Arizona Lawmakers Likely to Submit New Abortion Bills With Napolitano Leaving
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
December 29, 2008
Phoenix, AZ (LifeNews.com) — Members of the Arizona legislature appear likely to renew some of the abortion debates of past sessions with the likelihood that pro-abortion Gov. Janet Napolitano won’t be in office to veto their bills. Napolitano has vetoed eight pro-life bills that would have put common-sense abortion limits in place.
Those bills range from measures to inform women of the risks of abortion, prohibit non-doctors from doing abortions, and to strengthen current laws requiring parental consent before a minor can have an abortion.
Rep. Andy Tobin, a Republican from Paulden, says those bills could be re-filed and his bill to ban the practice of partial-birth abortion will make a comeback.
"I believe the people of Arizona were for some of the bills she vetoed," Tobin told the Cronkite News Service. "And I do not see a problem in resubmitting the same bill without any change if it is something I think the people want."
As LifeNews.com has reported, pro-abortion incoming president Barack Obama selected Napolitano to become secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The pro-abortion governor is expected to have no trouble receiving Senate confirmation, which will likely happen in late January.
Once she is confirmed for the Obama administration post, pro-life Secretary of State Jan Brewer, a Republican, will become the Arizona governor until the next statewide election.
Michelle Steinberg, director of public policy for Planned Parenthood of Arizona, told CNS that the abortion business is worried that Brewer will sign the pro-life bills but is hoping for the best.
"Governor Napolitano was a tremendous supporter, and it is hard to say what will happen when she leaves," Steinberg said. "We hope Brewer comes in with an open mind, and we can find common ground."
Tobin told the news service that he thinks Brewer’s becoming governor will be a big help for him and other pro-life advocates.
"I think Brewer will be a positive change for Arizona," Tobin said. "She is very responsive to the state’s needs, and I believe the public will respond well."
In April, Napolitano vetoed both a partial-birth abortion ban as well as a bill to strengthen parental consent requirements.
Cathi Herrod, president of The Center for Arizona Policy, told LifeNews.com at the time that the veto had Napolitano showing "her radical pro-abortion position."
“The Governor is establishing a track record of being one of the most pro-abortion governors this country has ever seen,” said Herrod.
Napolitano refused to sign measures to make sure taxpayer funds don’t pay for abortions for state workers and another providing better enforcement of parental consent on abortions.
Napolitano also vetoed a bill that would allow women to know that an unborn baby will feel intense pain during an abortion procedure. The veto came despite researching showing that unborn children have the capacity to feel pain at least after 20 weeks of pregnancy.
The governor also 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
Center for Arizona Policy – https://www.azpolicy.org
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