By Melissa Patrick
Kentucky Health News
FRANKFORT, Ky. – After only one hour of debate, a bill to require women to have an ultrasound before having an abortion passed the state House Thursday, Jan. 5, on a vote of 83-12, and now heads to the Senate for a vote.
That sounds like a routine day at the state Capitol, but there was nothing routine about it – at least in the House, which came under Republican control Tuesday as a result of the Nov. 8 election.
Republicans used party-line votes to limit debate to 30 minutes on each side and made parliamentary maneuvers to block consideration of amendments filed by Democrats.
The bill headed to the Republican-led Senate for a committee action Friday and a floor vote Saturday to send the bill to Gov. Matt Bevin for his signature.
Meanwhile, the Senate passed a farther-reaching abortion bill, Senate Bill 5, with a 30-6 vote Thursday. It would ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, unless the woman's life is threatened. It is expected to pass the House and go to Bevin on Saturday.
The ultrasound bill
The bill's sponsor, Rep. Addia Wuchner, R-Burlington, said the purpose of requiring an ultrasound before an abortion is to make sure the woman considering the abortion is fully informed of what she is about to do, and that an ultrasound is necessary to assure "informed consent." Opponents of the bill say requiring this ultrasound is meant to create yet another barrier for these women and to shame them.
The bill, called the Ultrasound Informed Consent Act, requires women to have an ultrasound at least 24 hours before an abortion. During the ultrasound, the technician must simultaneously explain what they are doing, including the presence and location of the unborn fetus within the uterus, the number of fetuses and if there has been fetal demise. In addition, the ultrasound must be displayed so that the pregnant woman can see it; the heartbeat must be such that the woman can hear it; and the technician must provide a medical description of the image.
Wuchner said that it will be up to the physician to decide what kind of ultrasound is needed, depending on the gestational age of the fetus. A transvaginal ultrasound is typically done early in pregnancy and an external one is done in the later weeks.
The only exemption in the bill is for medical emergencies. It does not include exceptions for rape or incest. The bill also has five pages of consequences for those who don't adhere to these guidelines
After the ultrasound, the pregnant woman must get a certificate signed to give to the abortion provider stating that all of these things have been done. The bill allows the woman to avert her eyes from the image and to ask for the heartbeat volume to be turned off, but not to refuse the procedure.
Kentucky already requires women who choose to have an abortion to receive state-directed counseling with a doctor that includes information designed to discourage her from having it 24 hours before the procedure; either in person or by video.
The EMW Surgical Center in Louisville is the state's only licensed abortion clinic. An abortion cost about $650 and insurance cannot cover it unless the mother's life is in danger.
The debate
Rep. Mary Lou Marzian, D-Jefferson, requested a substitution of the rules to hear the amendment she had proposed under the original bill that called for banning all abortions "to let the majority party vote on what they truly wanted to do, and that is to outlaw abortion in Kentucky," but her motion was not accepted.
Marzian said many of the majority party who claim to be pro-life don't vote on pro-family, pro-life bills, like booster-seat laws that comply with new recommendations, early childhood development, smoking bans, and bills that would increase funding for foster children.
Rep. Darryl Owens, D-Jefferson, also asked for a suspension of the rules to vote on his amendment to create an exception for rape or incest in the bill, which had also been filed under the original bill, but his motion was also not accepted.
Rep. Ruth Ann Palumbo, D-Fayette, said that she thought the bill had been designed inappropriately on purpose to require a committee substitute in order to not allow the amendments.
Rep. Kelly Flood, D-Fayette, a Unitarian Universalist minister who said she had counseled many women who have made the choice to have an abortion, said that Kentucky already has a "state bias to a very, very informed consent." And that this bill tells women that they "cannot be trusted to be moral agents in their lives."
As chairman of the House Health and Welfare Committee for 30 years, Rep. Tom Burch, D-Louisville, largely refused to hear any anti-abortion bills.
"I am happy to say that since 1986, I was happy and proud to be able to keep this type of legislation off the floor," he said. "You can't believe how many Republican legislatures thanked me for doing it because they didn't want to take this hard vote."
