Monthly State Update:
MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS IN 2005
(as of 3/1/2005) This
update summarizes legislation that has passed at least one house
of the legislature, executive branch actions and judicial decisions.
Entries are organized by the following topical areas. Within each
topic, entries are listed alphabetically by state; actions for the
current month are in bold. For an archive of previous monthly updates
click here.
As
of the beginning of March, legislatures in 47 states (AL, AK, AZ,
AR, CA, CO, CT, DE, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, ME, MD, MA,
MI, MN, MS, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR,
PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VT, WA, WV, WI and WY) were in regular
session. The legislature in Virginia has adjourned and legislatures
in two states (FL and LA) have not yet convened in a regular session
in 2005.
Jump to actions around:
Abortion
'Choose Life' License Plates
Comprehensive Abortion Bans
Fetal
Pain
Mandatory Counseling and Waiting Periods
Parental Involvement
'Partial-Birth' Abortion
Physician-Only Requirements
Postviability Abortion
Private Insurance Coverage of Abortion
Protecting Access to Clinics
Public Funding of Abortion
Reporting Statistical Information to State
Agencies
Stem-Cell and Embryo Research
See Also:
Contraception and
Prevention: Abortion-Related Restrictions on State Family Planning
Funds
Fetal
Assault
Refusal Clauses: Abortion
Services (See also General Medical Services)
Contraception
& Prevention
Abortion-Related Restrictions on State
Family Planning Funds
Contraceptive Coverage
Emergency Contraception
Parental
Involvement
State
Medicaid Family Planning Eligibility Expansions
See Also:
Youth: Child Abuse Reporting
Refusal Clauses: Contraceptive
Services (See also General Medical Services)
Pregnancy
& Birth
Fetal
Assault
Infant
Abandonment
Substance Abuse During Pregnancy
Refusal
Clauses
Abortion Services
Contraceptive Services
General Medical Services
Youth
Child Abuse Reporting
Sex Education
See Also:
Abortion: Parental Involvement
Contraception & Prevention:
Parental Involvement
ABORTION
See also:
CONTRACEPTION &
PREVENTION: Abortion-Related Restrictions on State Family Planning
Funds
REFUSAL CLAUSES
'Choose
Life' License Plate Revenue Used to Fund Crisis Pregnancy Centers
Introduced: 6 states
States
with further action
Enacted:
OH
Click
here for current status of state policy
(ENACTED)
In February, Gov. Bob Taft (R) of OHIO signed a
law authorizing the sale of “Choose Life” license plates. Proceeds
from the sale of the plates would be used to fund nonprofit organizations
that encourage pregnant woman to choose adoption; funds could not
be distributed to agencies with ties to organizations that provide
abortion services or referrals.
In
January, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review a lower court
decision invalidating SOUTH CAROLINA'S ‘Choose
Life' license plate program. The effort was established in 2001
and blocked later that year when Planned Parenthood of South Carolina
filed suit, claiming that the program violates the First Amendment
by denying abortion rights supporters an equal opportunity to express
their views. The state now may either eliminate the specialty plates
or offer one with a prochoice message.
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Introduced: 5 states
States
with further action
Passed
at least one chamber: SD
In February,
the SOUTH DAKOTA legislature passed a measure written to go
into effect only if the Supreme Court were to overturn its decision
in Roe v. Wade, If the legislation were to be implemented,
it would make abortion illegal in South Dakota except when necessary
to save the life of the woman. The bill is awaiting action
from Gov . Mike Rounds (R).
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Fetal
Pain
(These
bills overlap with bills in the Mandatory Counseling and Waiting
Period category.)
