The “it” in question is of course abortion, with the state of Texas lying to women about its effects and risks.
Death and infertility were just two of the risks a doctor described to Kryston Skinner when she chose to have an abortion last year.
The 23-year-old knew it wasn’t the right time for her to become a mother, though Skinner dreamed of children in the future. The thought of not living to see that day, or becoming infertile, terrified her.
But some of the information she was given was misleading or medically wrong, contained in a long, controversial booklet that state lawmakers require doctors to give women at least 24 hours before an abortion procedure.
Medical experts have long denounced the booklet, saying important sections — such as those connecting abortions to the likelihood of breast cancer and infertility — are wrong.
Now, the Department of State Health Services is planning an update of the booklet, called A Woman’s Right to Know. The new draft doubles down on information highly contested by medical experts and the pro-abortion rights community, stoking the flames of a debate going back more than a decade.
The booklet was mandated by a 2003 anti-abortion law intended to guarantee informed consent from women seeking abortions. It contains information on the developmental stages of a fetus, risks of abortion and other options for pregnant women.
The state is supposed to consult with medical organizations to provide “objective,” “nonjudgmental” and “accurate scientific information” in the booklet. DSHS spokeswoman Carrie Williams said the original booklet was written by a group of agency officials, legislators and public health and medical professionals.
The recent revisions were made “after reviewing medical research and information from experts in the field.” The process included consulting the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, she said.
But the group said the state has not incorporated any of its recommendations, which included removing scientifically unsupported language that suggests getting an abortion increases the risk of breast cancer, and that women who have abortions are more likely to become depressed or suicidal.
Here’s the draft of the new booklet, the current booklet, and a letter from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists telling the state that the draft booklet full is of BS. It’s another egregious example of doctors and scientists saying one thing, and a bunch of anti-abortion activists claiming they’re wrong because they want them to be wrong. Remember how much whining there was about Obamacare interfering with the doctor-patient relationship? This is what actual interference with that relationship looks like, since no doctor who isn’t a quack would ever choose to give this booklet to patients. Perhaps this would make a good legal test of the new standard for abortion restrictions. The Austin Chronicle has more.