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1. topekamom says:

   March 29, 2013 at 2:06 pm

   Here’s a suggestion, Chris: READ THE BILL instead of simply repeating pro-abortion talking points. FYI: Kansas law has had no exceptions for rape and incest for years. Nothing in the bill requires a doctor to “say” anything to a pregnant woman seeking an abortion- current law requires that she sign a form stating that she had access to the printed/online informed consent materials published by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. Finally, both the KDHE’s WRTK materials and Planned Parenthood’s fact sheets acknowledge that having a full-term delivery early in your child-bearing years gives a woman a protective benefit against breast cancer. Since an abortion prevents a full-term delivery, a woman does not get that protective benefit. Check out what the KDHE already believes is important for pregnant women to know on its Women’s Right to Know website at: http://www.womensrighttoknow.org.

   Reply
   • Talk About Topeka says:

     March 29, 2013 at 2:50 pm

     Thanks for your input!

     Kansas law does continue to deny abortions for rape and incest, but Rep Wilson’s amendment to change this in HB 2253 was rejected by the house; Our segment could have clarified that point.

     We commend Rep Bollier for trying to remove the cancer language which we still feel is dishonest. Think of it this way: male masturbation can reduce the risk of prostate cancer, but that doesn’t mean that abstaining from masturbation poses a cancer risk by itself.

     Reply
   • topekamom says:

     March 29, 2013 at 6:49 pm

     Chris,
     My apologies, I mis-typed the address for the KDHE’s Woman’s Right to Know website. It is actually http://www.womansrighttoknow.org.
     I encourage you to check it out, for there you will see that the exact wording in the KDHE’s Woman’s Right to Know booklet, under the headline “Long Term Medical Risks”, is as follows:

     Future Childbearing:
     Some complications associated with an abortion, such as infection or a cut or torn
     cervix, may make it difficult or impossible to become pregnant in the future or
     carry a pregnancy to term. The 2007 Institute of Medicine report Preterm Birth:
     Causes, Consequences, and Prevention lists a prior first trimester induced abortion
     as an immutable medical risk factor associated with preterm birth. A 2009 analysis
     of international studies concluded prior induced abortions are associated with a
     significantly increased risk of low birth weight and preterm births, and that the risk
     increased as the number of previous induced abortions increased. Preterm babies,
     who have higher risk of death, also have the highest risk for lasting disabilities,
     such as cerebral palsy, mental retardation, and visual and hearing impairment.

     Breast Cancer: Your chances of getting breast cancer are affected by your
     pregnancy history. If you have carried a pregnancy to term as a young woman, you
     may be less likely to get breast cancer in the future. However, your risk is not
     reduced if your pregnancy is ended by an abortion. There are also studies that have
     found an increased risk of breast cancer after induced abortion, but other studies
     have found no risk. A 2003 National Cancer Institute panel reviewing studies at
     that time concluded there was no increased risk; however, study and review of the
     relationship continue. NCI recognizes research that shows pregnancy and
     breastfeeding both reduce a woman’s lifetime cumulative exposure to hormones
     that otherwise might increase her risk of breast cancer. Pregnancy and
     breastfeeding also cause breast cells to mature in order to produce milk, and some
     researchers hypothesize those cells are more resistant to cancer. Women who have
     a family history of breast cancer or who have clinical findings of breast disease
     should seek medical advice from their physician.

     The bill simply puts into statute that the KDHE-developed informed consent materials (for women who are already pregnant), will always include the long term medical risks of future childbearing and breast cancer. It does not dictate to the KDHE what those risks are or are not. Since the WRTK law was passed in 1997, it has always been left up to the KDHE to determine what information it believes is relevant for a pregnant woman to know. The bill does nothing to change that. If you feel that the wording of the breast cancer risk paragraph is dishonest, perhaps you should take your concerns to the KDHE.

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     • WomanHuman says:

       March 30, 2013 at 8:54 pm

       There is really only one point to this bill, and all the others like it that continue to place further restrictions on abortion – the eventual total ban on all abortions, period. Calling it anything else is disingenuous. Pretending that the restrictions are out of concern for the health and well-being of women is dishonest. The deeply personal nature of this decision should never allow politicians to stand in the room with the woman and her health provider. When I look at the disregard women are held in when it comes to nearly any aspect of society you care to name, (health, education, employment, domestic abuse, advancement opportunities, etc, etc) the enormity of the antipathy is heartbreaking. And this attitude has reached a particularly refined state here in Kansas. I look at the sum of Kansas laws pertaining to women, and see far too many examples of hostility and contempt, coupled with blatant religious ideology.