Introduced: 12 states
States
with further action
Committee
action: CO and MT
Passed
at least one chamber: VA
In
February, a measure that would require physicians to inform
women that a fetus may feel pain was passed by the VIRGINIA General
Assembly, but died at the committee level in the Senate. The measure
would have amended the state's current counseling laws to
require abortion providers to give women printed materials stating
that at 20 weeks gestation “the unborn child has the physical structures
necessary to experience pain.” The bill would also have made it
a crime for a doctor to perform an abortion after at least 20 weeks
gestation without anesthesia or other drugs unless the woman refuses
the drugs or there is a medical emergency.
Women
Required to Receive State-Directed Counseling:
Introduced: 16 states
States with further action
Committee
action: CO and MT
Passed
at least one chamber: GA and VA
Click
here for current status of state policy
In
February, the GEORGIA House passed
a measure that would require a 24-hour waiting period between a
woman's receipt of specified information on abortion—including information
on the medical risks of the procedure, fetal development, fetal
pain and alternatives to abortion— and the procedure. The bill would
also amend the state's parental involvement law by requiring abortion
providers to obtain the consent of a minor's parents before an abortion
is performed; current law requires that parents be notified. The
measure is pending in the Senate.
In
February, a measure that would require physicians to inform
women that a fetus may feel pain was passed by the VIRGINIA General
Assembly, but died at the committee level in the Senate. The measure
would have amended the state's current counseling laws to
require abortion providers to give women printed materials stating
that at 20 weeks gestation “the unborn child has the physical structures
necessary to experience pain.” The bill would also have made it
a crime for a doctor to perform an abortion after at least 20 weeks
gestation without anesthesia or other drugs unless the woman refuses
the drugs or there is a medical emergency.
Requirements for State-Directed
Counseling Followed by a Waiting Period:
Introduced: 16 states
States
with further action
Committee
action: AR and OK
Passed
at least one chamber: GA and SD
Click
here for current status of state policy
In
February, the GEORGIA House passed
a measure that would require a 24-hour waiting period between a
woman's receipt of specified information on abortion—including information
on the medical risks of the procedure, fetal development, fetal
pain and alternatives to abortion— and the procedure. The bill would
also amend the state's parental involvement law by requiring abortion
providers to obtain the consent of a minor's parents before an abortion
is performed; current law requires that parents be notified. The
measure is pending in the Senate.
In
February, the SOUTH DAKOTA legislature passed a measure
to amend the state's current counseling and waiting period requirement
by making the information that women receive more specific. The
current law informs women of the medical risks of abortion, but
this bill would require the inclusion of specific information about
“depression and related psychological distress” and “increased risk
of suicide ideation and suicide.” The new information would also
include a statement telling the woman that the abortion will terminate
the life of a whole, separate, unique, living human being. In addition,
the measure would require that the woman both be counseled orally
24 hours before the procedure and receive written information at
least two hours before an abortion is performed. The bill is now
awaiting action by Gov. Mike Rounds (R).
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Parental
Consent Requirements:
Introduced: 11 states
States
with further action
Past at
least one chamber: AR and GA
Click
here for current status of state policy
In
February, both chambers of the ARKANSAS legislature approved
a measure to amend the state's existing parental notification law. The
version passed by the Senate would require doctors to obtain parental
consent from at least one parent or guardian before performing an
abortion on a minor. The measure would retain the judicial
bypass—which allows a minor to petition the court to circumvent
consent—as well as an exception to the consent requirement when
an abortion is necessary to preserve the health of the minor. Because
the Senate deleted a requirement included in the House bill for
both parental consent and notice, and widened the definition
of medical emergency, the measure must now go back to the House
for approval.
In
February, the GEORGIA House passed
a measure that would amend the state's parental involvement law
by requiring abortion providers to obtain the consent of a minor's
parents before an abortion is performed; current law requires that
parents be notified. The bill would also require a 24-hour waiting
period between a woman's receipt of specified information on abortion—including
information on the medical risks of the procedure, fetal development,
fetal pain and alternatives to abortion— and the procedure. The
measure is pending in the Senate.
