Arizona House Will Soon Vote on Omnibus Pro-Life Bill With Many Abortion Limits
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
March 10, 2009
Phoenix, AZ (LifeNews.com) — The Arizona state House will soon vote on an omnibus bill with several pro-life provisions that would limit and reduce abortions. The bill could become law now that pro-abortion former Gov. Janet Napolitano is no longer standing in the way of common sense legislation.
With pro-life Gov. Jan Brewer replacing Napolitano, who took an Obama administration position, pro-life groups hope the bill will finally become law.
HB 2464 calls for informed consent before abortions can be performed along with a 24 hour waiting period and meaningful parental consent requirements. It also includes a prohibition on non-doctors doing surgical abortions and rights of conscience for all health care providers (including pharmacists) in matters involving abortion and abortion drug.
Finally, the measure further protects the civil rights of health care professionals not to participate in abortion or dispense drugs that would result in an abortion.
The House could vote soon and, when it does, two pro-life groups are hoping legislators will approved the legislation and send it to the state Senate for consideration.
"The most important pro-life bill in decades is about to receive a vote on the floor of the Arizona House of Representatives very soon," Ron Johnson of the Arizona Catholic Conference tells LifeNews.com.
The Center for Arizona Policy is also strongly supporting the bill.
"This bill is designed to clarify and update our abortion statutes to protect women, children, parents, and the civil rights of healthcare workers," Cathi Herrod told LifeNews.com on Monday.
"The bill addresses problems with the statute requiring parental consent before a minor girl receives an abortion, requires that women be given full and accurate information and time to consider that information before an abortion, and protects healthcare workers from being forced to participate in abortion against their moral and religious beliefs," she explained.
Herrod hopes pro-life Arizona residents will call and email their elected officials since abortion advocates are turning out messages from their supporters.
"The abortion industry has been flooding legislators with emails making false claims about the bill’s purpose and intent," she says. "Legislators need to hear from you today."
Related web sites:
Arizona Legislature – https://www.azleg.gov
Arizona Catholic Conference – https://www.azcatholicconference.org
Center for Arizona Policy – https://www.azpolicy.org
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