Roundup: Eight States, Fifteen Bills, One Big Pea

Much like a marathon, this roundup covers 20% of the states in the country, then rewards you with a giant pea suit.  Ok, not so much like a marathon...

Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Nebraska, Missouri, Oklahoma, Florida, Michigan.  So many states with so many stories this week.  I’ll try to round them all up for you here in case you missed any of them. 

Then, I will amuse you with giant vegetables.  You have been warned…

In Colorado, as we reported yesterday, the latest “Personhood Amendment” push is woefully behind. In order to be successful, they need to come up with 1000 valid signatures a day for the next 14 days.

Utah, reeling from the publicity they received over their “miscarriage ban,” is now pulling the bill for tweaking.  They will eliminate the “reckless act” portion that literally made any woman who suffered a miscarriage a potential suspect. 

Of course, if Utah is overstepping its bounds by legislating pregnancy, Florida is only a few steps behind with its proposed bill to outlaw all abortions in the state except when a mother’s life is in danger.   And mother’s physical health is the only exemption for the new Nebraska bill that bans all abortions after 20 weeks, which had a public hearing this week as well.

Oklahoma has been nearly impossible to keep up with this week, as nearly every day a new anti-choice bill goes through committee, House or Senate, as the legislature attempts to break up their “unconstitutional” multi-topic bills into single topic, bite-size versions.  An ultrasound bill, and the data reporting act have both passed the house, and more came through committee and are waiting to be seen.  As Amie asked, how much money is the state willing to spend on all of these reruns and court challenges?

Missouri anti-choice advocates and doing a major push to try and get more funding for the “Abortion Alternatives Act.”  I wonder if any lawmakers will feel the need to ask them if they’ve ever had an abortion.

Meanwhile, two commissioners in Kalamazoo, Michigan are trying to get abortion coverage stripped from county employees.  One attempted this before in 2003.  He admits they expect little in savings by the move, as only four procedures had been covered since 2003.  Two of those four procedures were actually for miscarriages. Needless to say, that makes me feel a little like Cassandra.

Finally, Arizona senate passed three bills this week, one to ban taxpayer abortions, one regarding health risks from donating eggs, and one to regulate use of embryos, which the bill’s sponsor says are “human beings, not tissues.”  The bills barely passed the senate and even were criticized by other Republicans.

Sen. Carolyn Allen, a lawmaker from Scottsdale, was the only Republican who voted against all three bills. She said lawmakers should be working on the budget instead of measures that restrict the reproductive rights of women.

“The calendar today and some that are going to come appears to me to be almost anti-female,” she said.

Mini Roundup – So you made it through all of that doom and gloom and need some cheering up? Welcome to the BEST REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH HEADLINE EVER!!!!

March 4, 2010

Oh, Baby: More Hospitals Asking for Payment Before Childbirth – ParentDish

Without Abortion Changes, Stupak Will Defeat Health Care: ‘We’re Prepared to … – ABC News

House Democrats in dangerous dilemma over abortion language – Kansas City Star

Committee Kills Anti-abortion Bills – WJLA

Wimmer plans fix to controversial abortion bill -Salt Lake Tribune

Abortion and the health care bills: Let’s welcome the debate – Christian Science Monitor

Polish activists use Hitler poster to warn against abortion – Ha’aretz

Abortion laws kill Kenyan schoolgirls – The Guardian

Lawmakers wrestle with pro-life bills – Tulsa Beacon

Contraception, Marketing, and Mommy Bloggers – CurrentMom

Philippines HIV cases spike to record in January – Reuters

It’s official – giant pea outfits are not an effective form of contraception – 3am.co.uk

‘I have a phobia of pregnancy’ – The Guardian

Family planning ‘is central to elections in the Philippines’ – VSO International

Millions to Prevent HIV and AIDS, Reduce Stigma – Media For Freedom

Senators Want End to Ban on Gay Blood Donors – Politics Daily

March 5, 2010

Garrett OB/GYN bills shot down by legislature – Cumberland Times-News

Sexually active women need free contraceptives – Dr Samba – Ghana News

Govt must put in check maternal,infant deaths – The Citizen Daily

DAs expand teen pregnancy campaign – The Tennessean

Reproductive justice for all – The Guardian

HIV/AIDS crisis affects growing number of South Carolinians – WACH

HIP HOP CD ON HIV/AIDS LAUNCHED – The Voice Online

Had Sex? Study Finds It Depends Who You Ask – Huffington Post

UN Report: HIV/Aids Has Become The Major Cause Of Death Among Women – TopNews

CDC’s new tool in HIV prevention: social media and Jamie Foxx – Baltimore Sun

Choices for teens over pregnancy – Swindon Advertiser

Reproductive justice for all – The Guardian

Bali safe from `baby boom’ – Jakarta Post

Mullahs help promote birth control in Afghanistan – USA Today

Hillary Clinton Tells Brazilians to Consider Legalizing Abortion – Lifesite

Oklahoma Supreme Court Rules Abortion Law Unconstitutional – Ms. Magazine

Missouri Budget Committee to Determine Fate of Abortion Alternatives Funding – LifeNews.com

Christine M. Flowers: Not your mother’s back alley – Philadelphia Daily News

Groups protest S.Korea crackdown on abortion – Bangkok Post

Abortion and the health care bills: Let’s welcome the debate – Christian Science Monitor

Abortion And the Health Bill – Wall Street Journal