New Jersey Top Court Allows Doctor to Deceive Women
RELEASED Trenton, NJ, Sept. 24, 2007 – Heartbeat International joins in a "friend of the court" (Amici Curiae) brief filed today, asking for reconsideration of a recent decision by the New Jersey Supreme Court that deprives women of the right to hear the truth about abortion. On September 25, 2007, Choices of the Heart Executive Director Rita Reyes will represent Heartbeat at a news conference at the New Jersey Supreme Court building at 11:00am. Read her statement to the press .
In Acuna v Turkish, New Jersey’s high court decided that a doctor may abort a woman’s pregnancy without explaining to his patient the biological development of the unborn baby. Rosa Acuna chose abortion only after Dr Turkish said that her baby was “just tissue”. Later Acuna was admitted to a hospital for removal of baby body parts that Turkish had failed to remove.
“We call on the New Jersey Supreme Court to reverse this decision. Women deserve to hear the medically accurate details of fetal development,” said Heartbeat International President Peggy Hartshorn, Ph.D. “Abortion hurts women, and an abortion procedure hurts a woman even more when she is duped and exploited for a profit in the process.”
Heartbeat International and its affiliates advocate for the true reproductive health and well-being of women.
“When a pregnant woman comes into a Heartbeat center, she wants to know what is happening with and inside her body,” said Dr. Hartshorn. “Ultrasound technology, available in many of our centers, reveals the living, growing human being in her womb. Over 75 percent of clients in our medical clinics choose life after an ultrasound. A woman in New Jersey should have the right to know that at 7 weeks, her baby is more than ‘just tissue’.”
More than 390 Heartbeat affiliated pregnancy centers provide ultrasounds. Seven ultrasound-equipped centers in New Jersey serve more than 4,000 women each year.
Choices of the Heart, a Heartbeat affiliate in Turnersville, New Jersey, was co-founded in 1996 by Executive Director Reyes after she experienced an untimely pregnancy.
Heartbeat International, founded in 1971, is an interdenominational Christian association of more than 1,000 pregnancy centers, maternity homes, non-profit adoption agencies, and medical clinics in 47 states and 39 countries.
Heartbeat International provides Option Line ( 800-395-HELP), a joint venture with Care Net, to connect callers with the local pregnancy center for the help they need. Each month our national call center responds to approximately 20,000 contacts and provides a center locator system and Instant Messenger online.
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Rita's Press Statement
My name is Rita Reyes, I am the Executive Director of Choices of the Heart, a Heartbeat affiliated pregnancy center. I am here to represent Heartbeat and their 12 affiliated centers in New Jersey. Although, I am here on a professional level, this appeal to the Supreme Court of New Jersey is a very personal one.
Today I am reminded of my own unplanned pregnancy more than 20 years ago; a pregnancy that would have been terminated had I not been given correct information about fetal development and the risks of abortion. Without that information my 19 yr old son, a sophomore at Rutgers University would not be here.
Freedom of choice does not exist without the medical facts.
A woman’s right to choose is lost when the information with which she is making that choice is faulty or withheld.
As a the Director of Choices of the Heart a Pregnancy Resource Center serving Southern New Jersey, I stand here today to reaffirm our commitment to serving women in New Jersey who now, due to the court’s decision; are unable to put their trust in their Health Care Professionals.
Inside our pregnancy centers women are exercising their right to choose in an environment where their health and safety remain the first priority. Through the use of ultrasound technology we have been able to give accurate, complete information to women without prejudice; standing as their advocate, empowering them to make sound decisions.
Whether or not the courts reverse the decision in this matter; Heartbeat centers will remain steadfast in providing true reproductive health services to women across this state and this country.
Finally, I appeal to women to see this court’s decision as no less than an assault on our rights and I encourage every woman who finds herself undecided about her pregnancy to seek counsel and information from pregnancy centers; that have no financial stake in her decision. Regardless, of your political position on the issue of abortion, we must unite to protect every women by providing them with scientific truth.
Harold Cassidy is representing Rosa Acuna and others in the fight for life. Read his response to the decision on behalf of Rosa Acuna, Historic Abortion Case; Acuna V. Turkish.
For additional information:
Depriving Women of Their Right to Know, by Richard Collier, Jr.
Defending Life: A Moral and Legal Case Against Abortion Choice, by Francis J. Beckwith
