Assistant House Minority Leader Amy Arata (R-New Gloucester) has introduced an amendment that would force abortion providers to disclose to patients whether they have previously been involved in abortion-related injuries or fatalities.
“I was surprised to find that physicians with a history of performing abortions when women died are allowed to practice medicine in Maine,” Rep. Arata said.
“I realized this after Dr. Shannon L. Carr, talked about performing late-term abortions in Maine, after having authorized an abortion in New Mexico that resulted in her patient’s death,” said Arata.
“Women deserve to know the risks of abortion,” she said.
The amendment Arata filed Friday will become part of her bill to expand the informed consent mothers are provided with when they seek an abortion.
That bill — “An Act to Prevent Coerced Abortion” (LD 1197) — would protect the right of expecting mothers to cancel an abortion procedure if they change their minds at any point in the lead up to the procedure. The bill would also make clear that it is a crime to intimidate a pregnant women into undergoing an abortion.