A Win and a Loss for US Pro-Lifers

ROME, AUG. 24, 2009 (Zenit.org).- A report on Vatican Radio lamented that the U.S. state of Oklahoma is denying health care workers the right to live by their consciences.

A judge last week overturned a state law passed in 2008 that required a pregnant woman seeking an abortion to see an ultrasound and hear a doctor's description of her baby (his or her size, heartbeat, development of internal organs, arms and legs, etc.).

The judge, Vicki Robertson, also overturned provisions in the law that protected health care providers' right to refuse in conscience to take part in an abortion.

Officials are considering whether to appeal the judge's decision.

Meanwhile, a court in South Dakota last week affirmed that a woman has a right to know that an abortion "terminates the life of a whole, separate, unique, living human being."

Both cases are part of the pro-life movement's efforts to ensure that women are guaranteed fully informed consent when they seek an abortion.

"Fully informed consent is a bedrock principle of medical care," said Charmaine Yoest, president of Americans United for Life, "and this principle is especially applicable to abortion."