This week, legislators and governors in Louisiana, South Carolina, and Alabama joined in bipartisan fashion to enact several new restrictions on abortion.
For background, click headlines below to read previous articles:
Abortions Outlawed at 20 Weeks in South Dakota
Abortionists Stymied by New Oklahoma & Kansas Laws
Late-term Abortion Ban Passes in West Virginia
Less Painful Baby Killing: New Utah Abortion Law
Also read Abortionists, Satanists Team Up vs. Missouri Law
And read Indiana Outlaws Killing Disabled, Abortionists Sue
-- From "Louisiana lawmakers vote to ban common abortion procedure" by Melinda Deslatte, Associated Press 5/17/16
Louisiana will become the sixth state to prohibit a commonly used second-trimester abortion procedure, when the governor signs a bill that received final legislative passage Tuesday.
The measure by Rep. Mike Johnson, R-Bossier City, will ban a procedure called dilation and evacuation, known as D&E.; The procedure will only be allowed if necessary to prevent “serious health risk” to the mother.
A 36-2 Senate vote with no debate sent the measure to [Democrat] Gov. John Bel Edwards’ desk. Edwards spokesman Richard Carbo said the governor intends to sign it.
Supporters have described the abortion method as “inhumane and barbaric.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "South Carolina passes bill banning abortion after 19 weeks" by Seanna Adcox, Associated Press 5/18/16
The legislation will now head to Gov. Nikki Haley's desk. The Republican said in March she will almost certainly sign it, but wants to look at the details once it reaches her.
Similar laws are in effect in 12 states. They've been blocked by court challenges in three others, and the U.S. Supreme Court has yet to rule on the ban's constitutionality. A South Dakota law signed in March takes effect this summer.
The South Carolina House approved the compromise 79-29. The Senate approved it 36-9 in March.
A doctor who performs an illegal abortion under the bill would face up to three years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "South Carolina Legislature Approves Ban on Abortions at 20 Weeks" by Christine Hauser, New York Times 5/18/16
The South Carolina legislature has passed a bill making it illegal for a woman to get an abortion at 20 weeks or more, even if she has been raped or is a victim of incest . . . [and] would allow exceptions only if the mother’s life was in jeopardy or a doctor determined that the fetus could not survive outside the womb.
. . . Representative Wendy K. Nanney, a Republican sponsor of the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, said: “I am so excited. This is something that we’ve been working on for four years. It is a nice ending to a lot of hard work.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Alabama Gov. Bentley signs 2 controversial abortion bills into law" by The Associated Press 5/13/16
Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley has signed legislation into law that could shutter two of the state's largest abortion providers.
Bentley's office on Thursday confirmed the governor signed a bill to deny licenses to clinics within 2,000 feet of public elementary and middle schools. He also approved a ban on a commonly used second trimester abortion procedure.
The law will shutter a Huntsville facility that was forced to move to its current location in 2013 to comply with new facility restrictions on abortion providers. A Tuscaloosa facility could also be affected.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Dismemberment abortion ban signed into law, earns applause for Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley" by Lorraine Caballero, Christian Daily 5/17/16
The Republican governor, who is also a medical doctor, pointed out that Alabama's state law recognizes that an unborn child can suffer from physical pain. The dismemberment abortion ban, which takes effect in August, prohibits the use of forceps, scissors, clamps, or other similar instruments to remove a living unborn child from the uterus in pieces.
Dismemberment abortion, or "dilation and evacuation" (D&E), is a procedure done to terminate pregnancy in the second trimester. It involves severing the limbs of a live unborn child and extracting the pieces from the uterus one piece at a time.
Alabama is the fifth U.S. state to ban dismemberment abortion, after Kansas, Oklahoma, Mississippi, and Louisiana have either approved or is moving the law through the legislature.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Louisiana Is About To Ban ‘Dismemberment’ Abortions" by Rachel Stoltzfoos, Reporter, Daily Caller 5/18/16
. . . all 83 representatives in the State house, including 25 Democrats and two Independents, approved the bill in April.
Doctors commonly use the dilation and evacuation method in second trimester abortions. The abortionist artificially dilates the woman’s cervix, then simply reaches into the womb with metal forceps and pulls the fetus out piece by piece. Lastly, the abortionist vacuums or scrapes out any leftover flesh and blood to make sure no remains cause an infection in the woman.
“The fetus in many cases dies just as an adult would,” Republican Rep. Mike Johnson, who sponsored the bill and is running for Congress, recently told a USA Today affiliate. “It bleeds to death as it is torn limb from limb. There are many who say this is the preferred method not because it is better but because it is cheaper.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Abortions down in Alabama: Tough laws close clinics, cut numbers" by Amy Yurkanin, The Birmingham News 5/18/16
The number of abortion clinics in Alabama has dwindled from 12 in 2001 to five in 2016, and two of those clinics may have to close if the courts uphold laws recently passed by the state legislature.
The [2000-foot] distance requirement would shut down two of the busiest abortion clinics in Alabama. The West Alabama Women's Center in Tuscaloosa and All Women's Center for Reproductive Alternatives in Huntsville perform more than 70 percent of the abortions in the state, according to the Alabama Department of Public Health.
Pro-choice organizations say a slew of state laws have hurt clinics and made it difficult to access services in Alabama, which has some of the strictest abortion laws in the country.
The rate of abortion is lower in Alabama than the nation. In 2011, 12 percent of Alabama pregnancies ended in abortion, compared to 18 percent nationwide, according to the Guttmacher Institute.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Also read this Gallup poll: Americans Want Abortion Laws Changed
