PHOENIX -- Rejecting arguments that it is improper state intrusion, the state Senate voted Thursday to ban all abortions after 20 weeks except in cases of emergency.
HB 2036 is based on the premise that a fetus is sufficiently developed to be able to experience pain at that point in development. Sen. Nancy Barto, R-Phoenix, cited testimony of a doctor who said that a 20-week fetus has sensory receptors all over its body.
Barto also said there is evidence that the later along a pregnancy, the greater the chance of complications for the mother.
But Sen. Linda Lopez, D-Phoenix, said that is just a ruse. She said the real aim of proponents is to make it more difficult for women to exercise their constitutional right to terminate a pregnancy, something she said is none of the business of lawmakers.
"We are not physicians, we are not scientists,'' she said.
"We need to stay out of people's bedrooms, out of the medical examining rooms and out of people's lives,'' she continued. And she chided supporters who have said they want less government intrusion into private lives.
But supporters said this is different.
Sen. Sylvia Allen, R-Snowflake, detailed what happens at different stages of fetal development.
"This debate is about life and it's about a small tiny little life form that has no voice to speak for itself,'' she said. Allen also said that, as a woman, this is not an improper intrusion into the rights of women.
Aside from the criminal penalties, including a possible six-month jail term, the legislation contains new requirements for what a doctor would have to tell a woman prior to an abortion. That includes not only medical information but that the state has a web site that lists services to assist a woman and her unborn child and contact information for adoption agencies willing to place newborns.
Sen. Olivia Cajero Bedford, D-Tucson, said if lawmakers are so concerned about informed patients, they should not limit that to women seeking an abortion.
She proposed that any man who wants a prescription for a drug to treat erectile dysfunction must first go to a doctor at least 24 hours ahead of time -- a time frame that mirrors a provision in existing law for a woman who wants an abortion.
A doctor would have to conduct a cardiac test and obtain results "stating that a patient's cardiac health is compatible with sexual activity.'' And patients would have to be told all the potential risks, which range from vision problems to a dangerous condition where an erection does not abate after four hours.
Barto said these aren't the same thing.
"I'm not hearing a lot of talk about whether or not men are complaining that they haven't been informed of the risks of taking ED medication,'' she said. "But we have been informed of many women who have said that they regretted their abortions based on the fact they haven't been informed.''
Barto said there are "devastating'' physical and psychological complications, including problems with future pregnancies as well as an increased risk of anxiety, sleep disorders and suicide. And then there's the ultimate outcome.
"A woman is choosing whether to end the life of the baby inside her,'' Barto said.
But Lopez said the principle is the same.
"If this Legislature decides it's going to wear white coats and stethoscopes and insert itself into women's sexual health, then they should also make sure that they also inserting themselves into men's sexual health,'' she said. "If women are supposed to have this kind of informed consent, then men ought to have the same kind of informed consent with regard to any kind of drug that they're taking with regard to their sexual health.''
In_God_We_Trust posted at 9:28 pm on Tue, Mar 27, 2012.
more lies from downtownrodent. Mormons do not have more than one wife and you know it but you lie every time you comment so nothing new here.
Leon Ceniceros posted at 5:58 pm on Fri, Mar 23, 2012.
These "FEMI-NAZI" women have no respect for their Country (if they loved America why would they support a Kenyan for President), they have no love for God, they have no love for the sanctity of Human Life (just like Germany's Nazis) and they don't even have respect for themselves or they would have used protection against conception in the first place. The Democrats, the Liberals, the Socialists and the Communist Wanna-be's share these Femi-Nazi's beliefs.
At 20 weeks;
1. Thalmic brain connections which mediated sensory input have formed. The fetus feels pain (funny, these same Democrats and their "fellow-travelers" are so worried about criminals on Death Row feeling pain as the are being put to death but could care less that "INNOCENT" human fetuses feel the pain of Abortion.
2. The fetus's bones are 90% fully developed.
3. The fetus's finger nails have formed on his/her fingers.
4. The fetus is 8 inches or longer by this stage of development.
5. The fetus has a 50-50 chance to live at 20 weeks of birth.
6. The mother of the fetus is definitely feeling the fetus kicking in their womb.
6,000,000 Jews, Gypsies, Homosexuals, Lesbians, Mentally-retarded and Slavic people were murdered by the Nazi's of Socialist Germany.
6,000,000 innocent Human Fetuses in the United States of America have been murdered since 1970 by these .......FEMI-NAZI's.
