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

Main Category: Abortion
Article Date: 05 Mar 2005 - 13:00 PDT

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The Georgia Senate Health and Human Services Committee on Wednesday approved 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 (Campos, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 3/3). The measure, which the state House already has passed, 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 parental notification law allows other adults, such as a grandparent or other relative, to stand in for a minor's parent or guardian. An earlier provision requiring doctors to tell women about a possible link between abortion and an increased risk of breast cancer was removed by a state House committee. In addition, the state House 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, 2/25). An amendment proposed by state Sen. David Adelman (D) that would have exempted rape and incest survivors from the waiting period and other requirements was "quickly" defeated, according to the Journal-Constitution. Opponents of the measure say it would put up "unnecessary barriers" for women seeking legal abortions, according to the Journal-Constitution. Although the bill now will advance to the state Senate Rules Committee, Georgia Right to Life said that it is "hopeful" that the bill will come to a vote by the full state Senate as early as Friday, according to the Journal-Constitution.

Mifepristone Bill
The Georgia Senate Health and Human Services Committee on Wednesday also approved a bill (SB 123) that would allow pharmacists to refuse on "moral or religious" grounds to dispense mifepristone for medical abortions, the Journal-Constitution reports. The measure originally would have allowed pharmacists to refuse to dispense emergency contraception, which can prevent pregnancy if taken within 72 hours of sexual intercourse. However, the bill was "considerably watered down" by the committee and only included mifepristone when it was approved, according to the Journal-Constitution. The measure now goes to the state Senate Rules Committee (Atlanta Journal- Constitution, 3/3).

"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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