In sessions beginning this month, lawmakers in several states plan offer bills that would affect abortion care and other reproductive health services. Summaries appear below.
Kan. Could Consider 'Fetal Pain' Bill
Some Kansas Republican lawmakers are calling for legislation mirroring a Nebraska law that bans abortion after 20 weeks' gestation based on the claim that fetuses can feel pain at that point, the Kansas City Star reports. The Nebraska law, which took effect in October 2010, includes exemptions to save the life of the woman or an additional fetus but not for the woman's mental health or fetal abnormalities. Lawmakers in Indiana, Iowa and Kentucky also are drafting similar bills, according to the Star.
Before considering the so-called "fetal pain" legislation, Kansas lawmakers plan to take up several antiabortion-rights measures that were vetoed by former Govs. Kathleen Sebelius (D) and Mark Parkinson (D), according to state Rep. Lance Kinzer (R). The antiabortion-rights measures have a better chance of enactment under Gov.-elect Sam Brownback (R), an abortion-rights opponent, the Star reports.
The prospective bills likely will include provisions that would increase restrictions on abortion services later in pregnancy, create new penalties against doctors who violate abortion-related laws, and allow a woman, her husband or parents to sue doctors if they suspect an abortion was performed illegally.
Peter Brownlie of Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri said the organization has been anticipating efforts to pass a bill similar to the Nebraska law, given that there will be antiabortion-rights majorities in both legislative chambers and an antiabortion-rights governor (Mann, Kansas City Star, 12/30).
Kan. Gov.-Elect Taps Counsel With Ties to Kline
Kansas Gov.-elect Sam Brownback (R) named Jefferson County Attorney Caleb Stegall as his office's general counsel, meaning that the incoming administration will have at least two appointees who worked for former state Attorney General Phill Kline (R), the AP/Kansas City Star reports. Kline -- who served as attorney general from 2003 to 2007 and as Johnson County district attorney in 2007 and 2009 -- is involved in a pending case with a Planned Parenthood clinic over his attempts to pursue criminal charges against the clinic.
Stegall represented Kline in the case and in investigations against abortion providers, for which Kline faces a February disciplinary hearing over alleged professional ethics violations. More recently, Stegall drew national attention for representing missionaries jailed in Haiti after they were accused of trying to take children out of the country. State democratic leaders have criticized Brownback for appointing Stegall and another associate of Kline's, calling the decisions evidence of "extreme" conservative politics (Hanna, AP/Kansas City Star, 12/29).
Md. Lawmakers Seek New Regulations on Clinics
In response to a case involving New Jersey doctor Steve Brigham, some Maryland lawmakers hope to join the 15 other states that regulate abortion providers as surgical centers, the Baltimore Sun reports. If enacted, the legislation would mean that facilities offering abortion care would need to have certain medical equipment and meet other requirements, such as obtaining written agreements with hospitals to transfer patients in emergency situations.
Maryland law requires abortions to be performed by a licensed physician and authorizes the state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to regulate abortion providers using the "least intrusive method" to protect women's health and abide by standard medical practices.
Brigham, who is not licensed in Maryland, has been the target of investigations by Maryland and New Jersey authorities over alleged unscrupulous abortion procedures. The Maryland Board of Physicians issued him a cease-and-desist order and revoked or suspended the licenses of his two Maryland colleagues.
Abortion-rights advocates who oppose the proposed changes argue that the majority of procedures do not require equipment or protocols used by outpatient surgical centers. Few of Maryland's 41 abortion providers meet the requirements or can afford to change facilities, according to John Nugent, president of Planned Parenthood Maryland. Supporters of the legislation say it would protect women and prevent abortion-related deaths (Torbati, Baltimore Sun, 12/31).
Mo. Democratic Leader Plans Midwifery Bill
In the upcoming session, Missouri House Minority Leader Mike Talboy (D) plans to introduce legislation that would ban or regulate lay midwifery, the AP/St. Louis Today reports. Unlike certified nurse-midwives -- who have completed graduate-level training -- lay midwives are not required to be nurses and are not overseen by a state regulatory body. Missouri law requires lay midwives to obtain credentials from the North American Registry of Midwives and the American Midwifery Certification Board.
