The Yamhill County, Oregon board of commissioners passed a new anti-abortion law last Thursday. Under this law, Joni Ledbetter, a prisoner jailed on robbery charges, will be denied an abortion and forced to carry her unwanted pregnancy to term because Yamhill county agents will not release her for the procedure. The law prohibits county agents from facilitating abortions in any way.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon plans to challenge the Yamhill County law in court. Executive Director David Fidanque defended women’s constitutional right to an abortion, stating, “No government agency can force a woman to continue a pregnancy she doesn’t want to continue.”
[Source: Reuters – August 29, 1997
