“There's zero 'doctor-patient relationship' in an abortion procedure,” Dr. Unruh stated. Often, he said, “the first time a woman meets the doctor is when she's unclothed in an operating room, and the machine is so loud she doesn't have a chance to talk to him.”
“Our services are free,” he said. “We don't charge anything. We don't have a conflict of interest.”
“At Planned Parenthood, women have to pay cash up front before they even see the doctor. They've had no history, no examination, no consultation by a qualified person. They call this 'free speech rights.'”
He pointed out that Planned Parenthood does not present the truth about fetal development, or the risks associated with abortion.
“They testified to the task force, that when a woman says 'Is it a baby yet?', they will never, ever admit the humanity of a unborn child. They say it's nothing but 'tissue' and 'cells,' it's 'protoplasm.'”
“If anything's false and misleading, it's that.”
Dr. Unruh also noted the irony of Planned Parenthood boasting of its medical credentials, while attempting to keep women from learning more about its most profitable procedure.
He cited the Hippocratic Oath – which, in its original form forbids abortion – to explain the physician's duty to inform patients about facts and risks.
“All medical doctors take an oath: 'First, do no harm.' That's the oath above every medical procedure,” he explained. “Doctors have an ethical obligation to provide information, and to answer all questions a patient has.”
Crisis pregnancy centers, he explained, should be seen as performing a service in the interest of both personal and public health.
“I don't care if you're just removing a wart – you want to know what the biopsy says, what the risks are of the surgery. You should have the right, as a patient, to learn all about the surgery.”
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The doctor also found some irony in comparing the new abortion law with another South Dakota statute that imposes a decision-making period.
“We have a law in South Dakota requiring a 72-hour waiting period to buy real estate,” he observed. “Anybody has a right to change their mind.”
“I think an unborn child is more valuable to a person than real estate.”
State Representative Roger Hunt, who sponsored the new law, saw Planned Parenthood's challenge coming.
“I don't think it's a surprise to anyone that they've filed a lawsuit,” Hunt told the Sioux Falls Argus Leader. “We've been expecting this and preparing for it.”
The state's Life Defense Fund, which defends South Dakota's abortion laws with the help of private donations, has more than doubled since the passage of the waiting-period and counseling law. Hunt says the state will only have to pay legal fees if Planned Parenthood's challenge succeeds.