Roundup: One Star Is For Alaska, One Star Is For Nebraska

Mar 18, 2010, 10:48am

Robin Marty

Nebraska thinks women who get abortions are CRAZY and other state news. Plus a mini roundup of "I told you so!"

Why yes! It’s another “Round the Country” roundup, followed by a healthy dose of “I told you so’s!”

Alaska is in the process of putting a parental notification law on the ballot for the next election. A court order challenging it was a right to privacy violation was overruled, although the ballot initiative summary will state that it is a limitation of current freedoms.

Nebraska made big headlines yesterday for passing the Abortion Fetal Pain Act through judiciary committee, despite the possible unconstitutional nature of the act. Less noticed was the other bill passed, stating that a woman must undergo a mental health evaluation before having an abortion. Interestingly enough, it appears that the evaluator gets to decide if the woman should have the abortion or not.

LB594 would require that women seeking abortions be screened for factors that could increase the risk of a negative reaction to the procedure. Those would include a perception the mother was coerced to have an abortion or that she has negative moral beliefs about abortion.

I can’t help but wonder who is doing the evaluations, what their perceptions on abortion are, and how they get to determine “risk factors,” especially the “negative moral beliefs about abortion.” Many women are pro-life until they are faced with her own unintended or non-viable pregnancy.

In Kentucky, anti-choice politicians have now killed three bills that would have provided additional healthcare or financial support for the poor, elderly, sick, or children. Each bill was voted down because anti-choice legislators attached a mandatory ultrasound bill onto it. Once again, politicians put their desire to control women’s bodies over the need to care for real people.

South Carolina faces the same issue, where zealous politicians are have actually held up the state budget to try to remove funds for abortion in the case of incest, rape or mother’s health. There were six abortions that fell into that category last year.

Finally, Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey will likely learn what the phrase “pennywise, pound foolish” means, as he dramatically reduces the budget for family planning services in his state.

In this instance, it seems Christie’s socially and fiscally conservative views may have come together as the governor, who opposes abortion, cut state expenses and eliminated a program long criticized by antiabortion groups.

Michele Jaker, executive director of the Family Planning Association of New Jersey, said the cut could cost clinics federal dollars and would result in more unwanted pregnancies. She said studies had shown that every $1 spent on family planning saved taxpayers $4 in other costs.

“It makes absolutely no sense fiscally,” Jaker said. “Because of that, I can only think that it’s a social-policy decision, and it’s clearly out of line with what most New Jerseyans want or expect.”

The family-planning agencies provide gynecological care, screenings for breast and cervical cancer, contraception, care for sexually transmitted infections, and HIV tests, sometimes at no cost to needy patients, Jaker said. Some provide abortions, but he said state and federal funding had not been used for that procedure.

Mini Roundup: Go figure! Universal healthcare DOES reduce abortions, and having available access to contraception does NOT make you more likely to get pregnant, have STI’s, etc (although you’d never know it from the article’s headline).

March 17, 2010

Driver pleads guilty in crash that killed twin fetuses – Brattleboro Reformer

California candidate for governor aims to reduce abortions, thinks Prop. 8 … – Catholic News Agency

Scientologists reject claims they forced abortions – Sydney Morning Herald

abortion a racist plot? -Atlanta Journal Constitution

SC legislators reject rape, incest abortion ban – BusinessWeek

Abortion ballot initiative survives challenge – Alaska Dispatch

Pro-Choice Caucus Pretending To Study Senate Bill – Firedoglake

Stupak Ally in House Approves Senate Abortion Restrictions – New York Times

SKorean women caught in abortion limbo – The Associated Press

Don’t Be Fooled — Senate Health Bill Includes Taxpayer Funding of Abortion – FOXNews

SC Legislature Overturns Proposed Abortion Coverage Ban – Ms. Magazine