Arizona Gov Napolitano Vetoes Another Abortion Bill Protecting Teens

State   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Apr 26, 2006   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

Arizona Gov Napolitano Vetoes Another Abortion Bill Protecting Teens Email this article
Printer friendly page

by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
April 26, 2006

Phoenix, AZ (LifeNews.com) — Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano has vetoed yet another abortion bill — this time rejecting a measure that would have tightened up existing state law requiring parental permission before a minor teenager can have an abortion. The bill would have made it more difficult for teens not in abusive home situations to get a judicial bypass and get around the requirement.

Napolitano vetoed HB 2776 requiring a teenager girl wanting an abortion without her parents’ consent to prove to the judge she is "sufficiently mature and capable of giving informed consent."

The judge, under the bill, is instructed to look at other factors in the bypass case such as the girl’s age and experience outside the home as well as whether or not she has fully considered other options like adoption or keeping the baby.

Arizona’s parental consent law was enacted in 2000 and the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld it as constitutional in 2002, saying girls attempting to get a judicial bypass for an abortion should have a higher burden of proof.

In her veto letter, the governor said the appeals court decision provided sufficient guidance for judges. She also opposed a provision in the bill requiring a girl considering an abortion to see a doctor beforehand.

"Requiring consultation with a physician, as opposed to other medically trained personnel, would impose an unduly burdensome cost," she wrote.

Republican Rep. John Allen of Scottsdale, who sponsored the legislation, told AP the requirement is to help the judge and teenager get input from someone other than the abortion practitioner.

"Why take the recommendations of somebody who is being paid to do the abortion compared with a physician who has a due diligence to the patient," he asked.

Pro-life groups and lawmakers say judges are too frequently approving the bypass, allowing a teen’s abortion without her parents knowing. The waiver is only supposed to be issued in cases when a teen is worried about physical abuse from her parents.

Earlier, Napolitano vetoed a measure to make sure taxpayer funds don’t pay for abortions for state works and another providing better enforcement of parental consent on abortions. The second measure would make it so the consent forms would need to be notarized before the abortion could be done.

Also last week, the governor vetoed a measure that would have prohibited the sale of human eggs, which researchers use in human cloning and embryonic stem cell research.

The week before, Napolitano vetoed a bill that would allow women to know that an unborn baby will feel intense pain during an abortion procedure.

The governor vetoed a bill in 2004 that would have allowed women to receive information about abortion’s risks and alternatives that abortion businesses sometimes withhold from women considering abortions.

Napolitano has also vetoed a measure that would have protected pro-life pharmacists from being forced to dispense drugs that could cause abortions.

Related web sites:
Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano – https://www.governor.state.az.us
Arizona Right to Life – https://www.azrtl.org