N.J. SUPREME COURT REJECTS PRE-ABORTION SCRIPT. It was a test case for the "my abortion ruined my life" strategy currently reaching a fever pitch among the antis: Rosa Acuna, whose doctor advised her to terminate a seven-week pregnancy causing damage to her kidneys, sued him for failing to inform her that the embryo was “a complete, separate, unique and irreplaceable human being.” When she experienced bleeding after the procedure and went to the emergency room, a nurse told Acuna “the doctor had left parts of the baby inside." Acuna claimed it was only then that she realized she had terminated a human life, and that she began to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. The Court rejected that reasoning, ruling doctors are not compelled to stick to any prescribed script when speaking with women about abortion. This was an odd case for a few reasons, and its details weren't ideal for either side. First, the doctor, Sheldon Turkish, performed an incomplete abortion that led to an ER visit. That may not have been his fault -- surgeries often have complications -- but it's far from ordinary. Secondly, Acuna claimed Turkish told her before the abortion, "Don’t be stupid, it’s only blood.” If that's true, he needs some remedial lessons in bedside manner. But Turkish's intent in advising the abortion was to spare Acuna -- already a mother of two -- irreparable damage to her kidneys. The vast majority of Americans believe abortion is a sensible, moral choice when a woman's health is at risk, and want to protect doctors who perform such procedures. It's also hard to believe that a few casual words from a nurse changed an adult's understanding of abortion so thoroughly that she decided to sue her doctor. --Dana Goldstein
