitutional right to an abortion.
One of the new rules requires a doctor to remain at the abortion center until patients are stable and a doctor has signed a discharge order. Another requires a doctor associated with an abortion center to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital.
Meanwhile, a lawsuit by abortion providers in U.S. district court has delayed the required distribution of state brochures and videos about abortion and alternatives.
For the time being, abortion doctors must provide patients their own information about abortion 24 hours before a procedure, according to U.S. District Judge Harold Albritton's ruling.
The materials, required under the new law, were challenged by plaintiffs who said the materials included false or misleading information about abortions.
The new law requires a doctor or other qualified clinic worker to meet with a woman and tell her about agencies that offer assistance, such as adoption agencies, as well as about embryonic and fetal development, risks of abortion and childbirth, a father's obligations and alternatives to abortion. If the woman still wants an abortion, she can return no sooner than 24 hours to have the procedure.
Information from: Montgomery Advertiser
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