California Governor Brown's New Laws Endanger Women

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Life Legal Defense Foundation Speaks Out Against Legalized 'Back-Alley' Abortions

Contact: Tom Ciesielka, 312-422-1333, tc@tcpr.net

NAPA, Calif., Oct. 30, 2013 /Christian Newswire/ -- Earlier this month, California Governor Jerry Brown increased the risk of harm toward women when he signed into law two bills aimed at "removing barriers" to obtaining abortions. Attorney Katie Short, Legal Director at Life Legal Defense Foundation, pointed out that these new laws bring back the low standards of what have commonly been referred to as "back-alley" abortions.

Short listed some of the safety concerns raised by the newly enacted legislation:

AB 154 allows first trimester surgical abortions to be performed by those other than doctors and surgeons -- including midwives, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants.
AB 980 repealed provisions of the building code applicable to facilities providing surgical abortions, thus allowing abortion clinics to evade necessary safety standards.
A pre-AB 154 "pilot project" testing the safety of non-physician abortion showed a complication rate among non-physicians that was twice that of the physicians.
AB 154 undercuts the California Supreme Court's rationale for striking down the state parental consent law; no longer will "caring doctors" be evaluating each minor to ensure she is making an informed choice before having an abortion.

"AB 154 and AB 980, enacted in the same session, have taken us back to the days of abortions performed by midwives in unsafe, non-medical settings," explained Short. "In effect, Governor Brown has decided to legalize 'back alley' abortions, jeopardizing more women for the sake of killing more babies."

Read the Life Legal Defense Foundation's response to Governor Brown's new abortion laws here.

About Life Legal Defense Foundation
Life Legal Defense Foundation was established in 1989, and is a nonprofit organization composed of attorneys and other concerned citizens committed to giving helpless and innocent human beings of any age, and their advocates, a trained and committed voice in the courtrooms of our nation. For more information about the Life Legal Defense Foundation, visit www.lldf.org.