In its 656 trimester

Old law belabors the abortion debate

By CARA BAYLES

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According to state law, it's illegal to advertise family-planning services, to perform a second-trimester abortion outside a hospital or to give unmarried people birth control. Obviously, these laws, some dating back to 1845, are broken every day.

Still, the 12 organizations in Massachusetts Coalition for Choice hosted a lobby day, sending legislators calls and emails in support of bills to repeal those laws, expand the abortion rights of minors and mandate comprehensive sex education in public schools.

The bill to abolish "archaic" laws is sponsored by Rep. Ellen Story, D-Amherst. "People think of Massachusetts as being so liberal and progressive, and it is on many issues. But not if it has to do with sex," she says, citing Massachusetts' status as the last state to legalize contraception for married couples (in 1966!), and the arrest and imprisonment of Bill Baird after he gave contraceptive foam and a condom to a Boston University student during a 1967 lecture. "It's kind of embarrassing that we still have these laws on the books."

NARAL spokeswoman Andrea Miller adds that hospitals aren't required to offer non-emergency abortion care. Currently, hospital care accounts for only 10 to 15 percent of Massachusetts abortions, and that most abortion services are sought in clinics. "It would be a disservice to women's health and a disservice to health care in general [to mandate in-hospital abortions], because hospitals are already bottlenecked," she says. "There are 55 hospitals in the state with OB-GYN departments. Less than 10—at best—provide elective abortion care."

To Jesse Mermell, vice president for external affairs at Planned Parenthood, Roe v. Wade already deemed these laws unconstitutional. "Our focus is making sure unconstitutional laws are not on the books and making sure there's no opportunity for anyone to attempt to enforce them, which would be a clear violation of women's rights and health," she says.

While it's not an everyday concern, the laws haven't gathered dust. In January 2007, 18-year-old Amber Abreu tried to self-administer an abortion by swallowing ulcer meds, and delivered a fetus that was 23 to 25 weeks old. When it died, Abreu was charged with "procuring an improper miscarriage," a felony under an 1845 law from the "crimes against chastity, morality, decency and good order" chapter of state law.

"Anti-choice activists are looking for every lever they can possibly find," says Miller, "especially on the local level, since they no longer have an ally in the White House."

But Marie Sturgis, executive director of Massachusetts Citizens for Life, doesn't consider this legislation political. "The bill seeks to take away provisions that protect women's health," she says. "If anything, I think it's about bringing in business for our opponents. The abortion industry is a for-profit venture." Sturgis fears the bill would legalize self-induced abortion kits. She states that the laundry list of possible complications that can arise during an abortion necessitate hospital-only procedures, citing the 2007 death of 22-year-old Laura Hope Smith at the Women's Health Center in Hyannis. "These kinds of things do happen," she says. "While we don't agree with this issue, we do want to ensure women are safe."

The bill has 70 co-sponsors, and the 200-member Legislature has been majority pro-choice since 2004, but Story's filed the legislation for the last two sessions.