NAF's Report on Federal and State Action on Abortion Issues
January, 2000

Federal Legislation

1/8 - President Clinton announced an increase in his fiscal 2001 budget proposal for domestic and international family planning programs. He said he will urge Congress to end the antiabortion restrictions imposed on US funds this year.

1/12 - The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Driver's Privacy Protection Act of 1994 that bars states from releasing personal information contained in motor vehicle records. Some anti-abortion extremists have found abortion providers' home addresses by tracking their license plate numbers.

1/14 - The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to review Nebraska's so-called "Partial Birth Abortion Ban."

1/19 - The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments regarding Colorado's "bubble law." The new law would prohibit anti-choice demonstrators from coming within eight feet of patients within a 100 foot radius of abortion clinics.

1/20 - Senator Bob Kerrey (D-NE) announced that he will not seek a third term in the U.S. Senate. Kerrey, a strong supporter of abortion rights, is the forth pro-choice Democratic U.S. Senator to announce his retirement in 2000.

In the States

1/21 - New Mexico Senator Bill Davis (R) introduced a so-called "Partial Birth Abortion Ban" bill. Physicians who are convicted under the proposed legislation could face fourth-degree felony charges unless the abortion was performed to save the woman's life.

1/26 - A Kansas House panel approved a so-called "Partial Birth Abortion Ban." The panel also voted to exclude a provision in the current law that allows abortions in order to preserve women's mental health.

Contraceptive Coverage:

1/18 - The New York State Assembly passed legislation that would extend birth control, prenatal care and family planning services to thousands of low-income women.

Waiting Periods:

1/28 - The Arizona House Government Reform Committee approved legislation requiring women seeking abortions to wait 24 hours after receiving information from their doctors about abortion. The bill requires doctors to provide patients with information about services that provide assistance during pregnancy and childbirth, adoption services, state regulations regarding child support responsibilities of the father, anatomical and physiological characteristics of a fetus depicted in photographs, and a description of any chance for fetal survival outside the womb.

Parental Consent:

1/1 -Texas's new parental-notification law requiring all girls under age 17 to notify a parent or guardian at least 48 hours before receiving an abortion went into effect.

1/12 - Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains challenged Colorado's Parental Notification Act on the grounds that it makes no exception in the case of a medical emergency. The Act requires doctors to give parents 48 hours notice before performing an abortion on minors.

1/14 - Arizona State Sen. Ken Bennett (R) introduced legislation requiring minors to get parental consent before obtaining an abortion. The measure would require judges to hold a hearing and issue a ruling within 48 hours of the consent bypass petition. The new measure is similar to a law that was struck down by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals because the law did not set deadlines for judicial action.

1/18 - Lawmakers in West Virginia introduced legislation requiring minors to obtain consent from both parents before seeking an abortion, except in cases of life-threatening injuries or rape.

1/18 - Nebraska legislators introduced a bill that would retract the requirement that schools tell students about the state's parental notification law and how they can bypass the notification. A parent's signature would have to be notarized on permission slips and anyone accompanying a minor would be required to present photo identification. Women would be required to receive state published information favoring childbirth over abortion.

1/26 - The Arizona Senate Family Services Committee approved a measure that would prohibit physicians from performing abortions on minors without parental consent, except in cases of medical emergencies.

Other State News:

1/1 - A Utah legislator introduced a bill that would allow only gynecologists to perform abortions.

1/9 - The Missouri Department of Health announced that it will restore funding to some of the state's family planning clinics following a state Supreme Court decision. The Health Department had frozen state payments to all family planning clinics following a Circuit Court decision that Planned Parenthood affiliates in Missouri could not receive state funds because of their association with abortion providers. The Supreme Court ruled the lower court decision only applied to Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri and Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region.

1/20 - A Nebraska state senator introduced a bill banning the use of fetal tissue obtained from elective abortions for research purposes. The bill would also bar any state employee or agency from engaging or participating in the use of aborted fetal tissue.

1/22 -- A circuit court judge in North Dakota refused to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a woman against the Red River Women's Clinic. The lawsuit alleges that the clinic's advertising brochure made false claims regarding the link between induced abortion and breast cancer risk. The judge denied the clinic's motion to dismiss the lawsuit on the grounds that the plaintiff did not allege that she personally was misled or harmed by the statement in the brochure.

1/23 - A U.S. District judge ruled that Missouri and Reproductive Health Services of Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region cannot argue in state court that Missouri's Infants Protection Act violates the state constitution because a similar federal lawsuit is already pending. The law, which Gov. Mel Carnahan (D) vetoed, is a so-called "Partial Birth Abortion Ban" that classifies abortions as infanticide.

1/25 - A New York legislator introduced a bill requiring New York hospital emergency rooms to provide emergency contraception to rape victims.

1/26 - The California Assembly approved a bill requiring health plans, disability insurers and Medi-Cal managed care plans to provide consumers with information and disclosures related to reproductive health services.

1/27 - Emily Lyons, the nurse who was seriously injured in the bombing of a Birmingham, Alabama, abortion clinic, filed suit against fugitive suspect Eric Rudolph.

1/29 - A Kansas legislator proposed giving women who put their babies up for adoption a $5,000 tax credit in an effort to reduce the number of abortions in Kansas.

In the Courts

1/4 -- Rae Carruth, a former wide receiver for the NFL's Carolina Panthers, was charged with first-degree murder in the drive-by shooting death of his pregnant girlfriend Cherica Adams and attempted murder of his girlfriend's fetus. In North Carolina, it is illegal to use drugs or any instrument with the intent of destroying a fetus after 20 weeks of pregnancy, unless the pregnancy threatens the life of the woman.

1/12 - A federal appeals court will reopen a case involving a Louisiana law that would allow women to sue their physicians for physical or emotional duress after an abortion. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had struck down the statute last year claiming the law would cause many of Louisiana's abortion providers to go out of business and therefore would pose an undue burden on a woman's right to seek an abortion.

1/25 - The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control and the attorney general have appealed to the U.S. District Court regarding a lower court's decision blocking a proposed abortion clinic regulations law. The law, passed in 1996, applied to all clinics or offices where more than five abortions were performed annually and included numerous regulations.

1/26 - The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court unanimously ruled that a bill establishing a 25-foot protest-free buffer zone around abortion clinics was constitutional. The state Senate had asked the court to review the constitutionality of the bill before the state Legislature began debating the bill. A similar bill has passed the Senate twice but has failed to pass the House.

1/28 - In Texas, the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a $11.4 million jury verdict against Operation Rescue. The case involves the harassment campaign in the 1990s against abortion provider Norman Tompkins.

Around the World

1/18 - The Alfa Federation Family Protection Civil Organization, an anti abortion organization, will have to pay damages to a 13-year old Hungarian girl who was forced to continue an unwanted pregnancy. The girl was allowed to abort the fetus after the health and justice ministries intervened. Abortions are legal in Hungary until the 12th week of the pregnancy if the baby to be born, or the pregnancy itself, would put the mother in a serious crisis situation.

1/24 - Canadian authorities have issued an arrest warrant for James Charles Kopp in conjunction with the 1995 shooting of Canadian abortion provider Dr. Hugh Short. Kopp is also a suspect in the shootings of Dr. Jack Fainman and Dr. Garson Romalis. Kopp is also wanted in the U.S. for the 1998 murder of Dr. Bernard Slepian.