California Allows Non-Physicians to Perform Abortions

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jerry-brown-signatureGovernor Jerry Brown and the legislators of California have caved to the intense lobbying of Planned Parenthood on Wednesday by signing into law AB154. The law that would allows non-physicians to perform abortions in the first trimester of pregnancy even though it is opposed by many physicians as legalized back alley profit making abortions.

The bill permits licensed non-physicians to perform two kinds of abortion in the first trimester–by medication, and by aspiration, which requires the insertion of medical instruments into the uterus. Though many doctors agree that non-physicians could provide medications with few risks, the idea that a non-physician would perform an invasive procedure such as aspiration strikes many as rife with risks.

The training is to be provided by the Board of Registered Nursing, not by physicians, and the protocols for defining “supervision” have not been specified. There is nothing in the legislation requiring a physician to be present or on-site during an abortion.

Opponents describe AB 154 as an effort by Planned Parenthood and other groups to profit from Obamacare, since the legislation will expand the number of patients eligible for the state Medi-Cal program, and Medi-Cal pays for abortion. They also dispute assurances about the bill’s safety for women, arguing that there has been inadequate monitoring of California abortion clinics even prior to the passage of the new legislation.

Please pray for California.

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