Fine candidates for the committee to write the Louisiana House's desired pamphlet scaring women away from abortion.
The Louisiana House has passed a bill that would use false information to try to scare women away from abortion.
HB 1262 would require that, at the beginning of the state's 24-hour waiting period, women be given a pamphlet about mental health risks that abortion opponents claim are associated with abortion. Or, as the bill puts it, women have "a right to know that undergoing an abortion may have serious psychological impacts, including severe emotional distress and mental and behavioral health afflictions." The
small problem with this is that:
... in reality, the research in the field has found that women who have abortions aren’t at any greater risk of mental health issues. Although many women certainly do have mixed feelings after ending a pregnancy, they overwhelmingly say that it was the right decision for them. Ninety percent of women report that their primary emotion after having an abortion is relief — and when they do experience negative emotions, they’re often related to the societal stigma surrounding abortion, not because they regret their personal choice.
But that information won't be making it into the Louisiana pamphlet, which will be put together by a committee including "Two Louisiana residents who provide pre-abortion or post-abortion counseling in association with a nonprofit organization that does not counsel for or provide abortion," which is to say an anti-abortion group; "Two attorneys licensed in Louisiana who specialize in advocacy for women and minor females who are at risk of being coerced into or psychologically harmed by abortion"; members of the state legislature who doubtless will be chosen on the basis of their enthusiasm for this offensive bill; and others who emphatically are in no way involved with any abortion provider. It's completely rigged to produce "information" that is actually disinformation.
I'm just waiting for Louisiana to require that all women who become pregnant be informed that nine to 16 percent of postpartum women will face postpartum depression, which can "affect ability to function in everyday life and increase risk for anxiety, cognitive impairment, guilt, self blame, and fear" and "lead to a loss of pleasure or interest in life, sleep disturbance, feelings of irritability or anxiety, withdrawal from family and friends, crying, and thoughts of hurting oneself or one’s child." And that's according to the American Psychological Association, not a committee of people chosen to campaign against pregnancy.