CAP: Partial Birth Abortion ban & Parental Consent passes House, more

Life and Death at the State Capitol (1) Partial Birth Abortion Ban Passes House (2) Parental Consent Guidelines Pass House (3) Non-Doctors Performing Abortions? (4) The Taking Of Life

Life and Death at the State Capitol

Protecting life - from beginning to end - took center stage at the Arizona Capitol this week:

(1) Partial Birth Abortion Ban Passes House

By a 34-25 vote, the Arizona House passed HB 2769, a state ban on partial-birth abortion. The measure now awaits a final vote in the Senate.

(2) Parental Consent Guidelines Pass House

The Arizona House passed HB 2263, 32-27, to put into Arizona law a court ruling detailing what judges should consider in cases where a minor is seeking a court order for an abortion without her parent's permission. A companion Senate bill awaits a final vote in the Senate.

(3) Non-Doctors Performing Abortions?

Several months ago, we learned that a nurse practitioner was performing surgical abortions for Planned Parenthood. As fewer and fewer doctors are willing to take the life of an unborn child through abortion, the abortion industry has continued to look for ways to expand the pool of abortion practitioners. In no way does state law authorize non-doctors to perform abortions, but evidently some don't get that. At our urging, the House Health Committee passed HB 2269 to prohibit nurses from performing surgical abortions. These three life bills represent the most reasonable of measures to regulate legalized abortion in our state. To no one's surprise, the abortion industry opposes each measure, frequently spreading distortions of what the bills actually do. Planned Parenthood today sent out an action alert claiming to be under attack at the Arizona Legislature. In their words, the prohibition on nurses performing abortions "has the potential to severely restrict women's access to safe and legal abortion services" and "the bill is an attempt by extremists to play politics with women's health and lives." In fact, this bill protects women from unsafe abortions being performed by non-doctors who are not adequately prepared to recognize or treat the potential complications from this risky surgical procedure. If Planned Parenthood and similar groups were actually concerned about women's health, they would be the first in line to support this bill. Instead, they reveal their true agenda: to make abortion available on-demand, regardless of the women who are harmed in the process.

(4) The Taking Of Life

The House Health Committee unanimously passed HB 2823, a first step to addressing and correcting problems raised in Arizona law by the real-life story of Jesse Ramirez. Jesse was nearly starved to death when his feeding tube was removed prematurely following a serious auto accident. Thankfully, food and nutrition were restored to Jesse, and he is now on the path to recovery. HB 2823 has the support of the medical community and addresses one of several gaps in Arizona law. It's a first step to make sure that others like the Ramirez family don't have to fight to save their family members from being starved to death against their wishes. To keep up to date on legislative activity, visit CAP's website, www.azpolicy.org, throughout the week. CAP Legislative Coordinator Jennifer Clark regularly updates bill status. We've also posted Fact Sheets providing summaries on bills we support and a few we don't.