By Dave Andrusko
NRLC State Legislative Director Mary Spaulding Balch, J.D.
Yesterday we talked about how the Kansas legislature will soon be sending HB 2218 to the desk of pro-life Gov. Sam Brownback, a bill modeled after Nebraska’s Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. HB 2218 forbids abortions after the 22nd week (20 weeks post-fertilization) based on the solid science that by this juncture, if not earlier, the unborn child can experience excruciating pain. In passing the Senate 24-15, supporters fended off a series of hostile amendments.
“It’s time to protect our unborn where we can, to protect our women and help them in all ways that we can, but move away from being a society that treats unborn children like they aren’t human, because they are,” said Mary Kay Culp, executive director of Kansans for Life.
Gov. Brownback will also have the chance to sign HB 2035, the Abortion Reporting Accuracy and Parental Rights Act. Among other things, the measure requires minors to obtain consent from two parents before receiving an abortion and also allows pregnant women or their families to file lawsuits against physicians who perform illegal abortions. Because minor amendments were made on the Senate floor, the bills must be returned to the House for what is expected to be a very response next week first before moving to the governor’s desk.
On Tuesday the Florida House Health and Human Services Quality Subcommittee passed HB 1127 that requires women to have an ultrasound before undergoing an abortion with the option offered to her to review the results. State Sen. Ronda Storms and State Rep. Carlos Trujillo have offered the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act.
In Arkansas the Public Health Committee has advanced a bill that would require facilities that provide non-surgical abortions to be regulated by the Arkansas Health Department. By “non-surgical,” they mean chemical abortions—RU 486.
The bill was offered by Democratic Rep. Butch Wilkins, who “says medical offices that provide abortion pills to 10 or more women per month would have to be licensed,” according to the Associated Press.
Yesterday, an Alabama state House committee held a hearing on HB 18, the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. It would ban abortions after 20 weeks for the same reasons these laws are being introduced all over the country: because there is a slew of medical evidence going back decades that the unborn child feels pain by 20 weeks post-fertilization.
As we have discussed previously
On Tuesday South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard signed into a law a bill with a three-day waiting period after a woman meets with an abortionist. Women would consult with a pregnancy help center in the interim.
The Arizona state Senate has passed a bill that would ban abortions done for the purposes of sex selection or race, according to the Arizona Republic newspaper. The House already has passed House Bill 2443, but the legislation comes from the Senate with stricter penalties for abortionists performing such abortions so it will go back to the House for a final vote. The legislation will then head to the desk of Republican Governor Jan Brewer. This legislation really is needed,” said Sen. Nancy Barto, R-Phoenix. “Sex-selection abortions are happening in this country, and it is time we address it head-on,” the Arizona Republic reported.
On Wednesday the Idaho Senate passed its own Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act by a vote of 24-10. It now goes to the Idaho House for consideration.
“Kansas and Idaho are the latest states to follow Nebraska in recognizing that unborn children feel pain and in moving to protect them,” said Mary Spaulding Balch, J.D., State Legislation Director for the National Right to Life Committee. “We’ve seen pro-life legislation sweeping across the country this year,” Balch added. “The state has a vested interest in these unborn lives and many states are actively working to promote life-affirming and protective laws, such as the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act.”
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