Biased Counseling

A woman may not have an abortion until after a physician or physician's agent informs her of the gestational age of the fetus and the nature of the proposed procedure and its material medical risks, and she signs a form that includes the statement:  "If you decide to carry your pregnancy to term but not to keep the child, you may be able to place the child with either a relative, or with another family through foster care or adoption." R.I. Gen. Laws Ann. §§ 23-4.7-2 to -4.7-5 (Enacted 1982).

With respect to a previous version of this law, a court held that the requirements that a woman be informed of the nature of an abortion and the gestational age of the fetus are constitutional. Women's Med. Ctr. of Providence, Inc. v. Roberts, 530 F. Supp. 1136 (D.R.I. 1982).