Last week, a federal appeals court reinstated part of a 1995 law requiring women seeking abortions to have in-person counseling with a medical professional at least 18 hours before the procedure. A permanent injunction handed down by U.S. District Court Judge David Hamilton in March 2001 forbid the state of Indiana from enforcing in-person counseling, allowing many clinics to provide information over the phone and through mailed information packets. \n We applaud the appeals court decision to ensure that Indiana women are properly informed about the abortions they are seeking. The law's intent is certainly not to decide for a woman whether or not she should continue with the abortion she is seeking, but to ensure that she is fully aware of the risks and effects of the procedure and what alternatives are available.\nThis law is a victory for women's health and safety, and shouldn't be viewed as a partisan fight for either the pro-choice or pro-life movements. With the exception of the RU-486 pill, abortion is a surgical procedure. Before any other surgical procedure, routine or emergency, the patients have a consultation with their doctors so they are fully aware of the risks and effects of the procedure and all available alternatives to the surgery. \nThere are many misconceptions about every medical issue, including abortions. To believe that every woman is fully informed about what she is doing before she undertakes the procedure would be a sad mistake. Abortion clinics, like any doctor, must take responsibility for the education of their patients. It is not the job of the doctor to make any woman's decision for her, but it is every doctor's job to ensure women have every piece of information available so they can make a fully informed decision for themselves. \nSome opponents to this law have argued that some women simply cannot make two trips to an abortion clinic, making the abortion alternative unavailable to them. Abortion is legal, and as such, it should be available to everyone. The appeals court ruled that 87 to 90 percent of women will not be affected by this law. For the other 10 to 13 percent, the language of the law allows some flexibility. No where in this law does it actually require two trips to an abortion clinic. It does however, require medical consultation 18 hours before the procedure. We encourage clinics to reach out to those women, who for whatever reason cannot make it twice, and seek alternative means of getting them counseling. \nEvery woman deserves informed, safe and reliable health care. This law is an important step in protecting Indiana's women.
-- Erin Nave for the Editorial Board
