NAF's Report on Federal and State Action on Abortion
Issues
March, 2000
Federal Legislation
3/9 - The House Commerce Committee held hearings on fetal tissue donation. "Star witnees" Dean Alberty, admitted he had lied when he stated he had firsthand knowledge of illegal activity. As a paid spy for Life Dynamics, an anti-choice organization, Alberty was paid over $20,000.3/15 - Representative Tom Coburn (R-Oklahoma) introduced a bill requiring any person or organization acquiring fetal tissue for any purpose to file a disclosure statement with Health and Human Services including information regarding the source of the fetal tissue, the names and addresses of those involved in the transactions, what the tissue will be used for, a description of the type and amount of fetal tissue involved, how the tissue was procured, and the financial terms of the acquisition.
In the States
Action on so-called "partial birth abortion" bans:3/6 - New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson (R) signed into law a bill that makes so-called "partial birth abortions" illegal unless a woman's life is endangered or she is at risk of great bodily harm. The law defines the procedure as one in which a provider extracts the cranial contents of the fetus in order to induce death. The law makes performing such procedures a fourth-degree felony.
3/9 - A federal judge blocked Michigan's Infant Protection Act that makes it a felony for doctors performing an abortion that a fetus has been partially removed from the mother's body and either breathes, moves or has a heartbeat. U.S. District Judge Arthur Tarnow ruled that it is up to a woman to decide whether to terminate any pregnancy before a fetus can survive outside the womb.
3/9 - The Kansas Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee heard testimony on a bill that would amend the state's existing law on so-called "partial birth abortions." The bill would ban the abortions described in the bill except in cases necessary to preserve the life of the pregnant woman. Current law allows for the procedure in cases where the woman's life is threatened and to protect women's mental or physical health.
3/16 - The Ohio state Senate approved a measure that would ban so-called "partial birth feticide." The measure would allow a woman, her partner, or her parents to file a civil suit against abortion providers. Under the measure, the procedure would be a second-degree felony, punishable by a prison term of up to eight years.
3/17 - The Kansas state House killed a Senate-passed measure that would have banned so-called "partial birth abortions." House members have agreed to attempt to put the language of the House abortion bill into a Senate bill.
3/21 - The Ohio House approved the Senate's changes to a ban on so-called "partial birth abortions." The measure will now be sent to Governor Bob Taft (R) who is expected to sign the bill.
3/23 - The New Hampshire House of Representatives rejected a bill that would have banned so-called "partial birth abortions." The bill would have charged doctors who performed late-term abortions with a felony and up to two years in prison.
3/22 - Abortion providers and the state of Montana agreed to a settlement that limits enforcement of Montana's so-called "partial birth abortion" ban to abortions performed post-viability.
Parental Consent/Notification:
3/29 - The Arizona House rejected a bill that would have required minors seeking abortions to obtain parental consent. Both the House and Senate had previously approved versions of the bill that had included exemptions for rape and incest victims, but House-Senate conferees eliminated the rape exception.
Waiting Periods/Informed Consent:
3/8 - The Virginia state Senate Education and Health Committee voted against a 24-hour mandatory waiting period for abortions for the second time this session. The bill would have required physicians to provide women with information regarding fetal development and the require them to wait 24 hours before having an abortion.
3/15 - The Iowa House passed "informed consent" legislation requiring women seeking abortions to receive state prepared information on alternatives and fetal development 24 hours prior to undergoing the procedure. According to the bill, women would receive packets containing pictures of fetal development and information on adoption agencies and public and private services available to them.
3/21 - The Minnesota House approved the "Women's Right-to-Know" bill that requires women seeking abortions to wait 24 hours and give "informed consent" after review of state prepared materials prior to undergoing the procedure.
3/21 - The Minnesota Senate passed an amendment that would require the state Department of Health to create a Web site and hotline to provide abortion information to women seeking abortions.
3/21 - The Alaska House Health, Education and Social Services Committee held hearings on a bill requiring women seeking abortion to wait 24 hours and view an extensive state approved description of fetal development. The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services would develop a pamphlet containing photographs of a fetus at two-week intervals throughout pregnancy and list potential risks of abortion.
Other State News:
3/2 - The Arizona House passed the "Jackie Doe Law" preventing children in the state's care from being sent to another state for an abortion that would violate Arizona standards. In Arizona, later abortions are only allowed in cases where the woman's health or life are endangered and no clinics in the state offer the procedure after 20 weeks. The bill requires the state to advise pregnant girls in state care of child support requirements for fathers and adoption options. The legislation stems from a case last year in which the state Supreme Court allowed a 14-year-old foster child to travel to Kansas for an abortion after the Arizona 20 week cut off had passed.
3/8 - The Maryland House of Delegates rejected an amendment that would have banned payments for abortions under a state health plan. The amendment was attached to a bill that proposes expanding the state's Children's Health Program which covers about 60,000 of Maryland's poor children and pregnant women.
