State legislatures across America are continuously advancing restrictions to abortion, including Georgia, South Carolina and Oklahoma.
-- From "Senate passes ban on race-based abortions" by Associated Press 3/26/10
After a lengthy and tense debate that included several personal pleas on both sides of the abortion question, the [Georgia] Senate approved a bill Friday that would make it a crime to perform an abortion on a woman based on the race of the parent or child or the child's gender.
The 33-14 vote broke down along party lines. Critics were disheartened by the decision, which they say does little to address the abortion rate disparity for women of color.
Sen. Chip Pearson, R-Dawsonville, says the proposal addresses the prevalence of gender- and race-based abortions in Georgia, especially among black women. The bill would make it illegal to coerce a woman into an abortion on those grounds.
The House has not yet taken up its version of the bill.
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From "S.C. Lawmakers Advance Abortion Bill" by Associated Press 3/24/10
Lawmakers have advanced a bill requiring women in South Carolina seeking an abortion to wait at least a day after getting an ultrasound or reviewing information on the procedure.
The measure would increase the wait time from one hour to one day. It had tied the clock to an ultrasound, but a compromise approved on Wednesday in the Senate removed that requirement.
The measure had stalled in the Senate for a year. The tweaked bill will return to the House.
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From "Anti-abortion bills may be challenged" by Michael McNutt, NewsOK.com (The Oklahoman) 3/28/10
[Oklahoma] Lawmakers are . . . pursuing seven anti-abortion measures this legislative session . . .
House Speaker Chris Benge defended the measures, which have won easy approval and appear coasting toward final passage.
"Our motivation is the respect and sanctity of life in the womb,” said Benge, R-Tulsa. "We’ve been very vocal and out front about how important we think that is.
"I believe the value of life has been diminished (since abortion was made legal in 1973) and we’re going to try to do everything to restore the value of life,” Benge said. "We think we can do that through these legislative efforts.”
The seven measures earlier were included in two bills, each of which won legislative approval but were knocked out by the courts. Some slight modifications have been made in some of the bills, but they basically are the same and have the similar intent as the earlier measures.
Five measures were part of a bill that won legislative approval in 2008. The state Supreme Court earlier this month upheld an Oklahoma County judge’s decision who ruled it violated a requirement in the Oklahoma Constitution that legislation deal with a single subject.
Two measures were contained in a bill passed last year. An Oklahoma County judge ruled last month it also was unconstitutional because it violated the state constitution’s single-subject rule.
The Center for Reproductive Rights filed lawsuits against both bills.
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