With the campaign promises coming into full swing during President Trump’s time in the oval office, it is not surprising that many bills having to do with access to and procedures for abortion have been introduced in state sessions all over the US. There are a few bills that have been getting immense amounts of traction on our site lately: AR HB1032, US HR7, US HR586 and and others.
Act 45 – The Arkansas Unborn Child Protection From Dismemberment Abortion Act.
AR HB1032 was introduced on December 5th, 2016 and was passed on January 26th, 2017 – it effectively bans the majority of second trimester abortions (after 13 weeks or 3 months) and gives control of women’s bodies to other people.
The bill bans a “Dismemberment abortion”; defined in the bill as “an abortion performed with the purpose of causing the death of an unborn child that purposely dismembers the living unborn child and extracts one piece at a time from the uterus through the use of clamps, grasping forceps, tongs, scissors, or similar instruments that, through the convergence of two (2) rigid levers, slice, crush, or grasp a portion of the body of the unborn child to cut or tear off a portion of the body of the unborn child.”
The method of abortion this bill crudely and graphically explains is a dilation and evacuation (D&E) procedure, the safest and most common way to terminate pregnancies after 13 weeks. Webmd’s article explaining the procedure states it is recommended for women diagnosed with a fetus with severe medical problems or abnormalities, women pregnant as a result of rape or incest who may not be able to confirm the pregnancy until the second trimester due to emotional reaction to the traumatic cause of the pregnancy or women who do not have access to an abortion specialist in their area or who are slowed by legal restrictions until their pregnancy reaches the second trimester.
Under Act 45, D&E procedures will become a felony punishable by a $10,000 fine or six years in prison. Currently, six states– Kansas, Oklahoma, West Virginia, Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana – forbid D&E abortions. In West Virginia, lawmakers overrode Democratic Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin’s veto of the bill. Alabama’s bill was suspended by U.S. District Judge Myron H. Thompson. The Kansas bill will be heard by the Kansas Supreme Court in March on whether that law is constitutional. Louisiana and Mississippi bills were signed into law.
Here is a map of all bills having to do with “Dismemberment Abortions”
Another aspect driving strong public reaction towards this new law is women can be barred from having an abortion by their spouse or family member, even in instances of spousal rape or incest. It enables a woman’s husband to sue the doctor who performs her abortion for monetary damages, effectively motivating doctors to not perform abortions in fear of being sued. In cases of spousal rape, or “criminal conduct,” husbands are still given the right to sue for injunctive relief and block an abortion, but no able to seek monetary damages. Parents or legal guardians can sue in the case of pregnant minors, incest or not.
Sanctity of Human Life Act
US HR586 was proposed on January 17th, 2017. This act declares: (1) the right to life guaranteed by the Constitution is vested in each human and is a person’s most fundamental right; (2) each human life begins with fertilization, cloning, or its equivalent, at which time every human has all the legal and constitutional attributes and privileges of personhood; and (3) Congress, each state, the District of Columbia, and each U.S. territory have the authority to protect all human lives.
No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act of 2017
US HR7 is essentially an extension of the Hyde Amendment (prevents federal funds from being used for abortion). There are 10 states that prohibit insurance coverage of abortion for all providers, and 15 who prohibit it for Obamacare recipients. This bill would eliminate all insurance funding for abortion.
Heartbeat Protection Act of 2017
US HR490 would prohibit abortions without a check for a fetal heartbeat and effectively ban the abortion all together as soon as a fetal heartbeat can be detected, about six weeks into the pregnancy.
Mexico City Policy
President Trump reinstated this policy, known as the global gag rule, the prohibits giving U.S. funding to international nongovernmental organizations that offer or advise on a wide range of family planning and reproductive health options if they include abortion ― even if U.S. dollars are not specifically used for abortion-related services. This executive order received a lot of backlash, due to the photo of President Trump surrounded by all men, signing the order.
President Donald Trump shows off a signed executive order to reinstitute a policy barring any recipient of U.S. assistance from performing or promoting abortions abroad with money they receive from non-U.S. sources, Monday, Jan. 23, 2017, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
IN HB1134 – Protection of life
IN HB1134 repeals the statutes authorizing and regulating abortion. It asserts there is a compelling state interest in protecting human physical life from the moment that human physical life begins, redefining “human being” for purposes of the criminal code stating human physical life begins when a human ovum is fertilized by a human sperm.
AZ HB2041
AZ HB2041 Imposes various restrictions on healthcare facilities providing abortions (so-called Targeted Restrictions on Abortion Providers or TRAP laws), including certain building code rules and licensure fees and requirements for abortion providers and requiring doctors to have hospital admitting privileges.
VA HB1473 – Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act
VA HB1473 The Act prohibits an abortion after 20 weeks of gestation unless, “in reasonable medical judgment”, the mother has a condition that so complicates her medical condition as to necessitate the abortion to avert her death or to avert serious risk of substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function. If the women chooses to have an abortion after 20 weeks, the bill would require a physician is required to terminate the pregnancy in a manner that would provide the unborn child the best opportunity to survive.
Go here for a complete list of all 411 current bills having to do with abortion.
Future Actions
If you would like to track any of the bills mentioned in this post the links will always take you to the most current status information, and the link to the complete list will be updated daily with new bills and the changing status of existing bills. If you would like to set up your own searches and tracking register for a BillTrack50 account here or Contact Us with requests and questions. Setting up an account and unlimited research is free forever; tracking requires a paid subscription.
Cover Photo by Maria Oswalt on Unsplash
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