Archive for the ‘News Items’ Category
Abortion Foes Advance Cause at State Level
June 3rd, 2010 by janeyIn the New York Times Today:
About 370 state bills regulating abortion were introduced in 2010, compared with about 350 in each of the previous five years, and 250 a year in the early 1990s, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research organization that supports abortion rights. At least 24 of this year’s bills have passed, and the final total may reach the high of 2005, when states passed 34 laws, said Elizabeth Nash, a public policy associate at the institute.
More significant than the number of bills introduced are the number and nature of those that passed, partisans on both sides agree.
“What’s different is that bills of serious consequence have actually passed,” said Nancy Northrup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights, who characterized the volume of legislation as “an avalanche.” Already the center has brought suits to challenge six laws, more than in any other year since the 1990s.
Tennessee, which had not passed restrictions on abortion since 2003, passed two laws, one banning coverage of abortion in health insurance exchanges. The other requires clinics to post signs stating it is illegal to coerce a woman to have an abortion; 11 other states introduced similar legislation.
“This is a good year as far as victories,” said Mary Spaulding Balch, director of state legislation for the National Right to Life Committee, who named several states, including Arizona, Missouri and Tennessee, that are now more open to restrictive laws. “I do get the impression that the climate is friendlier.”
Oklahoma upholds extreme abortion laws
April 27th, 2010 by janeyThe Oklahoma Legislature voted overwhelmingly to override vetoes of two highly restrictive abortion measures.
One of the measures protects doctors from malpractice suits if they decide not to inform the parents of a unborn baby that the fetus has birth defects. The intent of the bill is to prevent parents from later suing doctors who withhold information to try to influence them against having an abortion.
Gov. Brad Henry said:
“It is unconscionable to grant a physician legal protection to mislead or misinform pregnant women in an effort to impose his or her personal beliefs on a patient”
The other measure requires that women undergo an ultrasound and listen to a detailed description of the fetus before having an abortion. There is no exception for rape or incest victims.
Two other antiabortion bills are still working their way through the legislature. One would force women to fill out a lengthy questionnaire about their reasons for seeking an abortion and then post statistics online based on the answers. The other restricts insurance coverage for the procedure.
Mexico denies ten-year-old rape victim abortion
April 21st, 2010 by janeyFrom CNN:
A pregnant 10-year-old, allegedly raped by her stepfather, has become the latest lightning rod in the country’s heated abortion debate.
The girl’s stepfather has been arrested. But advocates on both sides of the issue say their battle is just beginning.
Abortion is legal in Mexico’s capital city, but prohibited or significantly restricted in most of the country’s states. The girl’s home state of Quintana Roo, on the Yucatan peninsula, allows abortion in cases of rape during the first 90 days of the pregnancy. But the 10-year-old girl is at 17½ weeks, nearly a month past that limit.
While this is an extreme case, it illustrates why its necessary to protect 2nd trimester abortions. The very young, who may be scared or victimized, often need more time to seek help.
The church and anti-choice extremists advocate for the “protection” of fetuses and embryos. Who is advocating for young women who are sexually abused?
