Signs of hope in Louisiana – Louisiana gets it right!
A measure signed into law in Louisiana in July, 2011, requires that abortion centers post information on their walls to tell women about their real choices. Most women do not want to choose abortion. Usually, they do so out of desperation, a feeling that they really have no choice, that help for them is simply not available.
BDF, the Bioethics Defense Fund, helped to write this measure. On their website, http://www.bdfund.org/signsofhope, it says:
The innovative BDF drafted “Signs of Hope” legislation, enacted for the first time with the signature of Governor Jindal on July 6, 2011, addresses this in two ways:
(1) Requires a unique sign to be posted in abortion clinics informing women 1) they can’t be forced to abort against their will, 2) that the father must provide child support, even if he has offered to pay for the abortion, 3) that adoptive parents may pay costs of prenatal care and childbirth, and 4) that there are many public and private resources to help during and after pregnancy as listed on a DHH website/smartphone address maintained by the state department of health.
(2) Creates a DHH website and mobile/smartphone platform that must be listed on the sign to deliver info about free ultrasound, pregnancy resources, abortion health risks, and the development of the unborn child. In addition to being posted on the sign, the web address must be given by phone or email at the initial contact seeking an abortion appointment. This legislation enhances current Woman’s Right to Know laws by requiring the posting of signs and the development by health departments of abortion alternative websites/smartphone platforms.
Congratulations to Louisiana!
