Thursday, June 2, 2011

Physician sees profit motive behind Planned Parenthood's S. Dakota lawsuit

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Planned Parenthood is suing the state of South Dakota, saying its new abortion law threatens women's privacy and free speech. The co-founder of a South Dakota crisis pregnancy center says the real threat is to abortion provider's business model, which relies on women being coerced into abortion.

“A woman who's being asked to destroy her unborn child with a 72-hour waiting period – a time to learn all about what this procedure is, to think about it, and to get as much information as possible – is a major threat to Planned Parenthood, because it's going to affect their bottom line,” said Dr. Allen Unruh, a physician who founded the Alpha Center with his wife Leslee in 1984.

Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit on May 27 with the U.S. District Court in Sioux Falls, seeking to block the July 1 implementation of the abortion bill that was signed into law on March 22.

The statute requires women to wait three days before having an abortion, and to receive medical information about the procedure along with information about alternatives.

A doctor must also certify that the woman is seeking an abortion voluntarily, rather than being coerced by someone else.

Dr. Unruh, who studied abortion for a state task force in 2005, said that Planned Parenthood maintains willful ignorance about the majority of women who have abortions against their will.

The threats often come from a boyfriend, husband, parent, or other party.

“The task force revealed it was 65 percent,” Dr. Unruh told CNA in a May 31 interview. “Planned Parenthood admitted under oath that they don't have anybody who has any training, of any kind, in counseling to determine when a woman's being coerced.”

Sarah Stoesz, president and CEO for Planned Parenthood of Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota said that South Dakota's new law “goes farther than any other in the country in intruding on the doctor-patient relationship and putting women and families at risk.” [See More]
Catholic News Agency

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