Reproductive Rights Prof Blog

South Dakota Abortion Propaganda Law Takes Effect

Wash. Post: Ruling Gives South Dakota Doctors a Script to Read, by Peter Slevin:

CHICAGO -- In a victory for antiabortion forces, doctors in South Dakota are now required to tell a woman seeking an abortion that the procedure "will terminate the life of a whole, separate, unique living human being."

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit last week lifted a preliminary injunction that prevented the language from taking effect. A spokesman for Planned Parenthood, which runs the state's only abortion clinic, said doctors will begin reciting the script to patients as early as this week.

On another front, South Dakota voters will be asked in a Nov. 4 referendum to consider broad limits on abortion for the second time since 2006. The ballot measure includes exceptions for rape, incest and the woman's health that were not part of the 2006 wording rejected by voters.

Antiabortion forces in South Dakota have been trying for years to halt the procedure and to build a winnable challenge to Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion nationwide....

Nan Hunter (Hunter of Justice) writes:

The measure on the SD ballot in November, Initiative 2-7, would ban all abortions except for those:

in which the pregnancy results from rape or incest, provided the abortion occurs prior to the end of the 20th week gestation and the physician reports the rape or incest to law enforcement, identifying the woman and the perpetrator if possible; or

where the abortion “is necessary to avert the death of the pregnant woman”; or

where the abortion “is necessary because there is a serious risk of a substantial and irreversible impairment of the functioning of a major bodily organ or system of the pregnant woman should the pregnancy be continued.”

This initiative is the second attempt by anti-choice forces in the state, where voters in 2006 rejected a proposal to ban abortions with no health, rape or incest exceptions.The strategy behind the new proposal is laid out in a chilling memo from anti-choice strategists  as the best way to overturn Roe and Casey. The key to their approach is grounding the initiative in a "legitimate exercise of the State's power to prohibit abortion in order to protect, not just the life of the unborn child, but the interests, rights and health of their pregnant mothers." (p. 8) In other words, to protect women from the "severe depression and loss of esteem [that] can follow" an abortion, as the Supreme Court declared in Gonzalez v. Carhart, 127 S. Ct at 1634.

This new "woman protective abortion amendment" strategy, to use Reva Siegel's phrase, is where the anti-choice movement is heading, and the SD vote in November is the tip of the spear. Reva has an article forthcoming in Duke Law Journal  tracing the political history of the strategy, from pregnancy "counseling centers" to government reports to legislation.

If the SD initiative passes, we will see similar laws pop up around the country.  And four years from now, give or take, we may see five Justices of the Supreme Court uphold it.

Colorado Voters Will Decide Whether To Give Fertilized Eggs Legal Rights of a Person

Wash. Post: Colorado Voters Will Be Asked When 'Personhood' Begins, by Ashley Surdin:

A proposal to define a fertilized human egg as a person will land on Colorado's ballot this November, marking the first time that the question of when life begins will go before voters anywhere in the nation.

The Human Life Amendment, also known as the personhood amendment, says the words "person" or "persons" in the state constitution should "include any human being from the moment of fertilization." If voters agreed, legal experts say, it would give fertilized eggs the same legal rights and protections to which people are entitled.

You might think it reasonable to want to know how the initiative would affect existing laws, including the right to abortion. But the initiative's sponsor was cagey:

As to what laws could then be modified, Burton would not elaborate. "We try not to focus on some of the issues that will be taken care of later on," she said, repeatedly saying that the amendment is not aimed at outlawing abortion.

Montana: Proposed Const'l Amendment to Define Embryos As Persons Fails to Qualify for Ballot

Missoulian: Abortion ban fails to qualify for ballot, opponents say, by Jennifer McKee:

Opponents of an proposed constitutional amendment to ban abortion by defining a fertilized human egg as a “person” announced Tuesday the measure has failed to gain enough support to qualify for the November ballot.

Constitutional Initiative 100 would have changed the constitution to define a “person” as a fertilized egg and conferred to them all the rights and responsibilities of citizens.

Gloucester Mayor Denies Teen "Pregnancy Pact"

Reuters: Mayor in Massachusetts city denies pregnancy "pact", by Jason Szep:

The mayor of a Massachusetts city that drew attention for a spike in teenage pregnancies denied on Monday a media report that a group of girls entered a pact to become pregnant.

