The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that doctors are not obligated to give what the American Civil Liberties Union calls a “non-medical, value-laden speech” prior to performing an abortion. The 5-0 ruling came after a woman sued her doctor, claiming that he had misled her regarding the developmental state of her fetus prior to an abortion. Charging that she had not given “informed consent” to the procedure, the woman demanded that physicians be required to inform clients that an embryo is a “complete, separate, unique and irreplaceable human being,” according to the ACLU.
The Court dismissed the claim, contending that “[on] the profound issue of when life begins, this court cannot drive public policy in one particular direction” and “will not place a duty on doctors when there is no consensus in the medical community or among the public,” according to the Associated Press.
The decision comes in the wake of a series of attempts on the part of anti-abortion activists to delay and complicate the process by which women can obtain an abortion. According to the ACLU, a medical malpractice lawsuit “with similar claims” was recently filed in Illinois, and South Dakota pro-choice advocates are challenging a law that could require physicians to read a script with “language identical to that found in this case.” According to NARAL Pro-Choice America, 31 states currently have laws that require women to undergo biased counseling and/or mandatory delays when seeking an abortion. funny pictures funny images funny photos funny animal pictures funny dog pictures funny cat pictures funny gifs
