Roundup: Sotomayor Didn't Detail Abortion Views

Roundup: Sotomayor Didn’t Detail Abortion Views

Jul 16, 2009, 11:06am

Amy Dempsey

Sotomayor Didn't Detail Abortion Views; More Deaths in Ghana From Illegal Abortions; Poor Contraception Awareness Causes Unwanted Pregnancies in UK

Sotomayor Didn’t Detail Abortion Views
During Wednesday’s confirmation hearings, Sonia Sotomayor avoided questions regarding her views on abortion rights. Instead, she said she could not answer questions "in the abstract," according to the Tricity Herald.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas was the first to ask Sotomayor about abortion
when he asserted that the White House had assured abortion rights
groups she would sympathize with their cause. Sotomayor responded by
saying no one at the White House had asked about her stance on
abortion, the article said.

"I was asked no question by anyone, including the president, about my
views on any specific legal issue…You just have to look at my record
to know that in the cases that I addressed on all issues, I follow the
law," she said.

The article said:

"In her 17 years as a federal district and appellate judge, Sotomayor
rarely got involved in abortion cases. She did rule on President George
W. Bush’s "Mexico City policy," which barred public funds to
organizations that promote abortion in other countries. President
Barack Obama reversed that policy in January."

More Deaths in Ghana From Illegal Abortions
Dr. Akwasi Twumasi, Northern Regional Director of Ghana Health Service
(GHS), said that complications from illegal abortions killed 210 women
in Ghana’s Northern Region when he addressed Northern Regional Health
Forum in Tamale Tuesday, said the Ghanaian Journal.

According to Twumasi, couples were afraid of family planning options or
had negative views of it, and when an unplanned pregnancy occurred,
they resorted to illegal or unsafe abortions, in which an untrained
person performs the procedure that resulted in maternal mortality, the article said.

Poor Contraception Awareness Causes Unwanted Pregnancies in UK
The Nursing Times
reported that a 2008 phone interview surveyed 2,000 women seeking
abortions in the UK. The research found that many women were not aware
of all available contraceptive methods. Many women also misunderstood
how to use their preferred contraceptive method properly.

According to the article, Louise Bury, a research manager at Marie Stopes, who carried out the
research, said:

"The UK has high levels of unintended pregnancy with approximately
200,000 women in England and Wales seeking abortions every year…Since
contraception in the UK is free of charge and easily available,
and since the UK has high levels of reported contraceptive use, it is
puzzling why more unintended pregnancies are not avoided…This
research sheds some light on the reasons why women requesting
abortion have fallen pregnant unintentionally and the actions women and
healthcare professionals can take to prevent unplanned pregnancies
occurring in the future."

OTHER NEWS TO NOTE:

July 15: Tri-City Herald: Sotomayor declines to detail her views on abortion

July 15: Bloomberg: Sotomayor Says Obama Didn’t Question Her on Abortion

July 15: Catholic Online: Arizona Governor Overhauls Abortion Regulation

July 15: CitizenLink: Pro-Life Senators Offer Amendments to Prevent Abortion Funding

July 15: Catholic Online: Federal Crackdown on ‘Pill’ Ads Another Reason to Choose NFP

July 15: LifeNews: House Democrats Prohibit Vote to Stop Obama’s Tax-Funded Abortions in DC

July 15: Catholic News Service: Praise for Alabama doctor followed by speculation about abortion view

July 15: Pursuit of Harpyness:"Common Ground" is a Farce.

July 15: LifeNews: Obama Pick Regina Benjamin’s Support for Abortion Education Prompts Questions

July 15: Donkeylicious: Democrats For Life Boots Tim Ryan For Supporting Contraception

July 15: U of T Students for Life: What do Pro-Lifers think about contraception?