Actions Taken On Antiabortion Legislation In Alaska, Arizona, Georgia

Main Category: Abortion
Article Date: 09 Apr 2008 - 6:00 PDT

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The following highlights recent news of state actions on antiabortion legislation.

• Alaska: The House on Saturday voted 23-15 to approve a measure (HB 364) that would require minors seeking abortions to obtain parental consent before undergoing the procedure, the AP/Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports. Under the measure, a minor could petition a court for an exemption to the law, and a minor who has been abused could obtain an abortion after a court received an affidavit describing the abuse from a family member or social worker. In addition, the bill would make it a felony for a physician to perform an abortion on a minor who does not have parental consent or a judicial waiver. The measure, sponsored by Rep. John Coghill (R), would be the "harshest" parental consent law in the country if passed, according to Planned Parenthood of Alaska. The bill would revise the state's Parental Consent Act, which passed in the Legislature in 1997 but was never enforced (Sutton, AP/Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, 4/6). PPA and two Alaska doctors challenged implementation of the earlier law after it passed, and a trial court ruled it unconstitutional in 2003 (Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 11/6/07). The state Supreme Court upheld the decision in November 2007, saying that the 1997 law was unconstitutional because it infringed on a minor's right to reproductive choice. If the new bill is approved, it also likely would be challenged. According to the AP/News-Miner, the outcome of such a challenge could different because of the new makeup of the Alaska Supreme Court. Judge Daniel Winfree recently was appointed to the court by Gov. Sarah Plain (R) to replace Judge Alex Bryner, who was in the majority that struck down the 1997 law (AP/Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, 4/6).
  
  
• Arizona: Gov. Janet Napolitano (D) on Friday vetoed two antiabortion measures, the AP/Mohave Daily News reports. One of the bills (HB 2769) would have banned so-called "partial-birth" abortion in the state. In her veto letter for HB 2769, Napolitano cited differences between the bill passed by the state Legislature and the federal law. She said the state version included a harsher criminal penalty than the federal version and lacked a provision allowing physicians to seek a state government hearing on whether the procedure was necessary to save a woman's life. Napolitano said that "rather than introducing more criminal penalties into the relationship between a woman and her physician, let us focus our collective efforts to remedy the root issue of unwanted pregnancies by addressing such important topics as family planning and the prevention of sexual violence against women" (Davenport, AP/Mohave Daily News, 4/5). The other measure (HB 2263) sought to codify a state appellate court ruling that outlines methods that judges can use when minors seeking abortions request a judicial bypass for the state's parental consent requirement. The bill would have added language requiring a judge to conclude that there is "clear and convincing evidence" that a girl seeking an abortion is mature based on "her experience level, perspective and judgment." Under the bill, a judge could have considered various factors when determining maturity, including living away from home, handling personal finances, and knowledge about pregnancy and options available Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 3/27). In her veto letter for HB 2263, Napolitano said the bill is unnecessary because current state case law already contains a "clear and convincing standard of proof for judicial bypass of the parental consent requirement" (Napolitano HB 2263 veto letter, 4/4).
  
  
• Georgia: The House on Friday rejected a bill (HB 1299) that would have banned nearly all abortions at public hospitals, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. HB 1299 originally would have applied a list of ethical restrictions on a new not-for-profit board governing Grady Memorial Hospital. However, the Senate amended the bill to include the antiabortion language, and the House rejected the changes. Rep. Bobby Franklin (R) sought to attach the abortion ban to the dog collar bill, but the amendment was ruled out of order by House Speaker Glenn Richardson (R). Richardson allowed a vote on Franklin's request to overturn the ruling, and the House voted 152-2 against Franklin. According to the Journal-Constitution, the amendment would have banned "prenatal murder" (Smith, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 4/4).

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