Oregon Woman Discusses Abortion, Relationship With "Pro-Life" Congressional Candidate

The Oregonian: Oregon City woman details abortion, relationship with Mike Erickson, by Janie Har & Steve Mayes:

Now a "pro-life" congressional candidate, he gave her $300 and took her to the clinic in Northeast Portland, Tawnya says

An Oregon City woman who dated congressional candidate Mike Erickson seven years ago said she asked him directly whether he wanted to have a baby. He shook his head no, she said, and paid for her abortion.

In interviews with The Oregonian, the woman said she met Erickson in September 2000, and she had the abortion in January 2001. They saw each other afterward, she said, even going on a trip to Mexico in March, before the relationship ended. She spoke on the condition that only her first name, Tawnya, be used.

Her story is backed up by medical and other records, and the accounts of two friends, one of whom was with her at the abortion. Their story conflicts directly with Erickson's version.

Abortion Clinic Director Who Posed As Doctor Faces Criminal Charges

LA Times: Abortion clinic operator is charged in felonies by San Diego County D.A., by Tony Perry:

'This defendant preyed on women in the Hispanic community' by passing herself off as a doctor, the prosecutor says. Bertha Bugarin, 48, at one point ran six clinics in Southern California.

SAN DIEGO -- A 48-year-old woman who ran an abortion clinic in Chula Vista was charged Friday with 10 felony counts of practicing medicine without a license and grand theft.

Bertha Pinedo Bugarin, who faces similar charges in Los Angeles, is accused of telling women that she was a doctor, performing abortions on them and prescribing drugs. One woman had to be rushed to a hospital with life-threatening complications, prosecutors said.

Grand Juries as a Political Weapon in the Abortion Debate

NY Times: Grand Juries Become Latest Abortion Battlefield, by Monica Davey:

WICHITA, Kan. — Opponents of Dr. George Tiller and his clinic here, one of the nation’s few providers of late-term abortions, have tried many ways to stop him over three decades. They have held protests, lobbied lawmakers and complained persistently to state regulators and prosecutors. There have also been several acts of violence, including one in which Dr. Tiller was shot in both arms.

Now his opponents are using a legal tactic that some find startling and others consider inspired. They have turned to an unusual state statute, adopted in 1887, that allows ordinary citizens who gather enough signatures on a petition to demand that a grand jury investigate an alleged crime, a decision usually left to a prosecutor.

Inside a courthouse along Main Street here, 15 grand jurors have been meeting for months, convened under the statute by ordinary Sedgwick County residents to investigate whether Dr. Tiller’s clinic has illegally performed second- and third-trimester abortions. Their deliberations are scheduled to end next month.

Kansas is one of a few states that have laws that allow residents to force a grand jury investigation. Over all, the practice is seldom used, but grand juries by petition in Kansas have recently taken on new life, new targets and a host of new critics who say a law once meant to check official corruption is being twisted into a political weapon.

MI: Governor to Veto Abortion Procedure Ban

Associated Press: Granholm to veto ban on an abortion procedure:

LANSING -- Gov. Jennifer Granholm says she will veto a proposed ban on a late-term procedure that opponents call partial-birth abortion.

The legislation is headed to the Democratic governor after the state Senate finished passing it today. The bill is designed to mirror a federal ban that was ruled constitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court last year.

VA AG to Seek En Banc Review of Abortion Ban Decision

Wash. Post/AP: Va. Prosecutor to Seek Hearing on Abortion Ruling:

Virginia's attorney general said today he will seek a full hearing before a federal appeals court on a state law banning a certain form of late-term abortion ruled unconstitutional by a three-judge panel.

A panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 last week that the Virginia abortion law is unconstitutional, despite the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to uphold a similar federal ban.

See: Federal Court of Appeals Strikes Down VA Abortion Ban

CO: Ballot to Include Const'l Amendment Defining Fertilized Human Egg As Person

Associated Press: Anti-abortion measure OK'd for Colo. ballot, by Dan Elliott:

DENVER (AP) — A proposed state constitutional amendment defining a fertilized human egg as a person was certified Thursday for the November ballot, moving Colorado a step closer to an election battle over abortion rights....

Kristi Burton, the prime mover behind the measure, said her group, Colorado for Equal Rights, will target voters who personally oppose abortion but don't want to impose their views on others.