3/9 - The Kentucky House Judiciary Committee passed a bill that gives legal status to fetuses and allows parents to sue for wrongful death of fetuses. The bill defines a person from the moment of conception without regard to age, health or condition of dependency and lets parents seek damages for loss of affection and companionship. The bill contains an exemption for abortion, physicians providing medical treatment, and pregnant women.
3/9 - New York state Senator Nick Spano introduced legislation that would require all New York State emergency rooms to make emergency contraception available to rape victims. The bill would require hospitals that provide emergency treatment to inform patients of their option to receive EC and to provide it upon request.
3/29 - The Arizona state Senate approved the "Jackie Doe law" that would make it illegal for pregnant girls in the state's care to go out of state for an abortion that would violate Arizona's standards.
3/31 - The Kansas House approved legislation that would tighten restrictions on the transfer of fetal tissue. The bill sets a $25 maximum charge for fetal tissue, which would ensure that sales cover costs and do not provide a profit. The bill also requires individuals transferring the fetal tissue to provide detailed information about the transactions to the state Department of Health and Environment, including the names of the parties shipping and receiving the tissue and the method of shipment.
In the Courts
3/1 - Arizona abortion clinics and doctors filed suit to block a regulatory and licensing law requiring clinics to be licensed and comply with various rules and regulations, claiming it violates their constitutional rights and their patients' rights.3/2 - The Oregon Court of Appeals ruled that state law does not allow wrongful death damages for the death of a fetus that could not survive independently outside the womb. The court ruled that a 16-week-old fetus was not considered a "person" under the law that permits civil damages to be sought for deaths caused by wrongful acts.
3/3 - Four abortion clinics and four doctors in Arizona are suing to overturn the Arizona law that restricts Medicaid coverage of abortions to cases of rape or incest, or when the women's life is threatened, arguing that it violates several provisions of the Arizona constitution.
3/6 - The New York Civil Liberties Union successfully argued against a temporary restraining order issued on 3/2 by a state Supreme Court justice that barred a former jail inmate from having an abortion until a court hearing on whether county corrections officials should pay for the procedure. The order had barred the Jefferson County sheriff from allowing the woman to undergo an abortion while in custody.
3/8 - The Texas Supreme Court clarified the state's parental notification law ruling that a girl does not have to tell her parents of her intention to have an abortion if her mother or father is likely to harm her emotionally or physically. The law requires girls under 18 to notify at least one parent before seeking an abortion.
3/16 - Norma McCorvey, "Jane Roe" in the landmark Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade, and Sandra Cano-Saucedo, "Mary Doe" in Doe v. Bolton, filed friend of the court briefs in support of the plaintiffs in Donna Santa Marie v. Christine Todd Whitman. The suit challenges a New Jersey statute that prohibits wrongful-death lawsuits when the victim is an unborn child. The plaintiffs, including three women who say they were coerced into having abortions, claim that the goal of the case is to give women equal protection under the law by protecting the mother-child relationship. Both McCorvey and Cano-Saucedo now oppose abortion and claim they were "wrongfully used" by abortion-rights activists.
3/16 - A settlement has been reached in a case filed by a Pennsylvania couple against a high school guidance counselor who they claimed recommended that their teenage daughter obtain an out-of-state abortion to avoid Pennsylvania's parental consent law. While the school and the guidance counselor admitted no wrongdoing, the school will pay $20,000 in damages and issue and enforce regulations prohibiting school personnel from advising or assisting any student in obtaining an abortion.
Around the World
3/1 - Health officials in Kenya have attributed the lower-than-expected population growth to family planning efforts in that country. The fertility rate among Kenyan women declined from an average of seven children in 1989 to five children in 1999.3/10 - China's State Family Planning Commission will kick off a nationwide promotion of emergency contraceptive options next month.
3/13 - The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists in Great Britain has outlined new guidelines on abortion, stating that the procedure may be a legal and appropriate management of unwanted pregnancy when there are factors that would threaten a woman's physical or mental well-being if the pregnancy were to continue. According to the guidelines, women should be allowed to have an abortion within seven days of requesting one; no woman should wait longer than three weeks after being referred for an abortion; the procedure should take place in the span of one day; women seeking gynecological care for a pregnancy or other health needs should be treated separately from women seeking an abortion; women should be offered a choice of abortion methods; and women should be counseled on future contraceptive use.
3/13 - Over the past 20 years, the number of abortions in Quebec, Canada have more than doubled. According to the Quebec Bureau of Statistics, 41 abortions were performed for every 100 live births in 1998.
3/16 - A judge in Bolivia who ordered doctors to give a 12-year-old girl an abortion after she was raped and impregnated by her stepfather should be excommunicated according to local Roman Catholic Church leaders.
