Georgia House Approves Bill That Would Require 24-Hour Waiting Period for Women Seeking Abortion

Main Category: Abortion
Article Date: 26 Feb 2005 - 19:00 PDT

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The Georgia House on Wednesday voted 139-35 to approve a bill... (HB 197) that would require a 24-hour waiting period for women seeking abortion and tighten parental notification regulations for minors seeking the procedure, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. The measure would require women seeking abortion to be informed of the medical risks of the procedure, the gestational age of the fetus, information about potential fetal pain experienced during an abortion and alternatives to the procedure. In addition, the measure would require that a minor's parent or legal guardian be notified if she seeks an abortion. The current parent notification law allows other adults, such as a grandparent or other relative, to "stand in" for a minor's parent or guardian, according to the Journal-Constitution (Campos, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 2/24). The House Health and Human Services Committee last week removed from the bill the requirement that doctors tell women about a possible link between abortion and an increased risk of breast cancer. The committee also removed a provision that would have allowed the partner or parents of a woman who has undergone an abortion to sue the abortion provider if they believe the procedure was conducted improperly. In addition, the committee agreed to keep secret the names of abortion providers who would be required to report information to the state about abortions performed (Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, 2/22). The bill now goes to the full state Senate, which approved similar legislation in 2003 (Basinger, Florida Times-Union, 2/24).

Similar Senate Measure
The state Senate Health and Human Services Committee earlier this month approved a similar measure (SB 77) that would require women to wait 24 hours before undergoing an abortion and receive information about the probable age and development of the fetus, the medical risks of abortion, "fetal pain" and alternatives to abortion, including adoption. The bill also would require doctors to notify the parents of minors under age 18 who are seeking abortion (Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, 2/22).

Opposing Opinion Pieces
The Journal-Constitution on Friday published an editorial and an opposing opinion piece on the bills, which are summarized below.

• Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Lawmakers backing the bills "apparently regard women as competent enough to be told the risks of abortion but too fragile and emotional to make a decision without the state first sitting them down for a mandatory lecture -- essentially an antiabortion screed -- and then forcing them to wait 24 hours before the procedure," a Journal-Constitution editorial says. Although the House bill "improved a bit" after lawmakers removed several provisions, the measure represents the "first step" by antiabortion advocates to "chip away at reproductive freedom in Georgia," according to the editorial. "If Georgia women hope to protect themselves from politicians who believe that women are too stupid to make their own reproductive choices without the state's meddling, they better start making their voices heard at the polls," the editorial concludes (Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 2/25).
  


• Caryl Swift, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: The "common-sense" legislation, which is "a long time in coming," is needed because "women should have a right to 'know' the risks of an abortion before choosing it," Swift, president of Georgia Right to Life, writes in a Journal-Constitution opinion piece. Doctors explain risks and alternatives before performing "every other medical procedure," Swift writes, concluding that the bill is "very pro-woman" and "would not interfere with a woman's decision to have an abortion or her right to privacy" (Swift, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 2/25).

"Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork.org kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/repro The Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

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