Actions Taken On Abortion-Related Legislation In Arizona, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Wyoming

The following highlights recent news of state actions on abortion-related legislation.

Arizona: The House last week voted 34-21 to approve a bill (HB 2641) that outlines methods judges can use when minors seeking abortions request a judicial bypass for the state's parental consent requirement, the AP/KOVA reports. Under the bill, judges could consider factors such as the girl's age, experiences outside the home, travel, personal finances and experience in making "other significant decisions." Judges also could consider what actions the girl took to examine her options, as well as her consideration of the potential consequences of each option. The bill now goes to the Senate for consideration. A 2000 state law requires minors seeking abortions to obtain parental consent but allows for judicial bypasses. Gov. Janet Napolitano in April 2006 vetoed a similar bill (AP/KOVA, 3/9).

Mississippi: The Senate on Thursday gave final approval to a measure (SB 2391) that would ban abortions except in cases of rape or to save the life of a pregnant woman if Roe v. Wade -- the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court case that effectively barred state abortion bans -- were overturned, the AP/WLOX-TV reports (AP/WLOX-TV, 3/8). The House last month voted 95-16 to pass the measure, which condensed three abortion-related bills that passed the Senate. The legislation also would require minors seeking abortion who do not have their parents' consent to obtain permission from a judge to undergo the procedure. In addition, doctors would be required to give women seeking abortions a chance to listen to the fetus' heartbeat and view a sonogram. If Roe were overturned, anyone who performed an abortion violating the ban would be sentenced to one to 10 years in prison (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 2/26). The bill was sent to Gov. Haley Barbour (R), who is "inclined to sign" the measure but wants to review it first, his spokesperson Pete Smith said. If Barbour signs the bill, the parental notification and sonogram provisions would take effect July 1 (AP/WLOX-TV, 3/8).

New Hampshire: The House last week voted 226-130 to pass a bill (HB 184) that would repeal a state law (HB 763) requiring physicians in the state to notify by certified letter a parent or guardian of a minor who is seeking an abortion at least 48 hours before performing the procedure, the Manchester Union Leader reports (Fahey, Manchester Union Leader, 3/11). The law also bars parents from forbidding the procedure, and the notification requirement could be bypassed by a judge if a doctor determines that the minor's life is in danger. Planned Parenthood of Northern New England; the American Civil Liberties Union; the Concord Feminist Health Center; the Feminist Health Center of Portsmouth, N.H.; and Manchester, N.H.-based ob-gyn Wayne Goldner in November 2003 filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the law. U.S. District Judge Joseph DiClerico and the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals subsequently struck down the entire law. New Hampshire Attorney General Kelly Ayotte (R) appealed the rulings to the U.S. Supreme Court, saying that the judicial bypass clause in the measure combined with other state laws that allow doctors to act in an emergency protect a woman's health. The Supreme Court in January 2006 unanimously ruled that the lower courts should not have invalidated the entire measure and ordered lower courts to review the legislative intent regarding exceptions to the law for medical emergencies. DiClerico on Feb. 1 said he will continue to block enforcement of the law while the Legislature considers a measure that would repeal it (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 2/12). According to the Union Leader, the House last week defeated two amendments that would have changed the parental notification law to address the Supreme Court's concerns (Fahey, Manchester Union Leader, 3/8). The repeal still must be approved by the Senate, and Rep. Edmond Gionet (R) last week asked for the bill to be reconsidered in the House. Gov. John Lynch (D) has said he would sign the repeal (Manchester Union Leader, 3/11). Opponents of the repeal say it is unconstitutional, denies parental rights and responsibilities, and endangers minors (Dornin, Golden Dome News/Fosters Daily Democrat, 3/8).














Wyoming: Gov. Dave Freudenthal (D) has vetoed a bill (SF 118) that would have allowed any person who knowingly kills a pregnant woman to be charged with two counts of homicide, the AP/Billings Gazette reports (Miller, AP/Billings Gazette, 3/9). The bill text said, "Whoever willfully kills any pregnant woman knowing that the woman is pregnant, and thereby causes the involuntary termination of the woman's pregnancy without a live birth, is guilty of homicide of an unborn child or fetus and shall be imprisoned in the penitentiary for any term not less than 20 years and not more than life" (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 3/7). The Senate voted 16-12 to pass the measure and the House voted 35-24 to approve it. The Legislature has adjourned for the year, and lawmakers would need to call a special session to vote on a veto override, according to the AP/Gazette. Freudenthal in his veto letter said there was an "internal inconsistency" in the bill that would have allowed two counts of homicide when the woman and fetus are killed, but no counts of homicide when the fetus is killed and the woman survives. "I am simply not willing, by signing this act, to involve Wyoming in that divisive debate through this indirect means unless there is some compelling need to do so," Freudenthal wrote, adding, "This act simply creates too many problems without any benefit to the state and its citizens that I can perceive." According to the AP/Gazette, the governor met with representatives from Right to Life of Wyoming and NARAL Pro-Choice Wyoming before issuing the veto (AP/Billings Gazette, 3/9).

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