TcMedicine

Actions Taken On Abortion-Related Legislation In Georgia, Louisiana, Oklahoma

The following highlights recent news of state actions on abortion-related legislation.

• Georgia: Gov. Sonny Perdue (R) on Wednesday signed into law an amended version of a bill (HB 147) that requires women seeking abortions to be offered the option of viewing an ultrasound or sonogram image of the fetus, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports (Campos, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 5/24). The bill states that the requirement helps protect “unborn children from a woman’s uninformed decision to have an abortion.” Different versions of the measure passed the House and Senate, and a six-member panel appointed to reach compromise legislation added requirements, including that women have the option of listening to the heartbeat of the fetus. In addition, women will be required to sign a document stating whether they had agreed to see the image of the fetus. The Georgia Legislature approved the compromised legislation in April (Kaiser Daily Women’s Health Policy Report, 4/24). The law goes into effect on July 1 (Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 5/24).
  
  
• Louisiana: The House on Thursday unanimously voted to approve a measure (HB 614) that would ban so-called “partial-birth” abortion in the state, the AP/Shreveport Times reports. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Gary Beard (R), says that doctors who provide the procedure could receive fines between $1,000 and $10,000 and jail sentences between one and 10 years. The ban would allow exceptions when the life of the pregnant woman is in danger. The bill now moves to the Senate. Sen. Ben Nevers (D) is sponsoring a similar bill (SB 161) that is awaiting debate by the Senate health committee (Simpson, AP/Shreveport Times, 5/24).
  
  
• Oklahoma: A measure that bans the use of state or federal funds to perform abortions has become law after a deadline passed for it to be vetoed by Gov. Brad Henry (D), Reuters reports (Reuters, 5/24). Henry last month vetoed a similar bill (SB 714) that would have banned the use of state or federal funds to perform abortions except to save the lives of pregnant women. The vetoed legislation also would have barred using state-supported hospitals, clinics and equipment to perform abortions. In addition, the bill would have tightened the bypass provision of the state’s informed consent law by changing the definition of “medical emergency” and would have made all state employees ineligible to perform an abortion except to save the life of the woman. The Senate failed to override the veto by one vote. However, the Senate and House earlier this month approved a new bill that allows physicians more rights to discuss the procedure with the pregnant woman. Public hospitals still will be allowed to perform abortions in cases of rape, incest or to save the life of pregnant women, according to supporters of the new law (Kaiser Daily Women’s Health Policy Report, 5/23).
  

“Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.