Judge rules doctors must lie to patients and say abortion causes suicide
This article was originally published on Examiner.com on July 25, 2012. (17,000 likes)
In a blow to judicial prudence and common sense a South Dakota federal appeals court ruled 7 - 4 that it was indeed legal to require doctors to tell abortion patients the day before their procedure that they will be at risk for suicide. The warning of suicide that doctors are now forced to give has never been medically or scientifically proven. Because of this, opponents call it nothing but a scare tactic.
The ruling overturned a previous decision made in September 2011 that said the requirement was not within the realms of the law. That decision was in response to a 2005 law which required all abortion practitioners to notify in writing, “all medical risks of the procedure” which allegedly included “risk of suicide.” Again, the claim was made without evidence.
This matters not to the South Dakota court. The statistics quoted by the state were investigated by theAmerican Psychological Association and found to be misleading. In nearly every case of suicide after abortion the patient was afflicted with a variety of mental factors including a history of domestic violence, mental illness, drug use, young age, and poor family life. None of the underlining conditions were taken into consideration.
Instead the court wrote a bizarre ruling claiming that “conclusive proof of causation is not required.” Therefore the court acknowledges that the ruling was not based on fact and not based on medically sound advice — but rather for what was emotionally convenient for them.