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WSW EDITORIAL

In a 6-1 decision, the Massachusetts Supreme Court recently overturned a state law which restricted "medically necessary" Medicaid-financed abortions to only those women who faced life-threatening complications (Plain Dealer, Feb. 19, 1981). The majority reasoned that since the state pays for child-bearing and health costs, it must pay for all "medically

News

National

EEOC Threatened........

By Linda Jane

necessary" abortions. Predictably, anti-abortion response was swift. Governor Edward T. King, who was elected on an anti-abortion platform, pledged to "proceed to amend our constitution so that the abortion issue is properly handled.'

King's battle cry is being echoed across the nation. Anti-abortion public officials and legislators at the

CONTENTS

Letters.....

Groups............

9-10

..8

..........4

Commentary on Women's Pentagon Action...................6

Local

Clio's Musings.........

Cleveland Conference of Radical Women............3 Notes from January 22....

..3

Find It Fastest..

...back cover

Reviews

Getting Out.......

Classified Ads.........

.15

Women, Church and State and Lucretia Moll...

On Wimmin's Art at CSU....

..7

What's Happening..........

.13-15

Cover Graphic by Carol Goodwin

What She Wants

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Group

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local, state and federal levels are pursuing their efforts with renewed vigor, bolstered by the sympathetic Reagan administration. To date, 41 state legislatures have passed statutes which restrict Medicaid funding for abortion, and 2 states, Massachusetts and Louisiana, have enacted statutes that restrict abortion for minors.

In Ohio, three anti-choice bills, sponsored by Democratic Representatives Ken Rocco and Ron Suster, are now in committee. If passed, these bills, which target the women who seek abortions and the physicians and clinics who provide them, will subvert women's right to obtain safe and legal abortions in a morass of red tape and punitive restrictions.

H.B. 92, "The Anti-Abortion Bill," is another version of the familiar parental consent/informed consent restriction. Its first major provision requires that a girl under 16 must obtain written parental consent or a judicial ruling to obtain an abortion. If a girl does not want to involve her parents, she may file a petition in Juvenile Court. She must prove that she is mature and knowledgeable and can decide for herself, or the court must decide that the abortion is in her best interest. In a typical catch-22, however, the court may consult the girl's parents to determine whether the abortion is in her best interest. The second major provision specifies that, not less than 48 hours nor more than 30 days before a woman consents to an abortion, her attending physician must inform her of 1) the probable number of weeks of gestation in her pregnancy, 2) a general description of the development of her "unborn child," 3) the surgical risks of abortion (although the physician is not required to inform her of the risks of carrying the pregnancy to term), and 4) the alternatives to abortion.

The second bill, H.B. 93, involves replacing the terms "fetus" and "embryo" in the Ohio Revised Code with "unborn child". This, in effect, defines the start of human life as the moment of conception. The law also provides that if the fetus is "viable" (defined as reasonably likely to survive outside the womb, with or without artificial support), an abortion can be performed only to preserve the life or physical and mental health of the woman. A second physician must be present during the abortion if the attending physician believes the fetus to be viable, and the physician must use medical procedures to preserve the life of the fetus. The bill also establishes criminal penalties for physicians who violate the above provisions.

Finally, H.B. 94, the "Abortion Records Disclosure Bill," requires that abortions performed after the first trimester be performed in a hospital, and places registration and reporting requirements on abortion facilities. Abortion facilities would have to obtain a certificate of registration from the Director of Health which is revokable if either 1) the local Board of Health determines that "the abortion facility is dangerous to the public health," or 2) the abortion facility has been determined to be a nuisance. Further, clinics would be inspected every 6 months and would be required to keep records for 7 years on each abortion performed, any complications arising from abortions, and pathologists' reports. Lastly, the Department of Health would determine who, besides physicians and RN's, would be qualified to do abortion counseling.

These state efforts, however, are not as threatening as the efforts of the anti-abortion forces to pass a "Human Life" Amendment to the Constitution.. A constitutional amendment would reverse the 1973 (continued on page 2)

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February-March, 1981/What She Wants/Page 1