Burch chastised pro-lifers who simply say that women need to have these babies and put them up for adoption.
"If people are so willing to adopt these children, then why do we have 8,300 in state custody that nobody wants? They will end up in the system somewhere; they'll be in prison; they'll be in psych wards," he said. "They'll be someplace, but they won't be in a loving home."
Joni Jenkins, D-Shively, criticized Republicans for the committee substitute, which she called a "switch and bate" that did not allow Owen's amendment. She also reminded legislatures what it really takes to decrease abortion rates.
"We know what decreases abortions, nationwide and in the state," she said. "We know that access to health care, access to birth control, access to comprehensive sex education, raising the minimum wage, making sure that people get good family incomes. In good economic times, abortions decrease and if you really, really want to decrease the number of abortions in Kentucky, that's what you would do."
Rep. McKenzie Cantrell, D-Jefferson, who voted against the bill, pointed out that similar bills in other states have been deemed unconstitutional and that Kentucky is setting itself up for some expensive legal fees to defend this bill if it is passed.
Rep. Jim DuPlessis, R- Hardin, speaking in favor of the bill, said, "This bill seeks to inform the patient of what else is growing in her body. . . . This is an informational bill that will help women make informed decisions."
Rep. Jeff Greer, D-Meade, explained that for several years he didn't vote on similar bills because they had been introduced without going through a committee, called a discharge petition, and this "pained" him because he knew that if he had voted, he would have voted for them.
Greer shared a personal story about loosing a son to abortion because of a condition that caused his brain to not form and eventually put his wife's life in danger.
"If you've lost a child and you see someone have the opportunity to have a child and throw it away, it eats me up," he said. "Therefore, yes, I rise in support of this, but I'm disappointed a little bit that we had an opportunity to make a vote, and I took that opportunity to make my vote, however it did not pass, where we could just vote to end it."
Explanation of votes
Marzian, who voted against the bill, said that she hoped Kentuckians were watching this decision making process and said, " It is a sad day I feel for Kentucky when we have decided that we need to insert ourselves in the most personal private decisions of families, of women, of physicians, of medical care, and I feel that there is more to come.
"It may be a new day, Mr. Speaker, but it is not a good day for Kentucky," Rep. Sannie Overly, D-Bourbon, who voted against it said."In fact it's a dark day when the majority decides that they can move a committee sub to preclude any discussion of the amendments that were offered,"specifically pointing to Neal's rape and incest amendment.
"This abuse of power, this process is an abuse of Kentuckians and for that I would like to say, I hope it's constitutional and shame on you all if it is not," said Kevin Sinnette, D-Boyd, who voted for the bill.
Attica Scott, D-Jefferson, who voted against the bill, noted that the governor had been tweeting that there is nothing more American than freedom of choice, "yet HB2 is attacking choice," she said.
She later added, "I don't believe you can stand for freedom for one group of people and deny it to others, yet for political convenience and immediacy we are using HB2 to strip women of reproductive health choices. In fact we are assaulting women by forcing them to view an ultrasound."
Neal held up a picture of the device used to do a transvaginal ultrasound, which looked very much like a large penis, and said that he voted no because "of the failure of this body to consider an amendment" to exclude women who were pregnant because of rape or incest, especially if they had to have a transvaginal ultrasound.
"For someone who has been raped or is a victim of incest -- to me it is unpardonable to require them to go through this (holding up the picture) for a pregnancy that they had no control over," he said.
Rep. Stan Lee, R-Lexington, noted that Democrats had used the same abuse of power when they were in control of the House.
And in response to a comment that this bill didn't help anyone, he said to applause, "If this bill allows one little unborn baby to live, I guarantee you it's going to improve that baby's life."
He wrapped up saying, "Last November, the citizens of the Commonwealth of Kentucky overwhelmingly voted for pro-life legislatures and I would assume Mr. Speaker and ladies and gentlemen of the House, when the citizens of the Commonwealth voted so overwhelmingly for pro-life legislatures that they would want us to take up and pass a piece of pro-life legislation. So therefore, I am honored that the first bill that the new majority with you as Speaker is passing out of this House is a pro-life piece of legislation."
