Several state legislatures debate abortion restrictions

Jun 9 2011

State legislatures around the country are looking at a variety of measures dealing with abortion.

Dallas Morning News: Texas House Votes To Strip Funds From Public Hospitals That Perform Elective Abortions
The House voted Wednesday to deny state funds to public hospitals that perform elective abortions or do business with entities that provide "abortion-related services." ... The provision was one of two anti-abortion measures tacked on to a big health care bill that is needed to help balance the two-year state budget. The other, by Rep. Bill Zedler, R-Arlington, would require women and their doctors to fill out and submit to the state detailed questionnaires about their abortions (Garrett, 6/8). 

The Texas Tribune: Health Reform Bill Alters Family Planning Funding
The health reform bill House lawmakers considered today has drawn an unexpected band of supporters: abortion opponents. The measure ... contains a provision aimed at doing what GOP lawmakers have fought to do all year: restrict funding to Planned Parenthood. The measure requires the family planning programs run by the Department of State Health Services (DSHS) — which treat some 220,000 women a year — to prioritize funding to state or locally-run public health clinics, then private full-service clinics, over clinics that only provide family planning and women's health care (namely Planned Parenthood) (Ramshaw, 6/8).

The Associated Press/Charlotte Observer: New Abortion Rules Establish Waiting Period
Legislators wrestled with deep philosophical and political differences Wednesday before approving legislation requiring women to get specialized counseling and wait 24 hours before having an abortion. The state House voted 71-48 to prohibit an abortion unless a woman is provided with state-specified information about the physician at least 24 hours in advance. Women also would get information about the likely stage of development of the unborn child, the medical risks of having an abortion and giving birth, and the availability of abortion alternatives (Dalesio, 6/8).

The Tennessean: TN Abortion Foes Want Planned Parenthood To Lose $1M
Abortion opponents are pushing Gov. Bill Haslam to strip more than $1 million from Planned Parenthood, in a campaign that is delaying the money's distribution and could set off a lawsuit. Tennessee Right to Life is urging the Haslam administration to deny federal funds to the state's Planned Parenthood chapters in Nashville and Memphis, arguing that the money indirectly goes to pay for abortion services (Sisk, 6/8). 

Des Moines Register: House OKs Abortion Bill With Strictest Rules In U.S.
Iowa would have the toughest abortion restrictions in the nation under a bill that the Republican-dominated House passed Wednesday. Passage of the bill appears unlikely in the Senate, where a less strict House version already failed to make its way through the legislative process. In addition to removing the health of a mother as one exception a doctor could use to bypass abortion restrictions, the legislation would essentially bar abortions after what is typically considered the 18th week of pregnancy (Clayworth, 6/9).