Georgia Residence Approves Bill That Would Demand 24-Hour Waiting Period for Ladies Seeking Abortion
Healthcare Prof:
The Georgia House on Wednesday voted 139-35 to approve a bill… (HB 197) that would require a 24-hour waiting period for women seeking abortion and tighten parental notification regulations for minors seeking the procedure, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. The measure would require women seeking abortion to be informed with the medical risks of the procedure, the gestational age of the fetus, information about potential fetal pain experienced during an abortion and alternatives to the procedure. In addition, the measure would require that a minor’s parent or legal guardian be notified if she seeks an abortion. The current parent notification law allows other adults, such as a grandparent or other relative, to “stand in” for a minor’s parent or guardian, according towards the Journal-Constitution (Campos, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 2/24). The House Health and Human Services Committee last week removed from the bill the requirement that doctors tell women about a feasible link between abortion and an increased risk of breast cancer. The committee also removed a provision that would have allowed the partner or parents of a woman who has undergone an abortion to sue the abortion provider if they believe the procedure was conducted improperly. In addition, the committee agreed to keep secret the names of abortion providers who would be required to report information to the state about abortions performed (Kaiser Everyday Reproductive Well being Report, 2/22). The bill now goes to the full state Senate, which approved similar legislation in 2003 (Basinger, Florida Times-Union, 2/24).
Similar Senate Measure
The state Senate Health and Human Services Committee earlier this month approved a similar measure (SB 77) that would require women to wait 24 hours before undergoing an abortion and receive information about the probable age and development with the fetus, the medical risks of abortion, “fetal pain” and alternatives to abortion, which includes adoption. The bill also would require doctors to notify the parents of minors under age 18 who are seeking abortion (Kaiser Everyday Reproductive Well being Report, 2/22).
Opposing Opinion Pieces
The Journal-Constitution on Friday published an editorial and an opposing opinion piece on the bills, which are summarized below.
“Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork.org kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Everyday Reproductive Well being Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/repro The Kaiser Day-to-day Reproductive Health Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service with the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
Healthcare Prof:
The South Dakota House State Affairs Committee on Wednesday approved 10-1 a bill… (SB 193) that would require parents to be notified within 24 hours of “emergency abortions” performed on their minor daughters, the AP/Aberdeen American News reports (Brokaw, AP/Aberdeen American News, 2/23). The measure also would tighten the current state definition of a parent to ensure that nonparents cannot take minors across state lines to access abortion services. The measure includes a clause that would allow minors to seek a court order to avoid parental notification for emergency abortions. The state Senate approved the measure earlier this month (Kaiser Every day Reproductive Well being Report, 2/18). The measure now goes to the full state House (AP/Aberdeen American News, 2/23).
Senate Committee Action
The Senate State Affairs Committee on Wednesday approved three bills that would restrict abortion access inside the state, the Associated Press reports. Each of the measures now goes towards the state Senate for consideration (Kafka, Associated Press, 2/23). Details with the bills are below.
“Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork.org kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Everyday Reproductive Wellness Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/repro The Kaiser Daily Reproductive Wellness Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
Healthcare Prof:
The U.S. delegation towards the United Nations on Friday ahead of a two-week U.N. review with the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing voiced concern about language in the 1995 conference’s Platform For Action and proposed an amendment specifying that the platform does not include a right to abortion or “create any new international human rights,” the AP/Boston Globe reports (Lederer, AP/Boston Globe, 2/28). At the Beijing conference, which occurred during the Clinton administration, abortion rights were declared a “health issue” and also the adopted conference platform stated that abortion should be safe in places where it is legal and that criminal charges should not be filed against any woman who undergoes an illegal abortion, Reuters reports. The platform also “broke new ground” by advocating comprehensive sex education for adolescents, according to Reuters (Leopold, Reuters, 2/28). The platform also stated that women have the right to “decide freely and responsibly on matters related to their sexuality … free of coercion, discrimination and violence.” Ahead of this year’s review, the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women — which organized the two-week meeting expected to be attended by delegates from much more than 100 countries and much more than 6,000 women’s rights advocates — proposed a “short” declaration asking the participating countries to “reaffirm” progress toward the Beijing platform, “welcome” progress toward achieving gender equality, “stress” that challenges remain and “pledge to undertake further action to ensure … full and accelerated implementation,” according towards the AP/Globe.
