Arizona Partial-Birth Abortion Ban and Nurses Doing Abortions Both Advance
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
May 7, 2008
Phoenix, AZ (LifeNews.com) — A revised ban on partial-birth abortions and a motion to allow nurses to do abortions have both advanced. The Center for Arizona Policy told LifeNews.com the second version of the partial-birth abortion ban that addresses the governor’s concerns passed out of conference committee on Tuesday.
The bill will need a final vote in both the House and the Senate before going back to the Governor.
Governor Janet Napolitano, who supports abortion, vetoed the first ban.
The new bill addresses the two concerns the governor identified in her veto letter about the state measure’s conformity to federal law.
Napolitano said she wanted the state version to have a two-year cap on prison time for abortion practitioners who use the gruesome abortion method.
She also wanted abortion practitioners to be able to get an opinion from the state medical board stating the abortion method was needed to save the life of the mother in such rare cases — though doctors have testified the three-day-long abortion procedure would never be necessary to protect a woman’s life or health.
Meanwhile, CAP said the Advanced Practice Advisory Committee of the state Board of Nursing voted unanimously to recommend that the full Board rule that first trimester surgical abortions are within the scope of nurse practitioners.
The full Board will vote on this recommendation next week and pro-life advocates strongly oppose the move.
HB 2269, which prohibits nurses from doing surgical abortions, is awaiting floor action in the Senate.
The vote and action at the state board comes on the heels of a request from a Planned Parenthood nurse for official approval for the surgical abortions she’s already done.
Mary Andrews has taken it upon herself to do abortions because the state has no law one way or the other on the issue.
Related web sites:
Center for Arizona Policy – https://www.azpolicy.org
Arizona Catholic Conference – https://www.diocesephoenix.org/acc
Arizona Right to Life – https://arizonarighttolife.org