Burton said polling shows those voters make up about 20 percent of the electorate.

"Our job is to put the truth out there for the voters," she said. "Science is on our side."

Opponents say the proposed amendment could affect birth control because the most widely used form of contraception works by preventing fertilized eggs from attaching to the uterus.

They also say the measure could deter in-vitro fertilization and s tem cell research and bar doctors from treating women with some forms of cancer.

MI House Approves State Version of Federal Abortion Ban

Chicago Tribune/AP: Mich. House votes to ban partial birth abortions, by Tim Martin:

LANSING, Mich. - Michigan lawmakers moved closer to a state-level ban of what opponents call partial birth abortion on Tuesday.

The Democratic-led House passed the ban by a 74-32 vote late Tuesday. The Republican-controlled Senate has approved similar legislation. But Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm doesn't support the bill and might veto it because it doesn't include an exception for the health of the mother, setting the scene for a possible override showdown.

The federal ban was upheld by the Supreme Court in Gonzales v. Carhart last year.  (You can find all this blog's posts on Gonzales v. Carhart and its aftermath here.)

If this story makes you frown, maybe this headline (on the same story) will bring a smile (even if it doesn't quite cause you to split your sides): Sides split on expected veto for partial-birth abortion.

Robert Novak on Kathleen Sibelius

Wash. Post: A Pro-Choicer's Dream Veep, by Robert Novak:

Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann, whose Roman Catholic archdiocese covers northeast Kansas, on May 9 called on Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to stop taking Communion until she disowns her support for the "serious moral evil" of abortion. That put the church in conflict with a rising star of the Democratic Party who is often described as a "moderate" and is perhaps the leading prospect to become Barack Obama's running mate.

Naumann also took Sebelius to task for her veto April 21 of a bill, passed by 2 to 1 margins in both houses of the Kansas Legislature, that would strengthen the state's ban on late-term abortions by authorizing private lawsuits against providers. Last year, she vetoed a bill requiring explicit medical reasons for a late abortion, and she vetoed other abortion legislation in 2006, 2005 and 2003.

See also: The Fix (Wash. Post): Novak Takes a Swipe at Possible Obama VP Pick, by Chris Cillizza.

TX Court of Appeals Rules Against State in Polygamy Case

NY Times: Appeals Court Rules Against Texas in Polygamy Case, by Anahad O'Connor and Kirk Johnson:

A Texas state court of appeals ruled Thursday afternoon that the state of Texas had no right to seize more than 400 children from a polygamist ranch in Eldorado, in the western part of the state, because there was not sufficient proof that they were in immediate danger.

The ruling asserted that the state’s child protection agency acted hastily in removing the children from the Yearning for Zion ranch in April and did not make a reasonable effort “to ascertain if some measure short of removal and/or separation from parents would have eliminated the risk” of abuse toward the children of 48 mothers who filed the suit. The district court was ordered to remove its restraining order giving the state custody of those children, but it was not immediately clear how the hundreds of other children, now in foster care, would be affected....

The agency raided the ranch and the sect’s temple on April 3 after someone had called an abuse hot line and said that she was a 16-year-old child bride being abused by her older husband in the church’s compound. The caller has still not been found.

Victory in the Regina McKnight Case

Via the ACLU Blog:

Earlier this week, the South Carolina Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Regina McKnight, a woman convicted in 2001 of homicide after suffering a stillbirth and admitting to cocaine usage, did not have a fair trial. In so doing, the court recognized that McKnight's counsel failed to make use of existing evidence that could have shown that factors other than McKnight's drug use could have caused the stillbirth.

The court's ruling has significant import for the dozens of pregnant women in the United States each year that, like McKnight, are criminally charged for continuing their pregnancies to term despite their struggles with drug addition. (A recent New York Times article profiles several such women and their prosecutions in Alabama.)

While courts in other states have routinely rejected prosecutions of pregnant, drug-using women, they have not addressed the question of whether pre-natal exposure to substances causes harm to the fetus.

S.C. Supreme Court Overturns Mother's Homicide Conviction for Drug Use During Pregnancy

MyrtleBeachOnline: High court overturns mother's conviction, by Kelly Marshall Fuller and Janelle Frost:

The S.C. Supreme Court on Monday overturned a conviction that sent a Conway woman to prison for 12 years.

