Photos The Planned Parenthood clinic in St. Paul Rev. K. George Kearney Scott Fischbach View full slideshow (5 images) Resources Minnesota Department of Health Women's Right to Know Web site Your Voice Join the conversation with other MPR listeners in the News Forum.

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Right to Know law changing few minds on abortion, providers say
by Laura McCallum, Minnesota Public Radio
November 30, 2003

Tom Wernersbach of Eagan comes to the Planned Parenthood clinic in St. Paul five days a week to try to persuade women not to have abortions. (MPR Photo/Laura McCallum)

The Minnesota Health Department has been posting information about abortion on its website for two months now. The information was required by the so-called Women's Right to Know law passed by the 2003 Legislature. Some doctors and abortion providers say the materials are unnecessary, and in some cases offensive. Supporters say the law will ensure that women have consistent information on pregnancy and abortion.

St. Paul, Minn. — The law requires women to receive information about the risks and alternatives to abortion at least 24 hours before having the procedure. Seven clinics in Minnesota provide abortions; six in the Twin Cities and one in Duluth.

	Rev. K. George Kearney

At the Planned Parenthood clinic in St. Paul, where about 3,000 abortions are performed each year, a clinic staffer outlines the process to a patient over the phone. She tells the patient that the doctor will call her two days before the scheduled abortion because of the new law, and if she misses the phone call, her appointment will be cancelled.

When the doctor calls the woman, the doctor will tell her that the state Health Department has compiled information about abortion on its Web site, and she can either view the information on the Internet or receive it by mail. The doctor will say that the materials cover such things as fetal development, abortion procedures, the medical risks of abortion and childbirth, and services for pregnant women, including adoption agencies.

The manager of the Planned Parenthood Clinic, Rev. K. George Kearney, said since the law went into effect, no one has requested written materials. She said women seeking abortions have already done research on the procedure, and many resent the requirements of the new law.

	Scott Fischbach

"People express that they feel insulted by the law, they feel offended, women express over and over again, 'I am a mature, capable woman. I have thought long and hard about my decision to have an abortion, I feel it is best for me. I have consulted the people who matter in my life, meaning my partner, my family, my pastor, my own doctor,'" Kearney said.

Kearney said the new information doesn't appear to have changed the minds of women who've come to the Planned Parenthood clinic in the last couple of months.

The head of the state's largest anti-abortion group says it's too early to gauge whether the law will affect the number of abortions performed in the state.

Scott Fischbach, of Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life, said starting in January, doctors will be required to report whether women received the information. Women have the right to refuse to view the materials, but Fischbach said he hopes they will read them.

	Dr. Jan Strathy

"I think when women are informed, and they know all the facts, they know all the help that's available to them to help them through this crisis situation, that they will choose life," Fischbach said. "In other states where this type of legislation has been enacted, more women are choosing life."

Eighteen other states have similar laws. Fischbach said Minnesota's law is the most comprehensive in the country. Minnesota is the only state to require that the information include a reference to fetal pain. The law also requires women to be told about the possible risk of breast cancer, although the National Cancer Institute has concluded that no evidence exists linking abortion with the risk of breast cancer.

Dr. Jan Strathy, the legislative director for the Minnesota chapter of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, objects to the one-size-fits-all approach of the law. She said she and other OB/GYN's she's talked to believe some of the information is inappropriate in certain circumstances.

"Since this law went into effect, there is a physician in outstate Minnesota who told me about a patient she saw whose baby has anencephaly, that baby has no brain," Strathy said. "And yet she was required by Minnesota law to bring up ... adoption, the father's responsible for the baby, and even that there's the possibility of fetal pain. However, when there is no fetal brain, it is unlikely that that fetus will feel pain."

Strathy said it may also be inappropriate to tell a rape victim that the father has a responsibility to help support the child.

	State Health Commissioner Dianne Mandernach

State Health Commissioner Dianne Mandernach said the law is very specific about the information that needs to be included in the materials her agency developed. But she said physicians can simply refer patients to the online materials if they don't want to discuss every aspect of the information.

"The basic premise is that this information be provided in such a way that the woman who is pregnant understands the development that's going on within her body, and the development of the unborn child," Mandernach said.

Mandernach is a former Catholic nun who is opposed to legalized abortion. But she said she believes she was able to implement the law in an objective way. She said the law is designed to make sure that pregnant women considering an abortion have consistent information, and she said her agency has complied with the law.

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