Parental Notification
Requirements:
Introduced: 16 states
States with further action
Committee
action: OK
Passed
at least one chamber: MT and SD
Click
here for current status of state policy
In
February, the MONTANA House approved an amendment to the
state's current parental notification law. The measure would
give judges greater discretion in deciding when to bypass the notification
requirement by allowing them to waive notice if the minor were “competent”
or the abortion were in her “best interest.” The measure would also
give judges greater latitude in determining when a minor might be
subject to parental abuse if notice were required. The measure is
awaiting consideration by the Senate.
In
February, the SOUTH DAKOTA Senate passed a measure that
would amend the state's current law requiring that parents be notified
before a minor obtains an abortion, except in an emergency. The
measure would require that a minor give the provider a notarized
letter from her parents asserting that they are aware of the procedure
before notification could be waived. It would also require providers
to notify a minor's parents within 24 hours of an emergency abortion.
The measure is currently awaiting consideration by the House.
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Introduced: 8 states
Click
here for current status of state policy
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Introduced: 3 states
Click
here for current status of state policy
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Introduced: 7 states
Click
here for current status of state policy
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Introduced: 3 states
States with further action
Committee
action: UT
Passed
at least one chamber: MT
Click
here for current status of state policy
In
February, the MONTANA House passed a measure that would
make it a crime to knowingly obstruct
or hinder entry into or exit from a health care facility, including
a physician's office. The measure would prohibit anyone from coming
within eight feet of a person near the facility to provide information,
distribute materials or protest abortion without that person's consent.
The measure is now pending in the Senate.
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Introduced: 6 states
Click
here for current status of state policy
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Introduced: 6 states
Reporting
Statistical Information to State Agencies
Introduced: 6 states
Click
here for current status of state policy
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Introduced: 21 states
States with further action
Committee action: CT,
IN and WA
Passed at least one chamber:
AZ, MS and VA
In
February, the ARIZONA House adopted a measure that would
prohibit public funds from being used for human cloning. Because
the measure defines cloning as the process of inserting the genetic
material from one cell into another cell that has had its nucleus
removed, it would also have the effect of prohibiting funding for
therapeutic embryo research that uses this process. The bill
is awaiting consideration by the Senate.
In
February, the MISSISSIPPI Senate passed a measure that
would prohibit human cloning in the state. The bill defined cloning
as the introduction of human genetic material into a cell that has
had its nucleus removed in order to produce a human or mostly human
organism. (On March 1, the measure died in a committee in the
House.)
In
February, a VIRGINIA Senate committee defeated a measure
that would have prohibited financial payment for acquiring or transferring
tissue from an abortion. The bill had been approved by the House
earlier in the month.
In
February, both chambers of the VIRGINIA General Assembly
passed a bill to establish the Christopher Reeve Stem Cell Research
Fund. While named for the deceased actor who had crusaded for
stem cell research, the measure would limit grants to organizations
that do not use human embryonic stem cells in their research. The
bill is awaiting action by Gov. Mark Warner (D).
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CONTRACEPTION
& PREVENTION
See also:
REFUSAL
CLAUSES
YOUTH: Child Abuse Reporting
Introduced: 5 states
Click here for current status of
state policy
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Introduced:
10 states
States with further action
Committee
action: SD and UT
Passed
at least one chamber: MT
Click
here for current status of state policy
In
February, the MONTANA Senate adopted a measure that would
require health insurance policies that include coverage of prescription
drugs to also cover contraceptive drugs and devices. The bill defines
contraceptive methods as those designed to prevent either fertilization
or the implantation of a fertilized egg; it explicitly includes
emergency contraception in the definition but excludes mifepristone
and RU-486 . The measure is awaiting consideration by the House.
