Ariz. Gov. Signs Bills Increasing Abortion Restrictions, Updating Existing Statutes

Main Category: Abortion
Also Included In: Psychology / Psychiatry;  Pediatrics / Children's Health;  Sexual Health / STDs
Article Date: 16 Jul 2009 - 6:00 PDT

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Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) on Monday signed into law a bill (HB 2564) that mandates a 24-hour waiting period and in-person counseling with a doctor before women can receive abortion care, the AP/Yahoo! News reports. The law requires doctors to list risks and alternatives and describe the fetus's probable characteristics. It also makes an existing parental consent law more restrictive for minors seeking abortion care and allows health care workers to refuse to dispense emergency contraception on moral or religious grounds.

Planned Parenthood Arizona said the measure "creates barriers, increases costs and denies access to services and providers to women who seek abortion care." Bryan Howard, the affiliate's president, said, "Women will be forced to delay their care, in turn increasing their health risks." In signing the measure, Brewer "set a new course" from former Gov. Janet Napolitano (D), who vetoed all bills that restricted abortion rights during her six years as governor, the AP/Yahoo! News reports.

Brewer Signs Law Revising 'Partial-Birth Abortion' Ban

Brewer also signed legislation (HB 2400) that revises an Arizona law banning so-called "partial-birth" abortion except when the procedure is necessary to save the woman's life. A federal judge in October 1997 ruled that a state law banning the procedure was unconstitutional, but the Supreme Court in 2007 upheld a similar federal law. The new law is intended to align the 1997 state law with the federal statute, according to the AP/Yahoo! News.

The new law specifies a punishment of up to two years in prison. It allows a doctor charged under the law to seek a hearing before a state regulatory board to determine if the doctor's actions were necessary to save the woman. Advocates of the bill say that it will allow local authorities to enforce the ban on the procedure (Davenport, AP/Yahoo! News, 7/13).

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