THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, May 10, 1995 TAG: 9505100465
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B2 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY GARY D. ROBERTSON, ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: RALEIGH LENGTH: Short : 50 lines
Tempers flared among abortion-rights activists Tuesday after a House committee approved a bill to require a 24-hour waiting period for a woman wanting the procedure.
Opponents complained in the hallways that they weren't heard in the committee meeting. They also criticized the committee's chairman for not spending more time on the issue before it was passed 14-8 and sent to the full House.
The bill must be approved by Thursday to be considered this session.
``You feel comfortable that you did not give more people public comment?'' asked Beth Ising with the North Carolina chapter of the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League.
``The committee is run by the lawmakers,'' said health and environment committee chairman Rep. John Nichols, R-Craven. ``They're the ones who are voting.''
The bill would require a doctor to tell a woman the name of the physician who would perform the abortion at least 24 hours in advance of the planned procedure. The 24-hour period would be waived in cases of medical emergency.
The doctor also would have to explain the medical risks of having the abortion or carrying the fetus to term.
Readings on alternatives to abortion must be made available if requested, and the woman must be told of state medical benefits and her partner's liability for child support.
A woman would have to certify in writing she was given the information. Doctors performing an abortion in violation of the law would be guilty of a felony, and the woman and her families could sue for civil damages.
Rep. Michael Decker, a bill co-sponsor, told the panel that polls show a majority of Americans want a waiting period, and the bill would promote informed consent for women in a systematic manner.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a Pennsylvania case in 1992 that an abortion waiting period was constitutional, he said.
``It allows women to make a reasonable and an informed decision about an abortion,'' said Decker, R-Forsyth.
A legislative news conference scheduled last month by Decker featured four women who said they had become sterile or infertile because of botched abortions. by CNB