The court ruled that Regina McKnight, who was convicted in 2001 of homicide by child abuse after being accused of killing her unborn child with cocaine, must be granted a new trial.

McKnight gave birth to a stillborn, 5-pound girl May 15, 1999. The baby's age was estimated at between 34 and 37 weeks.

McKnight's first trial, in January 2001, ended in a mistrial. Four months later, a jury convicted her.

Monday's decision means that case will be remitted to the 15th Circuit Solicitor's office within 30 days, Solicitor Greg Hembree said....

In January 2003, the S.C. Supreme Court upheld McKnight's conviction. The U.S. Supreme Court then refused to hear her case.

Read the decision. 

KS: Archbishop Tells Governor to Stop Taking Communion

Kansas City Star Editorial: Archbishop Naumann's scandalous dictate to Sebelius, by Barb Shelly:

Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann is asking Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to choose between his will and the oath she swore to govern the state of Kansas to the best of her ability.

Naumann has told Sebelius, a Catholic she must stop taking Communion. The governor has run afoul of the church several times with vetos of anti-abortion bills, the latest being a draconion measure that would have exposed abortion providers to endless lawsuits for doing their job.

Naumann says atonement for Sebelius would involve a confession, an apology and a promise to repair the damage caused by her "scandalous behavior that has misled people into dangerous behavior."

KS Supreme Court Limits Grand Jury's Power to Subpoena Abortion Records

Chicago Tribune: Kansas court limits grand jury's power in abortion case:

The state's highest court is allowing a grand jury to keep investigating one of the few U.S. doctors who performs late-term abortions, but is limiting its power to subpoena his patients' records.

The Supreme Court refused Tuesday to strike down the law abortion opponents used to force Sedgwick County to convene the grand jury to investigate whether Dr. George Tiller violated state rules on abortion.

The justices returned the case to district court and set new guidelines in determining whether subpoenas should be enforced.

California Awards $271 Million for Stem Cell Research

NY Times: California Awards $271 Million for Stem Cell Research, by Andrew Pollack:

California has awarded $271 million in grants to build 12 new stem cell research centers in the state, even as one of the political rationales for the building program might soon disappear.

The awards, announced here Wednesday, represent the largest chunk of money awarded at one time by California’s taxpayer-backed stem cell program, which is slated to spend about $3 billion over about a decade.

Special Schools for Pregnant Teens

Christian Science Monitor: Special schools for pregnant girls?, by Ben Arnoldy (4/30):                        

Boise, Idaho - Soon after getting pregnant, high school sophomore Alicia Mattocks worried that bullies might purposely slam her into a locker and that a teacher's rules wouldn't allow frequent bathroom runs.       

But it was the thought of not having to go to school quite so early, when she felt her worst, that pushed her to transfer to the Marian Pritchett School, an alternative public school in Boise for pregnant and parenting students. That decision, she says, saved her from dropping out.

A senior now, she plasters her binders with photos of her son, Ryder. This June, she'll mark another milestone: On her head will be a tasseled square cap.       

Pritchett school, however, faces a funding shortfall because state grants that fund it have dried up. Separate schools for pregnant teens have dwindled in recent years because of concern for educational equality, budget constraints, and changing social mores.

See also this post regarding the closing last year of special schools for pregnant teenagers in New York.  One reader asked whether such schools pose a Title IX problem.  Here's the response I posted (regarding the New York schools):

That's a good question. As the article points out, "Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 stated that schools were allowed to create separate educational programs for pregnant students but that they must be of comparable quality to standard high schools."

While these schools were formed in the '60s when pregnant girls were being forced out of ordinary schools, obviously Title IX made that practice illegal, although the schools could still provide alternative education for pregnant girls who chose it. It seems that given the inferior education the schools were providing, however, they were not complying with the spirit of Title IX.

Pregnant girls have continued to face discrimination in New York and elsewhere, including exclusion from programs like the National Honor Society, and it is important for pregnant students and their families to understand that this is illegal.

UPDATE/CORRECTION (5/13):  Apologies for a prior link to an NYCLU publication on pregnant and parenting teens that no longer worked.  The following publications from the NYCLU Reproductive Rights Project are available online:

• Booklet: The Rights Of Pregnant And Parenting Teens (2006)
• Palm Card: Your Rights As A Pregnant Or Parenting Teen (2007) (also available in Spanish)

Thanks to Southern Students for Choice - Emory for providing the links to these publications.