Details of U.S. Position
However, Bush administration representatives on Thursday at an informal, closed-door meeting stated the United States could not sign on towards the declaration because of concerns that the Beijing platform classified legal abortion as a human right. On Friday, U.S. delegates formally proposed an amendment towards the Beijing platform that would reaffirm U.S. commitment to the platform and declaration “while reaffirming that they do not create any new international human rights and that they do not include the right to abortion” (AP/Boston Globe, 2/28). “What we have been advocating is not new,” Richard Grenell, spokesperson for the U.S. mission towards the United Nations, said, adding, “We believe wholeheartedly that the Beijing document does not establish or guarantee a right for an abortion. It is the message that we always send, to state what U.S. policy is.”
Reaction
Adrienne Germain, president of the International Women’s Well being Coalition plus a member with the U.S. delegation at the Beijing conference, stated the Bush administration “threw down the gauntlet” by proposing the amendment, adding, “Each one of us would like to insert an amendment on our particular interest. But the United States is putting up red flags by taking a unilateral position during a multilateral consensus” (Reuters, 2/28). Kyung-wha Kang, chair with the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women, did not comment on the U.S. amendment but said that the commission encourages all country delegations to “exercise as much flexibility and cooperation … so that inside the end we can adopt language that all can agree to” (AP/Boston Globe, 2/28).
“Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork.org kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Everyday Reproductive Health Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/repro The Kaiser Everyday Reproductive Wellness Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service with the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
Healthcare Prof:
.The Los Angeles Times on Monday examined how an abortion-related amendment, expected to be introduced by Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), might derail federal bankruptcy reform legislation again this session. Schumer has said he will introduce an amendment towards the legislation that would limit the ability of antiabortion protesters to declare bankruptcy in order to avoid court-imposed fines. Schumer introduced similar amendments to the Senate version of the legislation in 2002 and 2003 (Reynolds, Los Angeles Times, 2/28). However, the House-passed version of the bill lacked the provision both years. Although House and Senate negotiators in 2002 agreed on compromise language that narrowed the abortion-related provision to pertain only to cases of intentional violence and apply much more generally beyond abortion clinics, the House removed the abortion-related language altogether before passing the measure, and then-Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) refused to bring it to a vote within the Senate, effectively killing the measure (Kaiser Every day Reproductive Wellness Report, 1/29/04). Overhauling the bankruptcy code is a “top item” on the Senate’s agenda, but Republicans have stated Schumer’s abortion-related amendment is a “poison pill” for the legislation, which otherwise would “pass easily,” according to the Times (Los Angeles Times, 2/28).
“Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork.org kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Every day Reproductive Well being Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/repro The Kaiser Everyday Reproductive Wellness Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
Healthcare Prof:
The Colorado House Judiciary Committee on Thursday rejected 6-4 a bill… (HB 1260) that would have criminalized abortions performed on women pregnant with “viable” fetuses, the Denver Post reports (Cassutt, Denver Post, 2/25). Under the bill, which was sponsored by state Rep. Bill Crane (R), physicians providing such abortions could have been charged with a class 1 misdemeanor, which is punishable by up to 18 months in jail along with a $10,000 fine (Scanlon, Denver Rocky Mountain News, 2/25). Although the bill did not specify the gestational age at which a fetus is deemed able to live outside the womb, it said that a fetal heartbeat, voluntary movement or breathing could classify a fetus as viable, according towards the Post (Denver Post, 2/25).
“Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork.org kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Every day Reproductive Well being Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/repro The Kaiser Daily Reproductive Well being Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service with the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
Healthcare Prof:
The Indiana Senate on Thursday approved 40-8 a bill… (SB 76) that would require abortion providers to tell women seeking abortion that they have the option of viewing an ultrasound with the fetus and hearing the fetus’s heartbeat before undergoing the procedure, the Indianapolis Star reports. Under current law, abortion providers must tell women about the risks associated with both abortion and pregnancy and give women the option of viewing an image of a fetus and learning about a fetus’s potential survival. State Sen. Michael Young (R), the measure’s sponsor, stated that the bill is necessary because women have told him they “didn’t know this technology was available or doctors said it wasn’t needed,” according towards the Star. The state Senate has approved similar measures during the past 4 legislative sessions, but the measures have failed inside the state House. However, the measure is seen as having a better chance of passing inside the Republican-controlled state House this session, according towards the Star. State Rep. Bob Alderman (R), chair of the state House Public Policy and Veterans Affairs Committee, said that he has not read the bill and does not know whether he will give it a hearing if it is sent to his committee (McNeil, Indianapolis Star, 2/25).
“Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork.org kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Everyday Reproductive Well being Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/repro The Kaiser Daily Reproductive Well being Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service with the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
Healthcare Prof:
Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D) and 14 female Democratic state representatives on Friday criticized state Attorney General Phill Kline (R) for his attempts to access the medical records of women and girls who have had late-term abortions, the… Arizona Republic reports (Arizona Republic, 2/26). Two Kansas medical clinics last week filed a brief with the state Supreme Court requesting that the court block Kline’s investigation involving the medical records of about 90 women who sought late-term abortions at the clinics in 2003. According to the brief, Kline last year issued a subpoena ordering the release of complete, unedited medical records — which includes each patient’s name, medical history, birth control practices, psychological profile and sexual history — for all women and girls who sought abortions at or soon after 22 weeks gestation. The brief claims that Kline subpoenaed the records to search for evidence of crimes, such as feasible violations of laws limiting late-term abortions and requiring mandatory reporting of suspected child sexual abuse. In a news conference on Thursday, Kline stated that he needed access to the records to be able to do his job. Kline is expected to file a response brief by March 14 (Kaiser Everyday Reproductive Health Report, 2/25). In news conferences, Sebelius along with the lawmakers called Kline’s investigation an “invasion of privacy,” according towards the Republic. “I find the potential to reveal very personal health histories of women and girls extremely troubling,” Sebelius stated (Arizona Republic, 2/26).
Los Angeles Times Examines Kansas Abortion Debate
The Los Angeles Times on Saturday examined how Kline’s investigation has sparked a debate over abortion and privacy rights. Kline’s “aggressive action” has drawn praise from antiabortion advocates, but abortion providers and patients say the idea of an official “second-guess[ing]” physicians’ evaluations “terrifies them,” according towards the Times (Huffstutter/Simon, Los Angeles Times, 2/26). The complete article is available online.
Kansas City Star Examines Case’s National Attention
The Kansas City Star on Saturday examined the national attention garnered by Kline’s investigation (Klepper/Bauer, Kansas City Star, 2/26). The complete article is available online.
“Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork.org kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Day-to-day Reproductive Well being Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/repro The Kaiser Everyday Reproductive Health Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
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Healthcare Prof:
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As of Monday at a… United Nations review with the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, only Egypt and Qatar had indicated support for a U.S. amendment that would clarify that the 1995 conference platform does not include a right to abortion or create any new international human rights, the Los Angeles Times reports (Farley, Los Angeles Times, 3/1). Participants in the Beijing conference adopted a platform stating that abortion should be safe in places where it is legal and that criminal charges should not be filed against any woman who undergoes an illegal abortion. The platform also stated that women have the right to “decide freely and responsibly on matters related to their sexuality … free of coercion, discrimination and violence.” Ahead of this year’s review, the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women — which organized the two-week meeting expected to be attended by delegates from a lot more than 100 countries and a lot more than 6,000 women’s rights advocates — proposed a declaration asking the participating countries to reaffirm progress toward the Beijing platform. However, Bush administration representatives said the United States would not sign on to the declaration because of concerns that the platform classified legal abortion as a human right and on Friday proposed an amendment that would reaffirm U.S. commitment to the platform and declaration “while reaffirming that they do not create any new international human rights and that they do not include the right to abortion” (Kaiser Everyday Reproductive Wellness Report, 2/28). In addition to Egypt and Qatar, Vatican City, which has observer status in the United Nations, stated it supported the U.S. amendment, London’s Guardian reports (Goldenberg, Guardian, 3/1). However, most other countries’ delegations on Monday stated that the platform did not imply a right to abortion and were “wary” of “opening the document up to reinterpretation,” according towards the Times (Los Angeles Times, 3/1). The final declaration is expected to be put before delegates on Friday, according to U.S. Ambassador towards the United Nations Ellen Sauerbrey.