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Offering
Emergency Contraception Services to Sexual Assault Victims:
Introduced: 10 states
States with further action
Committee action: HI and
SD
Passed
at least one chamber: CO and NJ
Click here for current status of state
policy
In January,
the COLORADO House approved a measure that
would require hospitals and other health care facilities to provide
emergency contraception services to women who have been sexually
assaulted. The facilities would be required to offer emergency
contraception and to either dispense the medication or refer women
to a nearby pharmacy. The measure would allow individual health
care providers at these facilities to refuse to provide this care
if doing so would conflict with their religious or moral beliefs.
The bill also contains a provision stating that hospitals could
refuse to provide emergency contraception to a woman who is “not
at risk of becoming pregnant as a result of the sexual assault or
already is pregnant.” The measure is awaiting consideration by the
Senate.
In
February, the NEW JERSEY Senate approved a measure that
would require hospital emergency rooms to give medially accurate
information about emergency contraception to women who have been
sexually assaulted, and to provide the medication to these women
on request. The bill would not require a hospital to provide emergency
contraceptives if contraindicated or if the woman were already pregnant.
The measure includes a process to determine whether hospitals are
complying with the requirement. As originally approved by
the Senate in October 2004, the bill would have applied only to
women 12 and older than 12 who had been sexually assaulted; that
limitation was removed by the Assembly, which passed the bill in
December 2004. The measure is awaiting consideration by Acting Gov.
Dick Codey (D).
Allowing
Pharmacists to Provide Emergency Contraception without a Prescription:
Introduced: 7 states
States with further action
Passed
at least one chamber: NY
Click
here for current status of state policy
In January,
the NEW YORK Assembly approved a measure that
would allow pharmacists and registered nurses to dispense emergency
contraception without a prescription if acting under the aegis of
an agreement with a physician, nurse practitioner or licensed midwife. The
pharmacist would be required to complete training on emergency contraception
and provide clients with a fact sheet that would be developed by
the state department of health. The measure is awaiting consideration
by the Senate.
Restricting
Access to Emergency Contraception:
Introduced: 1 state
Introduced: 4 states
States with further action
Committee
action: VA
Passed
at least one chamber: MS
Click
here for current status of state policy
In
February, the MISSISSIPPI Senate adopted a bill that would
require minors to obtain parental consent before receiving medical
services, including contraceptive services, at clinics run by the
State Department of Health. The only services exempted from the
parental consent requirement were treatment for sexually transmitted
diseases and emergency care. (On March 1, the measure died in
a committee in the House.)
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State
Medicaid Family Planning Eligibility Expansions
Introduced: 3 states
States with further action
Committee
action: ID
Passed
at least one chamber: IN
Click
here for current status of state policy
In
February, the INDIANA Senate approved a measure that would
direct the state to apply to for a federal waiver to expand eligibility
for Medicaid-funded family planning services to include coverage
for women for two years following a Medicaid-funded delivery. Before
passing the measure, the Senate amended it to exclude contraceptives
intended to prevent implantation of a fertilized egg, effectively
limiting coverage to contraceptives that act by preventing fertilization.
The measure is awaiting consideration by the House.
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PREGNANCY
& BIRTH
See also:
REFUSAL
CLAUSES
Introduced: 27 states
States with further action
Committee action: AZ and
OK
Passed at least one chamber:
WV
In
February, the WEST VIRGINIA Senate passed a bill that would
consider a woman and her fetus to be separate victims in cases of
homicide, manslaughter, poisoning, domestic assault or assault and
battery. The bill includes exceptions for abortions, medical
procedures and research, acts committed in defense of the woman
and actions taken by the woman herself. The measure is awaiting
consideration by the House.
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Introduced: 9 states
States with further action
Committee
action: HI, MT and NY
Click
here for current status of state policy
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Introduced: 10 states
States with further action
Committee
action: HI and MN
Passed
at least one chamber: AR and CO
Click
here for current status of state policy
In
February, the ARKANSAS Senate approved a measure that would
define neglect to include situations in which medical tests showed
either the presence of illegal drugs in a newborn's bodily fluids
or a health problem resulting from prenatal substance abuse.
