The Arizona House on Thursday voted to give final approval to three antiabortion-rights measures, the Arizona Republic reports.
Gov. Doug Ducey (D) has five days to take action on the bills. He can sign them into law, veto them or let them become law without his signature (Beard Rau, Arizona Republic, 3/24). According to the AP/KSL, Ducey has not commented on the bills, but he has signed abortion restrictions in the past (Christie, AP/KSL, 3/24).
Bill details
One bill (SB 1324), which was approved on a 32-26 vote, would restrict medication abortion (Conover, Arizona Public Media, 3/24). Specifically, the bill would prohibit a woman who is more than seven weeks' pregnant from obtaining a medication abortion. Abortion providers in the state currently offer medication abortion through nine weeks of pregnancy. Physicians also would be required to administer both drugs in the medication abortion regimen on site, necessitating an extra office visit, and at the dosage listed on the FDA label, which is higher than the dosage typically used in practice. A similar state law (HB 2036) was ruled unconstitutional in October 2015 (Women's Health Policy Report, 3/24).
The second bill (SB 1485), which was approved on a 35-23 vote, would remove Planned Parenthood from a list of organizations to which state employees can donate via the state government's charitable campaign.
A third bill (SB 1474), which was approved on a 41-17 vote, would bar abortion providers from selling or transferring fetal tissue for research purposes (Arizona Public Media, 3/24). The bill, sponsored by state Sen. Nancy Barto (R), was introduced in response to a series of misleading videos targeting Planned Parenthood's fetal tissue donation program. Investigations in several states have found no evidence of wrongdoing by Planned Parenthood, which has stated it has not engaged in illegal activity.
The bill would effectively prohibit nearly all research on fetal tissue resulting from abortion. Under the measure, researchers would be able to use such tissue only to diagnose medical problems in the fetus or the woman, or to conduct pathological research on whether the fetus has a disease. The state government also would be able to investigate the use of fetal tissue even if the government's actions intrude on the doctor-patient relationship (Women's Health Policy Report, 3/24).
Comments
According to AP/KSL, four conservative lawmakers joined liberal members of the state House in opposing the medication abortion bill.
During a House debate on the bills Wednesday, state Rep. Regina Cobb (R) said, "I would ask when you all consider today when you take this vote, are we putting the safety of women in the No. 1 priority, are we taking away the doctor patient relationship? Is this constitutional? And I don't think it is any of those things."
State Rep. Eric Meyer (D) also raised concerns about court challenges. He said, "[W]hat we're doing, because of our political beliefs, we're imposing our beliefs on the practice of medicine and the right for women to choose what they want to do with their bodies, and that is wrong" (AP/KSL, 3/24).
In addition, Meyer, a physician, called SB 1324 a "bad precedent." He said, "We're legislating health care and decisions that are made between a physician and a woman about their health care" (Arizona Public Media, 3/24).
