The first two pro-life bills of the next legislative session of the Arizona legislature have been introduced and they follow a very successful session seeing new bills signed into law by pro-life Gov. Jan Brewer.
HB 2416 is a ban on telemedicine and requires that an ultrasound is performed before an abortion and the woman has an opportunity to view the image. It also establishes that the courts must appoint a guardian ad litem to a minor seeking to bypass parental consent to undergo an abortion. This will guarantee that the minor will still have an impartial voice when considering abortion.
HB 2384 Ensures that no tax dollars can directly or indirectly fund the abortion industry. This includes training individuals to perform, promoting or provide referrals for abortion. This bill also bans donations to any organization that performs abortions from qualifying for tax credits.
Arizona law already prohibits the use of taxpayer funds to pay for abortion but this bill closes loopholes by prohibiting taxpayer funding for organizations that promote, train individuals to perform, or provide referrals for abortion.
The bill further ensures that donations to the abortion industry do not qualify for Arizona’s dollar-for-dollar charitable tax credit. Planned Parenthood of Arizona currently qualifies for Arizona’s Working Poor Tax Credit, but that program was designed for organizations that meet individuals’ immediate basic needs. Abortion procedures do not meet this standard.
There will be more pro-life legislation coming down the road, but Center for Arizona Policy Legal Counsel Deborah Sheasby told LifeNews.com the following about the two bills:
Arizona has made huge strides over the past two years to protect the preborn. We’re looking forward to carrying that momentum into 2011 with some ground-breaking legislation.
HB 2416 bans the practice of abortion via webcam, also known as telemedicine. Considering the well-documented dangers of abortion pills, women should be able to meet in person with a doctor before ingesting a dangerous chemical.
Abortion-via-webcam is just another example of how Planned Parenthood and the abortion industry are concerned with their bottom line instead of women’s health & safety.
HB 2416 also guarantees that a woman will have an ultrasound before an abortion is performed and that she has the opportunity to view the image and hear the heartbeat of the preborn child inside her.
Abortion is a decision fraught with consequences so it’s critical to provide women with as much information as possible. Ultrasound gives women a more complete picture of their situation. When used in pregnancy care centers, women considering an abortion who see an ultrasound change their mind about the procedure nearly 80 percent of the time.