The bill does not contain a provision requiring the woman's
consent for medical tests that would have to be performed on either
her or the infant to determine whether neglect had occurred. The
measure is awaiting consideration by the House.
In
February, the COLORADO House approved a measure that would
amend the state's definition of neglect (for purposes of determining
child abuse) to include a newborn's testing positive for controlled
substances that had not been prescribed for the woman during pregnancy.
The measure is awaiting consideration by the Senate.
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REFUSAL
CLAUSES
Allowing Health Professionals
to Refuse:
Introduced: 8 states
States with further action
Passed
at least one chamber: AZ
Click
here for current status of state policy
In
February, the ARIZONA House adopted a measure that would
allow pharmacies, individual medical professionals and their employees,
as well as health care facilities to refuse to provide abortions
or emergency contraceptives because of moral or religious objections.
The list of services that could be refused changed substantially
as the bill made its way through the House. As originally introduced,
the measure would have allowed refusals to provide contraceptives
and sterilization, as well as abortion. At the committee level,
the bill was amended to apply to abortion, “abortifacient contraception,”
emergency contraception and sterilization. “Abortifacient contraception”
was not defined. Before approving the measure, the House removed
“abortifacient contraception” and sterilization. The measure is
awaiting consideration in the Senate.
Allowing
Insurers to Refuse:
Introduced: 5 states
Click
here for current status of state policy
Allowing
Pharmacists to Refuse:
Introduced: 8 states
States with further action
Passed
at least one chamber: AZ
Click
here for current status of state policy
(See
Allowing Health Professionals to Refuse for AZ.)
Allowing Facilities to
Refuse:
Introduced: 5 states
States with further action
Passed at least one chamber:
AZ
Click
here for current status of state policy
(See
Allowing Health Professionals to Refuse for AZ.)
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Allowing Health Professionals
to Refuse:
Introduced: 6 states
States with further action
Passed
at least one chamber: AZ
Click
here for current status of state policy
In
February, the ARIZONA House adopted a measure that would
allow pharmacies, individual medical professionals and their employees,
as well as health care facilities to refuse to provide abortions
or emergency contraceptives because of moral or religious objections.
The list of services that could be refused changed substantially
as the bill made its way through the House. As originally introduced,
the measure would have allowed refusals to provide contraceptives
and sterilization, as well as abortion. At the committee level,
the bill was amended to apply to abortion, “abortifacient contraception,”
emergency contraception and sterilization. “Abortifacient contraception”
was not defined. Before approving the measure, the House removed
“abortifacient contraception” and sterilization. The measure is
awaiting consideration in the Senate.
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Allowing Pharmacists
to Refuse:
Introduced: 8 states
States with further action
Passed
at least one chamber: AZ
Click
here for current status of state policy
(See
Allowing Health Professionals to Refuse for AZ.)
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Allowing Health Professionals
to Refuse:
Introduced: 4 states
Click
here for current status of state policy
Allowing Insurers to
Refuse:
Introduced: 4 states
Click
here for current status of state policy
Allowing Pharmacists
to Refuse:
Introduced: 4 states
Click
here for current status of state policy
Allowing Facilities to
Refuse:
Introduced: 4 states
Click
here for current status of state policy
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YOUTH
See also:
ABORTION: Parental Involvement
CONTRACEPTION & PREVENTION: Parental Involvement
Introduced: 1 state
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Provisions Requiring
Sex Education:
Introduced: 12 states
States with further action
Committee
action: WA
Click
here for current status of state policy
Provisions Requiring
HIV Education:
Introduced: 6 states
States with further action
Committee
action: UT and WA
Click
here for current status of state policy
Provisions
Requiring that Sex Education Curricula be Medically Accurate:
Introduced: 6 states
States with further action
Committee action: HI and
WA
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Production of the State Update
is made possible by support from The David and Lucile Packard Foundation
and the Prospect Hill Foundation.
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