Kentucky Health News
FRANKFORT, Ky. – After only one hour of debate, a bill to require women to have an ultrasound before having an abortion passed the state House Thursday, Jan. 5, on a vote of 83-12, and now heads to the Senate for a vote.
That sounds like a routine day at the state Capitol, but there was nothing routine about it – at least in the House, which came under Republican control Tuesday as a result of the Nov. 8 election.
Republicans used party-line votes to limit debate to 30 minutes on each side and made parliamentary maneuvers to block consideration of amendments filed by Democrats.
The bill headed to the Republican-led Senate for a committee action Friday and a floor vote Saturday to send the bill to Gov. Matt Bevin for his signature.
Meanwhile, the Senate passed a farther-reaching abortion bill, Senate Bill 5, with a 30-6 vote Thursday. It would ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, unless the woman's life is threatened. It is expected to pass the House and go to Bevin on Saturday.
The ultrasound bill
The bill's sponsor, Rep. Addia Wuchner, R-Burlington, said the purpose of requiring an ultrasound before an abortion is to make sure the woman considering the abortion is fully informed of what she is about to do, and that an ultrasound is necessary to assure "informed consent." Opponents of the bill say requiring this ultrasound is meant to create yet another barrier for these women and to shame them.
The bill, called the Ultrasound Informed Consent Act, requires women to have an ultrasound at least 24 hours before an abortion. During the ultrasound, the technician must simultaneously explain what they are doing, including the presence and location of the unborn fetus within the uterus, the number of fetuses and if there has been fetal demise. In addition, the ultrasound must be displayed so that the pregnant woman can see it; the heartbeat must be such that the woman can hear it; and the technician must provide a medical description of the image.
Wuchner said that it will be up to the physician to decide what kind of ultrasound is needed, depending on the gestational age of the fetus. A transvaginal ultrasound is typically done early in pregnancy and an external one is done in the later weeks.
The only exemption in the bill is for medical emergencies. It does not include exceptions for rape or incest. The bill also has five pages of consequences for those who don't adhere to these guidelines
After the ultrasound, the pregnant woman must get a certificate signed to give to the abortion provider stating that all of these things have been done. The bill allows the woman to avert her eyes from the image and to ask for the heartbeat volume to be turned off, but not to refuse the procedure.
Kentucky already requires women who choose to have an abortion to receive state-directed counseling with a doctor that includes information designed to discourage her from having it 24 hours before the procedure; either in person or by video.
The EMW Surgical Center in Louisville is the state's only licensed abortion clinic. An abortion cost about $650 and insurance cannot cover it unless the mother's life is in danger.
The debate
Rep. Mary Lou Marzian, D-Jefferson, requested a substitution of the rules to hear the amendment she had proposed under the original bill that called for banning all abortions "to let the majority party vote on what they truly wanted to do, and that is to outlaw abortion in Kentucky," but her motion was not accepted.
Marzian said many of the majority party who claim to be pro-life don't vote on pro-family, pro-life bills, like booster-seat laws that comply with new recommendations, early childhood development, smoking bans, and bills that would increase funding for foster children.
Rep. Darryl Owens, D-Jefferson, also asked for a suspension of the rules to vote on his amendment to create an exception for rape or incest in the bill, which had also been filed under the original bill, but his motion was also not accepted.
Rep. Ruth Ann Palumbo, D-Fayette, said that she thought the bill had been designed inappropriately on purpose to require a committee substitute in order to not allow the amendments.
Rep. Kelly Flood, D-Fayette, a Unitarian Universalist minister who said she had counseled many women who have made the choice to have an abortion, said that Kentucky already has a "state bias to a very, very informed consent." And that this bill tells women that they "cannot be trusted to be moral agents in their lives."
As chairman of the House Health and Welfare Committee for 30 years, Rep. Tom Burch, D-Louisville, largely refused to hear any anti-abortion bills.
