Audio By Carbonatix
Several bills that would place stricter regulations on abortions will be heard in the Arizona state Legislature later today, and pro-choice groups aren’t happy about it. In fact, one group calls the bills an “assault [on] a woman’s dignity.”
Aside from forcing abortion doctors to offer patients the opportunity to look at ultrasound images of the fetus — a move to basically try to scare women out of having an abortion — HB 2416 also adds stiffer regulations to the early abortion-by-pill that would subject the procedure to the same regulations as surgical abortion.
Doing so, officials from Planned Parenthood say, would block access of early-term abortions to women living in rural communities. The group says that by preventing early-term abortions by over-regulating the pill, it will lead to more late-term, potentially riskier abortions.
Two other bills to be heard in the House today, proposed by Republican Representative Steve Montenegro, would require women getting abortions to sign a document promising they aren’t aborting the pregnancy based on the sex of the child. The other would force women to promise they aren’t aborting their pregnancy based on race. Under the proposed law, anyone caught doing so could be slapped with a class-three felony.
When news happens, Phoenix New Times is there —
Your support strengthens our coverage.
We’re aiming to raise $30,000 by December 31, so we can continue covering what matters most to you. If New Times matters to you, please take action and contribute today, so when news happens, our reporters can be there.
As we learned a few weeks ago, there’s no evidence suggesting women getting abortions for either of those reasons is even a problem in Arizona.
“There is no indication that this is even an issue,” Planned Parenthood Arizona spokeswoman Cynde Cerf told New Times at the time.
Check back to Valley Fever throughout the day for updates.