Talboy is drafting the legislation in response to a 2009 case in which an infant died after a traumatic delivery involving a lay midwife with no credentials and a history of problems in another state. Talboy said that under the current law, there is no recourse except criminal charges for cases involving lay midwives. Some midwifery advocates support increased regulation of lay midwives, arguing that the state needs to develop policies that allow certified professionals to practice legally (Okeson, AP/St. Louis Today, 12/28).
Neb. Lawmakers Consider Abortion Restrictions
For the Nebraska legislative session starting Jan. 5, antiabortion-rights advocates are pushing bills that would ban telemedicine as a means of dispensing medication abortion drugs and restrict insurance coverage of abortion services, the Omaha World-Herald reports. The advocates hope to "build on their success in 2010," when the state enacted a law banning abortion after 20 weeks' gestation, according to the World-Herald.
Nebraska Right to Life is in discussions with state senators about the telemedicine bill, which the group sees as a response to a Planned Parenthood of the Heartland program that provides access to medical abortion for women in neighboring Iowa. Under the program, physicians use a secure Internet connection and videoconferencing to conduct consultations with women seeking medication abortion care at one of 16 Iowa clinics. If a physician decides that a patient is an appropriate candidate for a medication abortion, he or she can use a computer command to remotely open a drawer that provides the patient with access to the pills used in the procedure.
Meanwhile, state Sens. Annette Dubas and Beau McCoy plan to introduce bills that would take advantage of a provision in the federal health reform law that allows states to bar abortion coverage in health plans that sell policies through state exchanges. The World-Herald reports that abortion-rights opponents "also might make another attempt to increase screening requirements for women seeking abortions." Kyle Carlson of Planned Parenthood of the Heartland said the organization is preparing to fight the telemedicine bill and other proposals (Stoddard, Omaha World-Herald, 12/28).
Telemedicine Bills Expected Elsewhere
Antiabortion-rights advocates in Iowa and several other states also are planning legislation banning the use of telemedicine in abortion care, the Washington Post reports. The advocates say such bans will be one of their major focuses this year, in part because of their desire to restrict access to the drug mifepristone, which blocks a hormone that is necessary for pregnancy to continue. The drug is approved for use as a non-surgical option for early pregnancy termination and is 92% to 95% effective, according to Danco Laboratories, which manufactures Mifeprex, the brand-name version.
Abortion-rights advocates say that the ease of taking a pill privately makes mifepristone a preferable option to surgical abortion for many women. Abortion-rights opponents claim that 11 women have died from complications related to the drug, though FDA has not linked the medication with any deaths. Moreover, the death rate for women who give birth is higher than for the abortion pill, abortion-rights supporters note (Somashekhar, Washington Post, 12/30).
Planned Parenthood of the Heartland President and CEO Jill June cautioned against restricting telemedicine, which she said is used by "[m]any major health organizations," including HHS and the Veterans Administration for a variety of purposes. "If providing medication abortion via telemedicine is banned on the premise of safety, other needed telehealth services may be banned as well," she said (Ross, AP/MSNBC, 1/2).
Ore. Catholic Group Cites Planned Parenthood in Cutting Ties With United Way
The board of Catholic Community Services of Lane County has voted to refuse a grant of $71,000 from United Way because the organization also gave money to Planned Parenthood of Southwest Oregon, the Eugene Register-Guard reports.
The vote was in response to PPSO's decision earlier last year to offer medical abortion -- which involves abortifacient drugs -- at two Lane County clinics. The group decided to offer medical abortion because of concern that abortion care would become unavailable after the retirement of physicians who perform surgical abortions.
After a March 2010 visit to CSCLC, Archbishop John Vlazny of the Portland Archdiocese advised the board to contact United Way of Lane County and express its objection to the donation of money to PPSO. Bud Bunce, archdiocese spokesperson, said Vlazny urged the board to sever its ties with United Way if the group continued supporting PPSO.
Cynthia Pappas, CEO of PPSO, said, "The money we receive [from United Way] is tied very specifically to education programs and to expansion of our West Eugene Health Center," adding, "I want to make sure it's very clear that we do not use United Way funding to fund abortions" (Dietz, Eugene Register-Guard, 12/27).
Reprinted with kind permission from nationalpartnership. You can view the entire Daily Women's Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women's Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families.
© 2010 National Partnership for Women & Families. All rights reserved.