Mo. Senate Rescinds Bill Requiring Electronic Tracking of Mifepristone Sales

Via the Daily Women's Health Policy Report (5/1):

The Missouri Senate on Tuesday rescinded its vote on a bill (HB 1619) intended to create a statewide electronic drug-monitoring system to track the sale of certain controlled substances and over-the-counter medications because it mistakenly included the abortion drug mifepristone, also known as RU-486, in the same restricted category as heroin and marijuana, the AP/KSPR reports (AP/KSPR, 4/30).

According to the Springfield News-Leader, the inclusion of the mifepristone provision was left in the measure because of a clerical error (Livengood, Springfield News-Leader, 4/30). None of the senators realized the provision had not been removed until after the measure passed (AP/KSPR, 4/30).

KS Legislature Fails to Override Veto of Abortion Bill

Associated Press: Lawmakers’ override of  veto of abortion bill fails:

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Gov. Kathleen Sebelius’ veto of new restrictions on abortion providers withstood an attempt Wednesday by anti-abortion senators to overturn it.

The vote was 25-14, two short of the two-thirds majority needed to nullify the veto in the Senate and send it to the House, where an override effort probably would have been successful.

Besides imposing new restrictions, the measure would have allowed lawsuits to block late-term procedures on fetuses that are 22 weeks or older.

When she vetoed the measure, Sebelius argued it could deny women lifesaving medical care. But abortion opponents said Sebelius’ action shows that she holds radical views.

Stem Cell Research Office Opens in New Jersey

NJ Star-Ledger: Corzine to is set to open stem cell research office, by Claire Heininger:

Gov. Jon Corzine today is expected to formally announce the opening of a stem cell research office in New Jersey.

The governor is scheduled to join Rutgers University officials and researchers at the W.M. Keck Center for Collaborative Neuroscience in Piscataway to discuss a StemCyte, Inc. facility in Ewing Township.

StemCyte and Rutgers had signed a research and licensing agreement for a spinal cord injury therapy in February. The company was also awarded a 10-year grant by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority.

KS: Judge Rules Prosecutors Cannot Obtain State Abortion Reports

Kansas City Star: Court tosses outs Kline subpoena for abortion reports from Planned Parenthood, by Diane Carroll:

Johnson County District Attorney Phill Kline lost his bid Monday to obtain state abortion reports, but he said that would not stop his criminal prosecution of Planned Parenthood.

At the request of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, District Judge Stephen Tatum quashed a subpoena Kline served on the department on March 24.

Under the law, Tatum said, the information Kline sought can be disclosed only to the state attorney general or the state Board of Healing Arts for use in a criminal or disciplinary investigation.

“The court finds that the subpoena at issue here would require the disclosure of privileged or protected matter and that no exception or waiver applies,” Tatum stated. “As a result the court must quash the subpoena.”

Kline had subpoenaed 23 reports regarding late-term abortions performed in 2003 at Planned Parenthood’s Comprehensive Health clinic in Overland Park. He wanted the department to provide them or to authenticate a copy he already has from his investigation of Planned Parenthood while state attorney general.

New ME law allows midwives to buy some medications

Bangor Daily News: New law allows midwives to buy some medications, by Meg Haskell:

AUGUSTA, Maine  - Gv. John Baldacci on Wednesday signed into law a measure that authorizes Maine pharmacists to provide certain medications to certified professional midwives for administration to mothers and newborns during home births.

Certified midwives — sometimes referred to as "lay" midwives to distinguish them from registered nurses with additional midwifery credentials — typically help women deliver their babies safely at home rather than in a hospital or other medical setting.

The medications specified in the new law include drugs that induce labor, injectable vitamin K to control bleeding, antibiotic eye drops for newborns, numbing agents to reduce discomfort when repairing skin tears after delivery, and oxygen. Midwives often obtain these medications from pharmacies through "friendly" doctors who write prescriptions for them or other means. The new law is intended to grant them the autonomy of purchasing the drugs independently.

Iowa Governor Signs HPV Vaccine Law

DesMoines Register: Governor signs law requiring some health plans to cover HPV shot, by Tony Leys (4/19):

Gov. Chet Culver signed a bill Friday that will require some health insurers to cover a cervical-cancer vaccine, but Culver said he doubts the state will ever require girls to get the shots.