Where are the Nuerenburg Trials for these MASS MURDERS....when have perpetrated the ..............AMERICAN HOLOCAUST ???
Accuracy posted at 1:02 pm on Fri, Mar 23, 2012.
The infamous Supreme Court Roe v. Wade ruling, that legalized abortion in this country, was a case based on lies and deceit.
In 1969, two lawyers from Texas, Sarah Weddington and Linda Coffee, were looking to overturn the Texas abortion statute. They approached a 21 year old Norma McCorvey, who was on her third pregnancy. She never had an abortion and gave birth to a girl, who was given up for adoption when she was recruited to be "Jane Roe," the lead plaintiff in the Roe vs. Wade class-action lawsuit. Norma McCorvey ("Jane Roe") was not raped. The case was appealed to the Supreme Court, where the high court handed down its controversial ruling on January 22, 1973.
Since the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, many states and courts have recognized that all unborn children should be given legal protections. The development of ultrasound technology has enhanced medical and public understanding, allowing doctors and female patients to watch the growth and development of the unborn during the pregnancy in a way previous generations could never have imagined.
Similarly, advances in genetics and related fields make clear that when a heartbeat is detected during the pregnancy, a new and unique human being is formed.
Arizona’s HB 2036 bill makes sweeping changes to the abortion law, including banning abortions in most cases after 20 weeks, except in cases of emergency.
Dale Whiting posted at 7:30 am on Fri, Mar 23, 2012.
Accuracy,
Clearly you cannot recognize pandering when it stares you in the face. Apparently our elected legislative representatives are pandering to your religious beliefs. Most of our representatives either are attorneys and have read Roe v. Wade, or have ties to attorneys who have. And those who have read and taken the time to understand Roe v. Wade know that on constitutional grounds it grants to women who are in the first and second trimester [that's up to 26, not 20 weeks] the right to an abortion. And with special circumstances we also have grounds for abortions well into the third trimester. So there is no doubt, and can be none, that this new piece of legislation is unconstitutional! And guess what? The majority opinion in Row v. Wade was written by Justice White. And as he pre-med student he learned about heart beats. The issue is not a beating heart, but viability outside of the womb. Where one would challenge the ruling in Roe v. Wade, it ought to be challenged in light of advances in medicine making viability much earlier than 26 weeks. And I'd bet that's what founds this legislation. But it ain't your beating heart conservative opinion!
You may disagree with Roe v. Wade, but doing so means that until it is overturned, you disagree with the US Constitution, likely because you disagree with its concept of separation of church [religious doctrine] and state.
So let's get down to brass tacks. Which is it? Are you ignorant of Roe v. Wade, the Constitution and alike? Or are you so take up with heart beats that you can't think with reason? Or do you view this new law as a way to induce the State to either challenge Roe v. Wade or have someone else challenge it and thereby bring up Roe v. Wade? The latter is the only reasonable motivation. So where you pick the latter, at least be honest with us. You want to challenge Roe v Wade but are too cheap to do it yourself! But your 'heart beat' theory is balderdash!
Heywood_Jablome posted at 6:08 am on Fri, Mar 23, 2012.
ralpho---- Then get your traitor a$s out of this nation you government loving worm. I will help you leave.
ralpho posted at 10:49 pm on Thu, Mar 22, 2012.
Were Leaving the state. If we have to the country.
worldtravels posted at 9:17 pm on Thu, Mar 22, 2012.
So typical Republican, protect the unborn, but cut off most if not all support and funding for people after they are born. Definitely the Arizona way. Cut AHCCS, cut CPS, cut child care, cut support for foster care. You keep pumping out those babies, but good luck on your own raising them.
You know if you made it against the law to use viagra and similar ed meds, there might be a lot less sexual activity making babies that would lead to the need for abortion...you ever think about that.
I do get tired of old men always making the legislative decisions for women. About time for women to rise up and break this yoke of second class citizenry.
Accuracy posted at 6:49 pm on Thu, Mar 22, 2012.
The state Senate voted Thursday to ban all abortions after 20 weeks except in cases of emergency.
Why? Because heartbeats can be detected as early as 18 days into a pregnancy - and by six weeks in most cases, and believing the beating hearts of babies should be protected. Abortion not only kills heartbeats of unborn babies, it also causes untold harm to women.
samkat posted at 6:28 pm on Thu, Mar 22, 2012.
Perhaps a few parents of these so called republicans should have gone for abortions.