State legislator: Women should be made to watch an abortion before having one

March 22, 2012

An Arizona legislator who opposes abortion says a woman should be made to watch an abortion being performed before having one. Republican Rep. Terri Proud of Tucson made the comment in a March 5 email to constituent Adena Lees. 

The email was a response to a note Lees sent to Proud, saying she was concerned there were no exceptions for things like fetal anomalies, in the bill. Lees says she sends an email to a lawmaker every once in a while, but usually gets a benign response. She tells Capitol Media Services,

ADENA LEES: They write back and it's a form letter and I know it's a form letter but it's respectful.  And, this was so, so not respectful. So angry. It felt so violating to me, personally.

 There is no provision for a requirement to watch an abortion in the legislation pending in the Legislature. Repeated efforts to interview Proud about the email were unsuccessful.  She did issue a statement saying, "I don't apologize for emails I state are my personal opinion."