Proponents say the vaccinations against human papilloma virus could save thousands of lives nationally because they stave off common infections that cause most cases of cervical cancer. But the idea of adding them to the list of required childhood shots has been controversial because the viruses are transmitted sexually.

National medical experts recommend that all girls receive HPV shots at age 11 or 12, before they become sexually active. Critics say the vaccinations could encourage promiscuity, which supporters deny.

 

 

South Dakota Voters Will Consider Another Abortion Ban

NY Times: S. Dakota to Revisit Restrictions on Abortion, by Monica Davey:

Voters in South Dakota this fall will once again be asked to consider a sweeping limit on abortion, the secretary of state announced on Friday. The new proposal is widely seen as a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that made abortion legal.

South Dakota found itself in a similar spot two years ago, when a ballot question on a broad abortion ban turned national attention on the state’s 780,000 residents during an emotional and expensive battle that lasted months and ended with the proposed ban’s defeat.

One element has changed in the question that will appear on the ballot this November: This time the ban includes some exceptions for rape, incest, or the life and health of the mother. Some South Dakotans said the absence of such exceptions led them to vote against the 2006 proposal, which lost by 56 percent to 44 percent.

If the measure is approved by the voters, South Dakota would have the strictest limits on abortion in the country, abortion rights advocates say. That would be nearly certain to lead to an immediate challenge in the courts.

See also: Minneapolis Star Tribune: 2 years later, abortion will again be on S.D. ballot, by Mary Lynn Smith.

ME Middle School Offers Prescription Contraceptives But Has Few Takers

Associated Press: Middle school has 1 taker months after contraceptives furor, by David Sharp:

PORTLAND, Maine -- For all the firestorm surrounding the decision to make prescription contraceptives available at King Middle School, only one girl has used the service in the six months since the program began, officials say.

Last fall, administrators said they anticipated that only a handful of older middle schoolers would use the service, even though it was open to all students enrolled in the clinic, including those as young as 11.

As of Thursday, the only student to obtain a prescription for contraceptives was a 14-year-old girl, the city reported in response to a Freedom of Access request from The Associated Press.

"If it helps one student who otherwise might be in a position of being at risk, then it's worth it," said Lisa Belanger, who oversees Portland's student health centers.

The Philosophical Divide Among Anti-Choice Advocates

Wall Street Journal: Antiabortion Initiatives Divide Movement, by T.W. Farnam:

Abortion opponents are pushing ballot measures in five states this year. But the campaigns show as much division as unity in the antiabortion movement.

In California, an initiative would add that state to the long list that currently requires doctors to notify parents before giving abortions to minors. In Missouri, abortion foes are trying to require psychological examination to show the woman isn't acting under duress. State officials say the law as written would be tantamount to a ban, but advocates dispute that.

In South Dakota, activists have revived a measure defeated two years ago that directly outlaws abortion. They have modified the proposal to try to boost support, adding new exceptions for the health of the mother and cases of rape or incest. In Colorado and Montana, abortion opponents are taking a newly popular tack, promoting constitutional amendments that give legal rights to human embryos.

Behind the varying measures is a philosophical split among antiabortion groups. Some want to promote measures that ban abortion outright, directly challenging the U.S. Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which legalized abortion. Others prefer to chip away at abortion rights by limiting the types of procedures allowed, or finding other ways to limit access.

Miss. House Panel To Study Bill Restricting Abortions for Minors

Daily Women's Health Policy Report: Miss. House Speaker To Appoint Panel To Study Bill Regulating Abortions for Minors:

Mississippi House Speaker Billy McCoy (D) on Wednesday announced that he will appoint a "diverse group" of House members to study a Senate-approved bill (HB 520) that would restrict abortions for minors, which is currently held up in a House committee, the AP/Biloxi Sun Herald reports. McCoy said the bill, as well as other antiabortion-related legislation, will be considered in 2009. According to the AP/Sun Herald, McCoy took the step as a way to head off a potentially divisive battle with conservatives that threatened his leadership (Wagster Pettus, AP/Biloxi Sun Herald, 4/16).

