State Lawmakers Introduce Onerous New Abortion Law x2

[doggie]

Might as well lump them together to save room. Of course these are to protect the wimmins and not to stop abortions of course.

Arkansas 12-Week Abortion Ban Advances In House

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/2 ... 35498.html

Republican-controlled committee in the Arkansas House of Representatives approved a bill on Thursday that bans abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy if a fetal heartbeat is detected, with exceptions for rape, incest, the life of the mother and highly lethal fetal disorders. The law, if passed, would be the most extreme abortion restriction in the country.

The House Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee also approved a Senate-passed bill that bans abortions at 20 weeks after conception. Both bills defy the Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade, which prevents states from banning abortions before the fetus is viable -- usually between 22 and 24 weeks of gestation.

Opponents of the so-called "heartbeat bill" argue that it would prevent women from having abortions before many of them even realize they're pregnant.

“Let’s call this bill what it is: bumper-sticker message legislation with no chance of standing up in court, designed to dial the clock back 40 years on women’s rights," said Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, a legal advocacy group. “This extreme ban will either force women already facing tough economic circumstances to travel to a neighboring state to access constitutionally protected health care or to turn to dangerous, clandestine options that could ruin or even end their lives."

Both bills advance to a full House vote this week. Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe (D) has expressed concerns that the 12-week ban is unconstitutional, but he has not said whether that will prevent him from signing it. "If it gets to me, then to a large extent I'll be guided by that," Beebe told reporters earlier this month.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/2 ... 34658.html

The Indiana state Senate on Wednesday advanced a bill that would require women to undergo an ultrasound procedure both before and after having a medication-induced abortion during the first trimester of pregnancy.

The Senate Health and Provider Services Committee approved Senate Bill 371 on Wednesday by a vote of 7 to 5, sending it to a full vote in the state Senate. The bill, introduced by state Sen. Travis Holdman ®, imposes heavy regulations on clinics and physicians that offer medication abortions, which are generally used to end a pregnancy up to 10 weeks from a woman's last period. It would require women to be presented with the sound and image of the fetal heartbeat before the abortion and to return for a follow-up ultrasound to ensure that she is no longer pregnant and has stopped bleeding.

[Dollypeeps]

So they are just going to traumatize more women when they chose an abortion by having to listen to the heart beat nowt like piling on the fecking guilt right there eh.

I seriously fear for the women of the nation never mind just my daughters.

[SamuraiKatz]

Arkansas Law Vetoed today by the Governor

Governor Mike Beebe vetoes House Bill 1037 this afternoon. His veto letter included the following section:

...because it would impose a ban on a woman's right to choose an elective, nontherapeutic abortion before viability, House Bill 1037, if it became law, would squarely contradict Supreme Court precedent. When I was sworn in as Governor I took an oath to preserve, protect, and defend both the Arkansas Constitution and the Constitution of the United States. I take that oath seriously.

Second, the adoption of unconstitutional laws can be very costly to the taxpayers of our State. It has been suggested that outside groups or others might represent the State for free in any litigation challenging the constitutionality of House Bill 1037, but even if that were to happen, that would only lessen the State's own litigation costs. Lawsuits challenging unconstitutional laws also result in the losing party - in this case, the State - having to pay the costs and attorneys' fees incurred by the litigants who successfully challenge the law. Those costs and fees can be significant. In the last case in which the constitutionality of an Arkansas abortion statute was challenged, Little Rock Family Planning Services v. Jegley, the State was ordered to pay the prevailing plaintiffs and their attorneys nearly $119,000 for work in the trial court, and an additional $28,900 for work on the State's unsuccessful appeal. Those fee awards were entered in 1999, and litigation fees and costs have increased extensively since then. The taxpayers' exposure, should HB 1037 become law, will be significantly greater.

While I must therefore veto HB 1037, I wish to express my appreciation to its principal sponsor, Representative Mayberry, for his candor and for his respect for the Governor's role in the legislative process.

I know Rapert, Mayberry and Joshie will be back...but at least they will have to try again next year.

[PennySycamore]

Bravo for Governor Beebe!