Abortion bills elicit emotional testimony

AUGUSTA – When Nichole Taylor had an abortion 25 years ago, she wasn’t told she might die. She didn’t know infection or hemorrhage might kill her, or that there was a link between abortion and cancer, or that she might suffer debilitating, long-term emotional consequences. Neither was the teenager prepared for “the sound of the machine as they ripped the baby out of me.”

But the greatest shock of all, Taylor told lawmakers Monday afternoon, was that her abortion left her sterile, unable ever to conceive another child. Now 40, unmarried and childless, the Connecticut resident said, “That decision I made 25 years ago still haunts me. It is the greatest regret of my life.”

Taylor was in Maine to testify before the Judiciary Committee during public hearings on five bills that would change the way abortion is practiced in Maine. All together, about 16 people spoke in emotional support of the bills and about 10 spoke against them.

Most of the supporters who testified were women who recounted their abortion experiences and said they had been inadequately informed or pressured into making an on-the-spot decision at a clinic. They spoke of their shame, their ignorance and their fear of disappointing their parents.

In an across-the-board rejection of all five measures, Dr. Dora Mills, director of the state’s Bureau of Health said the bills represented “a giant step in the wrong direction” by placing administrative obstacles before women in need of abortion and inappropriate burdens on the facilities that provide it. Maine’s existing abortion laws provide adequate levels of safety, security and information to women and teens seeking the legal procedure, she said.

Sen. Peggy Pendleton, D-Scarborough, co-chair of the Judiciary Committee, ordered all posters and signs put away at the start of the hearing and pounded her gavel for order when an early speaker’s testimony drew applause. “This is a public hearing, not a demonstration,” she reminded the crowd of about 200.

Vicky Ridlon of Acton said she was just 17 when she found out she was pregnant. “I just wanted to erase the problem, to make it go away without my parents ever knowing,” she testified. Ridlon said she was incapable of giving informed consent for the procedure, because she was in such emotional turmoil she couldn’t absorb whatever information was being provided to her. “I was in crisis,” she said. “I wasn’t thinking clearly.”

Ridlon and Taylor spoke in support of LD 798 – a proposed change to Maine law that would require the state Bureau of Health to develop a detailed description of all potential medical and psychological risks associated with abortion. Physicians would be required to discuss the information with women seeking abortion, as well as to present alternatives to abortion, including adoption and parenting. A 24-hour waiting period between the time of this counseling and the procedure would also be mandated by the measure, which was sponsored by Sen. Carolyn Gilman of Westbrook.

Andrew McLean of the Maine Medical Association and the Maine chapter of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists opposed all the bills. Measures aimed at tightening reporting regulations “have no intent other than to intimidate and harass the doctors who perform abortions,” he said.

Others speaking in blanket opposition included representatives from the Planned Parenthood Association, the National Association of Social Workers, the Maine Choice Coalition and the Maine Interfaith Council for Reproductive Choices.

Besides LD798, the other four bills on the agenda Monday were:

. LD299 – To eliminate a legal immunity clause in current reporting laws. Physicians who report data to the state for statistical purposes are currently immune from charges of criminal liability that may stem from their reports. Sponsored by Rep. Kevin Glynn of South Portland.

. LD1101 – To require clinics where abortions are performed be held to the same sterility standards as an outpatient surgery center. Sponsored by Rep. Phillip Cressey of Baldwin.

. LD1102 – To assign ongoing financial responsibility for mental health costs for minors who undergo an abortion without parental or court consent to the physician who performs that abortion. Sponsored by Rep. Brian Duprey of Hampden. At the public hearing, Duprey declined to introduce the legislation, and instead submitted a proposal to draft a non-binding referendum question for the November 2003 ballot: “Do you favor a law mandating parental consent before performing an abortion on a child under the age of 18?”

. LD1129 – To require the state to reveal the names of physicians who violate regulations affecting the reporting of abortion-related data. Sponsored by Rep. Gerald Davis of Falmouth.

The Judiciary Committee will consider the bills in a work session on Wednesday.