Arizona's Gov. Brewer has signed legislation, that passed by a large majority, to outlaw abortion at, or after, 20 weeks gestation at which time the baby feels pain, but critics say this reduces the opportunity to detect fetal abnormalities and the chance to kill the "defective" child.
For background, read Arizona Abortion Restrictions OK'd by Court and also read Arizona Abortion Ban for Race/Gender Selection as well as Pro-life Legislation Floods America
UPDATE 5/22/13: 9th Circuit Court Rules Law Unconstitutional, Likely Forcing Hand of Supreme Court
UPDATE 8/1/12: Arizona abortion law blocked by liberal 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco after judge upholds its constitutionality
-- From "Brewer signs Ariz. bill with 20-week abortion ban" by The Associated Press 4/12/12
The Republican-sponsored legislation also institutes new disclosure mandates that include requiring the state have a web site with images of fetuses at various stages of development for women to view.
The 20-week abortion ban does not apply in medical emergencies and it would affect a tiny percentage of abortions performed in Arizona.
Critics argued that the 20-week deadline would likely prevent timely diagnosis of anomalies in the fetus.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Ariz. House OKs bill banning abortions after 20 weeks" by Alia Beard Rau, The Arizona Republic 4/11/12
In 2010, Nebraska was the first to ban abortions after 20 weeks based on the theory of fetal pain. Last year, Alabama, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas and Oklahoma passed similar laws. This year, in addition to Arizona, Michigan and Georgia are considering bans.
The bill would make numerous changes to abortion laws, including banning abortions after 20 weeks except in a "medical emergency," allowing doctors to prescribe medication abortion pills only through the seventh week of pregnancy and requiring clinics to perform an ultrasound 24 hours before an abortion instead of the current requirement of an hour before.
It also would set up several new requirements: Clinics must post signs saying it is against the law to coerce a woman into having an abortion, physicians must provide additional information about health risks, and the state must create a website with abortion health risks, contact information for adoption agencies and photos or drawings of developing fetuses.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Arizona Bans Abortions After 20 Weeks" by Meghan McCarthy, National Journal 4/13/12
. . . Pro-abortion rights group Planned Parenthood says that could mean doctors will refuse to perform the abortions after 20 weeks for fear of prosecution.
“Politicians should not be involved in a woman’s personal medical decisions about her pregnancy. Ultimately, decisions about whether to choose adoption, end a pregnancy, or raise a child must be left to a woman, her family, and her faith, with the counsel of her doctor,” Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said in a statement.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Arizona Bans Abortion in Woman's Second Trimester" by Jamie Ross, Courthouse News 4/11/12
House Bill 2036 bans "abortions at or after 20 weeks of gestation, except in cases of a medical emergency, based on the documented risks to women's health and the strong medical evidence that unborn children feel pain during an abortion at that gestational age."
It requires that physicians performing surgical abortions have privileges in a hospital within 30 miles from the place where the abortion is done.
The bill requires that a clinic "clearly post signs that are visible to all who enter the abortion clinic, that are clearly readable and that state it is unlawful for any person to force a woman to have an abortion and a woman who is being forced to have an abortion has the right to contact any local or state law enforcement or social service agency to receive protection from any actual or threatened physical, emotional or psychological abuse."
The bill states that a doctor who performs an abortion on a minor without certification that the pregnancy places the minor's health at risk or "that the pregnancy resulted from sexual conduct with a minor by the minor's parent, stepparent, uncle, grandparent, sibling, adoptive parent, legal guardian or foster parent or by a person who lives in the same household with the minor and the minor's mother" is guilty of a class 1 misdemeanor.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Arizona Governor Signs Bill Banning Abortions After 20 Weeks" by Steven Ertelt, LifeNews.com 4/12/12
[Americans United for Life president Charmaine] Yoest praised the Arizona House for approving the measure calling it “a life-protecting bill designed to ensure that women don’t suffer from the risks of a dangerous, late-term procedure.” She said Arizona is the first in the nation to pass a late-term ban based on concerns over protecting women’s health by demonstrating that abortion is not only bad for the unborn child, it is also bad for women.
“The abortion industry’s war on women has left many injured people behind. This ban will protect women’s lives, despite the best efforts of the abortion industry to block reasonable limits on a procedure that becomes more dangerous with each passing month,” said Dr. Yoest. “Medical evidence demonstrates that abortion can cause serious physical and psychological complications—and the risk of those complications raises dramatically later in pregnancy.”
Yoest said the abortion industry commonly hides the sometimes deadly consequences of late-term abortions. She said the findings of fact included with the bill lay out some of the risks of late-term abortions, including higher medical risks and higher short-term and long-term physical and psychological complications.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
