Study: Women mostly unswayed by anti-abortion laws

The recent Republican effort to restrict abortion rights these past few years has mostly taken the form of imposing several-day waiting periods, pointlessly invasive medical procedures and mandatory anti-abortion counseling, all usually done under the pretense of ensuring “informed consent”. Well, unsurprisingly enough, it seems that women are intelligent enough to see through such transparent nonsense and generally remain unswayed, according to this new report:

In fact, 87 percent of women planning to get an abortion were highly confident of their decisions before a required counseling session, according to a report published in the June issue of Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health.

Researchers gathered data from pre-counseling needs assessment forms and clinical intake forms of about 5,000 women at one abortion clinic in 2008. Several states have either passed or proposed laws that require waiting periods and counseling sessions before a woman can receive an abortion, a system that the study concluded ultimately does not sway most women's initial decision.

"In nearly 9 out of 10 cases, women expressed high confidence in their abortion decision before they received any counseling; these women would likely not benefit from additional mandated counseling or delay," the report states.

It seems that people who have medical issues to deal with and a clear solution for their problems tend not to be swayed by dishonest noise from ideologues. Who knew?

(via Ian Andreas Miller)

Tags: anti-abortion • anti-choice • pro-choice • Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health