Ariz. Gov. Vetoes Abortion Ban Bill; Senate Rejects Bill To Restrict Abortions To Physicians

Main Category: Abortion
Also Included In: Primary Care / General Practice
Article Date: 01 Jul 2008 - 9:00 PST

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Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano (D) on Friday vetoed a bill (SB 1048) that would have banned so-called "partial-birth" abortion in the state, the AP/Tucson Citizen reports. Napolitano's veto letter says that there is already a federal law (PL 108-105) addressing this issue and that she does not want to introduce criminal penalties "into the relationship between a woman and her physician" (AP/Tucson Citizen, 6/28).

Napolitano in April vetoed a similar measure (HB 2769) in part because it included a harsher criminal penalty than a federal version of the abortion ban, and lacked a provision allowing physicians to seek a state government hearing on whether the procedure was necessary to save a woman's life. The new version vetoed by Napolitano included a hearing provision and would impose the same penalties as the federal law. Although lawmakers modified provisions in the measure in response to Napolitano's stated objections, she said she wanted lawmakers to focus on preventing unintended pregnancies (Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 6/20).

Senate Rejects Bill To Restrict Abortions to Physicians

In related news, the Arizona Senate on Thursday voted 14-12 to reject a House-passed bill (HB 2269) that would prohibit nurses from performing surgical abortions, the AP/AZCentral.com reports. The 14-12 vote was two votes short of the 16 required for passage in the 30-member chamber (AP/AZCentral.com, 6/26).

The Arizona State Board of Nursing last month recommended that nurse practitioners with special training be permitted to perform the procedure. The recommendation would be invalid if the measure becomes law (Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 6/20). Under the bill, sponsored by Rep. Bob Stump (R), physicians would be the only medical professionals allowed to perform abortions. Stump said state lawmakers are entitled to substitute their own judgment for that of the nursing board.

The Arizona Daily Star reports that although there is nothing in state law that allows only physicians to perform abortion, an attorney for the antiabortion group Center for Arizona Policy said references to abortion in other statutes show it was always the intent of lawmakers to restrict the practice to physicians (Fischer, Arizona Daily Star, 6/27). Although supporters of the ban say it is needed to protect patient safety, opponents say the bill would infringe on abortion rights. Planned Parenthood Arizona says it uses a Tucson-based nurse practitioner to conduct approximately 35% to 40% of the 2,500 abortions it performs annually in southern Arizona; physicians perform the rest (AP/AZCentral.com, 6/26).

After the vote, Stump said, "Abortion is a surgical procedure," adding, "When surgical procedures of that sort are being performed, I think it's appropriate to have a doctor on hand in case of complications." According to the Daily Star, with the Legislature on recess and several lawmakers absent, it is unlikely the bill will be revived (Arizona Daily Star, 6/27).

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