Press Release: For immediate release: Monday, August 6, 2001
FORCED ABORTIONS NOW FELONIES
LEHIGH ACRES, FL — Many – perhaps most – of the abortions done today in the United States were felonies under federal law. “Now, forced abortions are no longer lawful in this country,” said Jean Sapp, Director of the Counselor Corps, of Lehigh Acres, Florida, an organization which trains peaceful counselors to offer help to pregnant women at abortion clinics.
“The criminalization of forced abortions is part of a recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals in Atlanta in the case of Jane Roe II v. Aware Woman Center For Choice, which dealt with the legal consequences of an unwanted abortion”, continued Mrs. Sapp. “It is now a felony punishable by 10 years in federal prison.”
“The Roe II case was brought to enforce the federal act called F.A.C.E., which initially was used only to stop threats against women intended to prevent them from obtaining abortions.
“The federal appeals court has ruled recently that F.A.C.E. can be used to protect women who do not want to get abortions. This ruling will ultimately shield millions of victims from the horror of forced abortion.
It will also provide a beacon of hope to women in other nations which have authorized abortions but provided no legal protection to those women who have chosen to say ‘No’ to abortions demanded by boyfriends or husbands.
“The United States has condemned forced abortion in other countries, and rightly so. I am most pleased that we now realize that it is an everyday event in our own country. I am even more pleased that decisive action can now be taken against this awful, degrading violation of women,” said Dr. Patricia McEwen, speaking for Life Coalition International, headquartered in Melbourne, Florida.
The Women’s Legal Action Coalition, a pro-life group also in Melbourne, Florida, is enthusiastic about the ruling. Said spokesperson Meredith Raney, “For the first time ever, there is common ground with N.O.W. and the Feminist Majority; we can all work together to prevent these heinous crimes against women.”
According to Michael Hirsh of Kennesaw, Georgia, lead attorney on the Roe II lawsuit, “This is the first time that any abortions have been outlawed by the federal government in the United States.”
