Arizona Governor Overhauls Abortion Regulation

For the first time in years, pro-life legislation in Arizona has taken three major steps forward.

PHOENIX (LifeSiteNews.com) - For the first time in years, pro-life legislation in Arizona has taken three major steps forward as Arizona Governor Jan Brewer on Monday signed into law a comprehensive reform of state statutes regulating abortion.

Amongst other things, the regulations will guarantee new conscience protections for hospitals and medical professionals opposed to abortion and abortifacient contraception. The overhaul of abortion law also replaces the term "fetus" with "unborn child" and stipulates that only a licensed physician may perform a surgical abortion.

Gov. Jan Brewer signed the Abortion Consent Act (HB 2564) along with two other pro-life bills on Monday, her last day to affix her signature as Governor before the bills passed by both houses of the state legislature automatically become law. The Arizona legislature had crafted HB 2564 to address the principle concerns that the law needed to better guarantee the rights of women to make a fully-informed decision free of coercion before consenting to abortion.

The new Arizona reforms establish a minimum 24-hour waiting period between a woman's consultation for abortion and the actual abortion of her unborn child. Under the law, either the referring physician or the physician performing the abortion must inform the patient "orally and in person" the name of the operating abortionist, the immediate and long-term medical risks associated with abortion, helpful alternatives to abortion, the estimated "gestational age and anatomical and physiological characteristics of the unborn child" at the time of an abortion, and also any medical risks posed by carrying the child to term.

A licensed medical professional must also discuss with a woman orally, one-on-one, and in a private room, that medical assistance, as well as public and private services, may be available to help her throughout pregnancy and even after childbirth, even should she choose to give up her child for adoption. A woman must be told that the law protects her against psychological or physical coercion to abort a child she would otherwise keep.

A medical professional must also tell a woman that the father must pay child support "even if he has offered to pay for the abortion," that any person pressuring her to have an abortion has violated the law, and that withdrawing her consent to have an abortion at any time will not compromise her right to future care or benefits to which she is entitled.

Once the consultation process is complete, the patient must sign a form that declares she was fully informed of her rights provided by law.

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Providing for the case of a medical emergency, the law states that a physician must inform a woman of the reasons for why he believes an abortion must be performed in order to avert death or serious bodily impairment.

Under the law, physicians who violate the informed consent requirements face a potential suspension or revocation of their license. The physician may also become liable to a civil action from the woman on whom the abortion was performed, as well as from the father of an unborn child married to the mother and from the mother's parents if the mother was a minor at the time of the abortion, provided they were not parties to a crime involved in the pregnancy.

The law also prohibits the parents or guardians of a minor from pressuring her into having an abortion. If they deny a minor financial support for refusing abortion, under the revised statutes the state will recognize the minor as emancipated for the purposes of being eligible to receive public benefits.

It also allows a pregnant minor to appeal to the court to obtain an abortion without the consent of her lawful guardians, but requires her to prove to a superior court judge through "clear and convincing evidence that she is sufficiently mature and capable of giving informed consent to an abortion without consulting her parent or guardian, based on her experience, perspective, and judgment." However a judge may also determine other such factors, such as whether the minor is aware of alternatives to abortion and is intellectually competent to make an informed decision on her own.

The law also provides for powerful conscience protections for hospitals, pharmacies, health care professionals, and their employees, saying they have the right not to perform, facilitate, or provide abortions, abortion medication, or abortifacient "emergency contraception" so long as they state their objections on moral and religious grounds in writing.

Gov. Brewer also signed HB 2400, a measure revising the state ban on partial birth abortion that makes more specific the definition of partial-birth abortion and also stipulates any physician violating the ban faces a fine and/or maximum prison sentence of two years. The law allows an abortionist to appeal to the Arizona Medical Board or the Arizona Board of Osteopathic Examiners to determine whether his conduct was necessary to save the life of the mother.

The last bill signed by Gov. Brewer, S1175 states simply, "An individual who is not a physician shall not perform a surgical abortion."

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Gov. Brewer's signing of the legislation overhaul marks a departure from the policies of former Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano, who had vigorously opposed any attempts at significant reform of abortion legislation throughout her six years as governor. Earlier in January, Gov. Brewer, then-Arizona Secretary of State, succeeded Napolitano to the governorship after Napolitano left to become director of the federal Department of Homeland Security.

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