The House had recently voted 79-41 to pass HB 520, but the measure was held up by Rep. Willie Bailey (D), who as the chair of the committee of jurisdiction has the authority to table a motion to reconsider under Mississippi House rules. Nine Mississippi House members last week filed a petition to temporarily change the rule (Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 4/15).

FL Legislature Considers "Medically Accurate" Sex-Ed Bill

Orlando Sentinel: Some State Lawmakers Pitch Uniform Sex Education, by Claudia Zequeira:

The reason two neighboring school districts can teach sex ed so differently is because Florida law, while clearly preferring abstinence instruction, doesn't mandate it.

Two bills working their way through the Legislature would eliminate much of that ambiguity, mandating that, starting in the sixth grade, students must learn about contraceptives and "sexual decision-making."

The Healthy Teens Act, as the proposal is called, wants to ensure that students across the state receive "medically accurate" information, which includes birth control and ways to reduce the risk of sexually transmitted diseases.

NPR on Johns Hopkins Database Fiasco and George Tiller Saga

You can listen to the following segments by clicking the links below.

Magazine Led to Database's 'Abortion' Search Block, by Brenda Wilson:

An inquiry into why the world's largest database on reproductive health blocked searches using the term "abortion" has found the restriction was put in place because of articles from an abortion advocacy magazine available on the site.

The block was an "overreaction," says Michael Klag, the dean of Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, which maintains the POPLINE database. When Klag learned that the search function for abortion had been removed, he ordered it restored. The block was taken down Friday afternoon.

Kan. Court Weighs Medical Records in Abortion Case, by Kathy Lohr:

The Kansas Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Tuesday in a case involving a Wichita doctor who performs abortions. A grand jury is seeking thousands of George Tiller's medical records in an effort to see whether he broke the law by performing illegal third-trimester abortions.

NJ Gov Expected to Sign Family Leave Bill

The Bergen Record: Family Leave Bill Awaits Corzine's Signature, by Elise Young:

Four million New Jersey workers need just one more signature — Governor Corzine's — to start taking six weeks' leave to care for new children or sick relatives.

The Senate on Monday approved the paid family leave bill, setting up New Jersey to become the third state with such a benefit. The vote, 21-15, came after a half-hour debate in which some Democrats sided with Republicans who opposed the bill...

The bill's sponsor, Senate Majority Leader Stephen M. Sweeney, said he could have used family leave 14 years ago, when his daughter was born premature.

KS Agency Refuses to Turn Over Abortion Records to County DA

Kansas City Star: State health department refuses to turn over abortion records subpoenaed by Johnson County district attorney, by Diane Carroll:

A Kansas agency has refused to turn over abortion records subpoenaed by Johnson County District Attorney Phill Kline.

And if Kline doesn’t get them, Planned Parenthood attorneys said Monday, Kline’s criminal case against Planned Parenthood could crumble.

“If he (Kline) doesn’t have the evidence, how can he prosecute?” asked Planned Parenthood attorney Pedro Irigonegaray. “… Without records, that is an impossible task.”

AK House Passes Abortion Ban

Daily News-Miner: Sides Hold Firm on Abortion Bill, by Anne Sutton:

Critics of a bill banning partial-birth abortion say the real intent is to ban abortion altogether. It’s a claim sponsors of the measure deny.

In a House debate on Tuesday, Rep. Wes Keller, R-Wasilla, said his bill is specific to the rare medical procedure that is used to terminate late term pregnancies.

The bill is modeled after the federal abortion ban, which the Supreme Court upheld in Gonzales v. Carhart last year.  But Alaska's constitution provides stronger privacy protection than does the federal Constitution:

Rep. Beth Kerttula, D-Juneau, said the new language is vague enough to encompass all first- and second-trimester abortions. And she doubts it would survive [a] legal challenge, given the state’s strict constitutional right to privacy.

A legal opinion from the Legislature’s own counsel agrees.

WI Court Upholds Reprimand of Pharmacist's Refusal to Dispense Contraception

The Capital Times: Pharmacist Loses Appeal on Refusing Contraceptive, by Anita Weier:

An appeals court today upheld a decision by the state Pharmacy Examining Board reprimanding and placing conditions on the license of a pharmacist who refused to fill or transfer a patient's prescription for an oral contraceptive.

The state's 3rd District Court of Appeals found the board was correct in 2005 when it ruled Neil Noesen had violated a professional standard of care by preventing a woman from obtaining her prescription elsewhere.