NAF's Report on Federal and State Action on Abortion Issues
May,
2000
Federal Legislation
5/18-The U.S. House of Representatives defeated an amendment proposed by Representative Loretta Sanchez (D/CA) to the Department of Defense Authorization Act that would have removed the military's ban on privately funded abortions at military facilities. Another amendment introduced to the to the same bill in Committee by Representative Abercrombie (D/HI) was also defeated. Abercrombie's amendment would have allowed servicewomen and military dependents who are victims of rape or incest to access abortion coverage through military insurance.In the States
5/10-The Missouri Senate voted to prohibit any money from the state's tobacco settlement from being used by organizations that "support or encourage" abortion. Governor Carnahan opposes the plan, supporting instead a more narrowly worded proposal that would prohibit the money from being used to "perform or counsel a woman to have an abortion."5/11-U.S. Attorney Tom Monaghan ruled in favor of the University of Nebraska Medical Center, finding that UNMC did not act improperly by providing a volunteer faculty position for Dr. LeRoy Carhart, who donates fetal tissue for research. Monoghan noted that federal law was not violated because the fetal tissue came from elective abortions and neither the hospital nor Dr. Carhart paid or encouraged women to have abortions.
5/12-Leon County Judge Terry Lewis struck down Florida's parental notification law, ruling the law would violate the right to privacy guaranteed in the state constitution. The State Supreme Court struck down a similar law requiring parental consent 11 years ago. Judge Lewis stated that he discerned no constitutional difference between the consent and notification measures.
5/24-Ohio Governor Bill Taft signed into law a so-called "partial birth abortion" ban that criminalizes procedures termed "partial birth feticide." Violators are subject to $15,000 in fines and up to eight years in prison. A similar measure was passed but declared unconstitutional in federal court in 1995.
5/25-Florida Governor Jeb Bush signed a so-called "partial birth abortion" ban into law. While the ban excludes first trimester procedures, or specifically "suction or sharp curettage abortion," it does not contain a health exception. On June 2, a Temporary Restraining Order was issued along with a preliminary hearing scheduled for June 7.
In Other News
5/9-A panel of the United Methodist Church voted to support a ban on so-called "partial birth abortions" except in cases of severe fetal abnormalities or when the woman's life is in danger.Around the World
5/8-Two doctors in Poland were charged with performing illegal abortions after police raided their private clinic. In Poland, abortions can be performed only in a hospital and only in cases of life endangerment, rape, incest or if the fetus is irreparably damaged. Abortions have been illegal since 1989 when the Solidarity movement came to power.5/25-In New Zealand, anti-choice activist Graeme Richard White was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for burgling the Lyndhurst Hospital. Judge Colin Doherty declared that it was possible to infer that White also intended to commit arson.
