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'Informed abortion' law gets final hearing
Associated Press
Published September 30, 2005
TALLAHASSEE - Lawyers for abortion clinic owners and a doctor tried Thursday to convince the state Supreme Court that a 1997 law requiring abortion doctors to inform patients of the procedure's risks is unconstitutionally vague and violates women's privacy rights.
The law has never been enforced because of the constitutional challenge. Two lower courts agreed with the abortion providers, who say the requirement essentially is a restriction, violating patients' privacy rights by making it harder for them to get an abortion.
"The harm with this statute is that it is interfering with that (doctor-patient) relationship," which is at the core of the right to privacy, argued Marshall Osofsky, the lawyer for the Presidential Women's Center of West Palm Beach and Dr. Michael Benjamin.
Lawyers for the state argue that patients need to be told as many details as possible when considering a surgical procedure, particularly abortion, which because of its stigma can be shrouded in mystery.
"I think the Legislature acted here because there's a question as to whether women, especially in these clinics, are being fully informed by doctors as to what's going to happen," said Louis Hubener, Florida chief deputy solicitor general, after arguing the case.
"The woman needs to know what the consequences to her health might be," Hubener said. "It's the same with any other surgical procedure. You just need to know what's going to happen, what the consequences would be, what you're facing, what the health risks are."
But Chief Justice Barbara Pariente asked Hubener: Why require counseling for abortion patients but not others?
"There are certainly many more high-risk voluntary surgeries that people go through every day," Pariente said.
Hubener responded that at least one physician had testified about how vulnerable women seeking abortion can be.
"And that they do not ordinarily, if ever, report substandard care. They do not report ... they didn't know exactly what they were facing and the potential consequences."
Similar laws have been passed in other states. A 1998 Ohio law requiring women seeking abortion to receive counseling from a doctor 24 hours in advance is also on hold, pending a court challenge.
In Mississippi, an abortion counseling law is in effect.
Florida's high court has no set timetable for ruling.
[Last modified September 30, 2005, 01:35:17]
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