"I am happy to say that since 1986, I was happy and proud to be able to keep this type of legislation off the floor," he said. "You can't believe how many Republican legislatures thanked me for doing it because they didn't want to take this hard vote."
Burch chastised pro-lifers who simply say that women need to have these babies and put them up for adoption.
"If people are so willing to adopt these children, then why do we have 8,300 in state custody that nobody wants? They will end up in the system somewhere; they'll be in prison; they'll be in psych wards," he said. "They'll be someplace, but they won't be in a loving home."
Joni Jenkins, D-Shively, criticized Republicans for the committee substitute, which she called a "switch and bate" that did not allow Owen's amendment. She also reminded legislatures what it really takes to decrease abortion rates.
Rep. McKenzie Cantrell, D-Jefferson, who voted against the bill, pointed out that similar bills in other states have been deemed unconstitutional and that Kentucky is setting itself up for some expensive legal fees to defend this bill if it is passed.
Rep. Jim DuPlessis, R- Hardin, speaking in favor of the bill, said, "This bill seeks to inform the patient of what else is growing in her body. . . . This is an informational bill that will help women make informed decisions."
Rep. Jeff Greer, D-Meade, explained that for several years he didn't vote on similar bills because they had been introduced without going through a committee, called a discharge petition, and this "pained" him because he knew that if he had voted, he would have voted for them.
Greer shared a personal story about loosing a son to abortion because of a condition that caused his brain to not form and eventually put his wife's life in danger.
"If you've lost a child and you see someone have the opportunity to have a child and throw it away, it eats me up," he said. "Therefore, yes, I rise in support of this, but I'm disappointed a little bit that we had an opportunity to make a vote, and I took that opportunity to make my vote, however it did not pass, where we could just vote to end it."
Explanation of votes
Marzian, who voted against the bill, said that she hoped Kentuckians were watching this decision making process and said, " It is a sad day I feel for Kentucky when we have decided that we need to insert ourselves in the most personal private decisions of families, of women, of physicians, of medical care, and I feel that there is more to come.
"It may be a new day, Mr. Speaker, but it is not a good day for Kentucky," Rep. Sannie Overly, D-Bourbon, who voted against it said."In fact it's a dark day when the majority decides that they can move a committee sub to preclude any discussion of the amendments that were offered,"specifically pointing to Neal's rape and incest amendment.
"This abuse of power, this process is an abuse of Kentuckians and for that I would like to say, I hope it's constitutional and shame on you all if it is not," said Kevin Sinnette, D-Boyd, who voted for the bill.
Attica Scott, D-Jefferson, who voted against the bill, noted that the governor had been tweeting that there is nothing more American than freedom of choice, "yet HB2 is attacking choice," she said.
She later added, "I don't believe you can stand for freedom for one group of people and deny it to others, yet for political convenience and immediacy we are using HB2 to strip women of reproductive health choices. In fact we are assaulting women by forcing them to view an ultrasound."
Neal held up a picture of the device used to do a transvaginal ultrasound, which looked very much like a large penis, and said that he voted no because "of the failure of this body to consider an amendment" to exclude women who were pregnant because of rape or incest, especially if they had to have a transvaginal ultrasound.
"For someone who has been raped or is a victim of incest -- to me it is unpardonable to require them to go through this (holding up the picture) for a pregnancy that they had no control over," he said.
Rep. Stan Lee, R-Lexington, noted that Democrats had used the same abuse of power when they were in control of the House.
And in response to a comment that this bill didn't help anyone, he said to applause, "If this bill allows one little unborn baby to live, I guarantee you it's going to improve that baby's life."
He wrapped up saying, "Last November, the citizens of the Commonwealth of Kentucky overwhelmingly voted for pro-life legislatures and I would assume Mr. Speaker and ladies and gentlemen of the House, when the citizens of the Commonwealth voted so overwhelmingly for pro-life legislatures that they would want us to take up and pass a piece of pro-life legislation. So therefore, I am honored that the first bill that the new majority with you as Speaker is passing out of this House is a pro-life piece of legislation."
from Kentucky Health News http://ift.tt/2hWXlnO
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