NGOs ‘Hijacking’ Right to Abortion, U.S. Delegate Says
Sauerbrey on Monday in the meeting stated that the Bush administration is concerned that nongovernmental organizations “are attempting to assert that Beijing in some way creates or contributes to the creation of an internationally recognized fundamental right to abortion” (Lederer, AP/San Francisco Chronicle, 3/1). She added, “There is no fundamental right to abortion. And yet it keeps coming up largely driven by NGOs trying to hijack the term and trying to make it into a definition” (Leopold, Reuters, 2/28). Kyung-wha Kang, chair with the meeting, said that the declaration supporting the Beijing platform is a “policy document” and “not a human rights convention,” adding, “It should not be seen as creating any new human rights” (Los Angeles Times, 3/1).
“Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork.org kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Reproductive Wellness Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/repro The Kaiser Day-to-day Reproductive Wellness Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service with the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
Healthcare Prof:
Senate Democrats and abortion-rights advocates recently have “challeng[ed]” Republicans to “bridge the deep divide” inside the abortion-rights debate and join forces to reduce the number of unplanned pregnancies inside the United States, but the calls for common ground for the most part have been met with “silence or ridicule,” the… AP/Fort Wayne Journal Gazette reports (Crary, AP/Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, 3/1). For example, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in January in a speech to mark the 32nd anniversary of Roe v. Wade — the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck down state bans on abortion — called abortion “sad, even tragic” and offered “conciliatory language” that individuals of differing opinions could find “common ground” and work together to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies (Kaiser Everyday Reproductive Health Report, 1/26). However, Rodham Clinton’s words have received “little positive response” from Republicans and abortion-rights opponents, according towards the AP/Journal Gazette. Dave Andrusko with the National Right to Life Committee has called Rodham Clinton’s call for bipartisan cooperation in preventing unintended pregnancies “meaningless” and “phony.” Republican leaders also have ignored a Democrat-sponsored federal measure aimed at preventing unplanned pregnancies. Family Research Council President Tony Perkins said, “Their idea of reducing unintended pregnancies is a lot more sex education and distribution of contraceptives,” adding, “That’s not the solution, that is part of the problem.” Although many Democrats “doubt” that Republican leaders will allow a vote on the measure, Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, stated Republicans would support the initiative if they were “serious” about reducing the number of abortions, according to the AP/Journal Gazette. “If they don’t, it exposes how extreme and fringe their position is compared towards the rest of America,” she said.
Bill Details
The Prevention First measure (S 20) — sponsored by Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Rodham Clinton and 16 others — aims to reduce the three million unplanned pregnancies that end in abortion within the United States each year. The measure, which Reid says is one of his top 10 priorities for the 2005 legislative session, would provide a “multi-pronged” approach to strengthen family planning programs and reduce unplanned pregnancies, according towards the AP/Journal Gazette. The measure proposes doubling federal spending for family planning clinics to $643 million, encouraging states to subsidize family planning services for low-income women, requiring private well being plans to cover prescription contraceptives towards the extent that they cover other prescription drugs, promoting emergency contraception and ensuring its availability to rape survivors and requiring federally funded abstinence-only sex education programs to provide medically accurate information regarding contraceptives (AP/Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, 3/1).
“Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork.org kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Reproductive Well being Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/repro The Kaiser Day-to-day Reproductive Well being Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.