The attorney general's office in Washington state has placed a "reproductive rights complaint form" on the state website so women can inform the office if they were unable to obtain an abortion at a clinic or if they were "harassed." The AG's office will reportedly use the information the form collects to work with law enforcement to potentially open up an investigation against people named in any complaints.
Sarah Smith of Human Life of Washington tells AFN they are used to dealing with pro-abortion legislation and measures meant to harass pro-life sidewalk counselors and pregnancy help centers.
"This is just one more thing," she says. "Every time they pass one of these laws, most of the language is very vague, and it's meant to be that way so that anything could be considered deception, harassment."
She asserts that praying for and encouraging abortion-minded women to choose life for their preborn babies is not harassment, but the bureaucrats or judges in charge usually see it as such – ignoring the state and federal constitutions which guarantee the pro-lifers' freedom of religion and speech.
Smith points out that America is known "across the world" as "the land of freedom," so she thinks "it's a sad day … when you have your own government who refuses to allow you to practice that."
"It doesn't feel like we're in America anymore," she laments.
Meanwhile, at the behest of the public, a heartbeat bill has been introduced in the Nebraska Legislature that would require a sonogram before an abortionist could terminate a preborn baby. If it shows that the child's heart is beating, then the abortion would be called off.
"We ended up asking for WPA Intelligence to go out and survey the Nebraskans, and they came back [showing that] a majority of Nebraskans, 58%, will support a bill outlawing abortions once the heartbeat is detected – or in the case of rape, incest, or to save the mother's life," state Senator Joni Albrecht (R) relays.
That likely would mean at least 85% of abortions in the state would be prohibited.
In a separate bill, the midwestern state is also moving to accommodate women who choose not to abort.
"We're going to give a tax credit to incentivize private donations to more than 20 different pregnancy help organizations across the state of Nebraska that are providing food, housing, transportation, baby supplies, job training, and more – all free of charge," Albrecht explains. "They're all being supported by the public at this time."
If approved and signed into law, Albrecht says the measure would allow up to $10 million in tax credits per year to boost pro-life pregnancy centers, which will be a powerful tool allowing the non-profits to expand their services and help more women.
WPA Intelligence, a leading provider of survey research, predictive analytics, and application-based data management technology, conducted its survey on behalf of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America.
