strandinthewind
02-24-2005, 07:44 AM
Abortion foes hail House vote
> Measure requring 24-hour waiting period passes and proceeds to Senate
> By CARLOS CAMPOS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
> Published on: 02/24/05
Legislation aimed at reducing abortion in Georgia easily passed the House on Wednesday and will head to the Senate for consideration.
House Bill 197 had bipartisan support in a 139-35 vote, though all 35 dissenters were Democrats.
The bill would require women seeking an abortion to wait 24 hours after being informed by a doctor of the medical risks of the procedure, gestational development of a fetus, fetal pain and alternatives including adoption.
The bill also would require that a minor's parents or legal guardian be notified before she could have an abortion. Currently, certain stand-ins, such as a grandparent or other relative, can be notified.
"I'm absolutely ecstatic," said Pat Chivers, lobbyist for Georgia Right to Life, after the vote. Chivers said she had expected about 120 votes for the bill. "It shows that this is what the people of Georgia wanted."
Georgia Right to Life and other supporters of HB 197 cast it as an attempt to arm women with information about abortion, but acknowledged their goal was to reduce the number of abortions. In 2003, 34,545 abortions were performed in Georgia.
Opponents of the bill say it will put up unnecessary barriers to a woman's ability to choose a safe and legal abortion, a right guaranteed by the U.S. Supreme Court in its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.
Previous attempts at adopting a so-called "Woman's Right to Know Act" in Georgia were bottled up by Democratic leaders in the House. Republican victories in the November elections gave the bill new life.
In January, new House Speaker Glenn Richardson (R-Hiram) promised thousands of cheering anti-abortion activists who marched on the Capitol that the bill would receive a vote in the House.
On Wednesday, Richardson said it was the will of the House that permitted the vote. "It should've happened a long time ago," he said.
The state Senate, also with a Republican majority, approved a similar version of the bill last year.
If the current bill is approved by the Senate and signed into law by Gov. Sonny Perdue, Georgia would become the 27th state to adopt some form of an informed consent law on abortion.
While abortion-related legislation has previously been approved by the General Assembly, none of the legislation had the stated goal of curbing the procedure.
In 1997, Gov. Zell Miller signed a state law banning partial-birth abortions — a relatively rare, late-term procedure. Four years later, the Legislature approved a bill requiring notification of a parent or guardian of a minor seeking an abortion, or a stand-in such as a relative.
"It's a very historic day," said Mary Boyert, who was president and executive director of Georgia Right to Life from 1980 to 1999. "Twenty-five years in the making." Boyert now heads the Pro-life office for the Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta.
The debate Wednesday on the House floor was civil and relatively brief, in part because several provisions of the bill that opponents found particularly onerous had been removed in committee. Among them was a requirement that doctors tell women of a link between abortion and breast cancer, which is a matter of dispute in the medical community.
Another provision would have allowed the husband or parents of a woman who has an abortion to sue doctors if they hadn't complied with the bill's requirements.
A few proposed amendments to the bill, including one to add an exception in the case of rape and incest, failed.
One failed amendment would have allowed a minor seeking abortion to notify grandparents, an aunt or an adult sibling instead of her parents.
Rep. Pam Stephenson (D-Atlanta) said some minors don't live in traditional homes and are being reared by relatives who don't have legal guardianship.
During an almost two-hour debate, Rep. Hinson Mosley (R-Jesup) quoted Bible verses to bolster his position that abortion is wrong. Rep. Tommy Smith (R-Alma) cited public opinion polls showing favor for waiting periods and other restrictions on abortion. "This bill is well within the mainstream of public support, nationwide and in the state of Georgia," Smith said.
Rep. Douglas Dean (D-Atlanta) scolded colleagues who support the abortion bill but fail to fund health and welfare programs that would help babies and their young, impoverished mothers.
"I have a real problem understanding how you can be against abortion and against health care services for people who are . . . going to bring people into the world who cannot care for their kids," Dean said.
Leola Reis, a spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood of Georgia, said the vote was "disappointing." She said she hopes the Senate will adopt some of the amendments that failed in the House.
"I'd like to see the authors of this bill throw their enthusiasm behind programs aimed at preventing unintended pregnancy, family planning and education, not erecting barriers to access," Reis said. "In this political climate, this may be the best we can hope for."
Find this article at:
http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/legis05/0205/24legabortion.html
> Measure requring 24-hour waiting period passes and proceeds to Senate
> By CARLOS CAMPOS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
> Published on: 02/24/05
Legislation aimed at reducing abortion in Georgia easily passed the House on Wednesday and will head to the Senate for consideration.
House Bill 197 had bipartisan support in a 139-35 vote, though all 35 dissenters were Democrats.
The bill would require women seeking an abortion to wait 24 hours after being informed by a doctor of the medical risks of the procedure, gestational development of a fetus, fetal pain and alternatives including adoption.
The bill also would require that a minor's parents or legal guardian be notified before she could have an abortion. Currently, certain stand-ins, such as a grandparent or other relative, can be notified.
"I'm absolutely ecstatic," said Pat Chivers, lobbyist for Georgia Right to Life, after the vote. Chivers said she had expected about 120 votes for the bill. "It shows that this is what the people of Georgia wanted."
Georgia Right to Life and other supporters of HB 197 cast it as an attempt to arm women with information about abortion, but acknowledged their goal was to reduce the number of abortions. In 2003, 34,545 abortions were performed in Georgia.
Opponents of the bill say it will put up unnecessary barriers to a woman's ability to choose a safe and legal abortion, a right guaranteed by the U.S. Supreme Court in its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.
Previous attempts at adopting a so-called "Woman's Right to Know Act" in Georgia were bottled up by Democratic leaders in the House. Republican victories in the November elections gave the bill new life.
In January, new House Speaker Glenn Richardson (R-Hiram) promised thousands of cheering anti-abortion activists who marched on the Capitol that the bill would receive a vote in the House.
On Wednesday, Richardson said it was the will of the House that permitted the vote. "It should've happened a long time ago," he said.
The state Senate, also with a Republican majority, approved a similar version of the bill last year.
If the current bill is approved by the Senate and signed into law by Gov. Sonny Perdue, Georgia would become the 27th state to adopt some form of an informed consent law on abortion.
While abortion-related legislation has previously been approved by the General Assembly, none of the legislation had the stated goal of curbing the procedure.
In 1997, Gov. Zell Miller signed a state law banning partial-birth abortions — a relatively rare, late-term procedure. Four years later, the Legislature approved a bill requiring notification of a parent or guardian of a minor seeking an abortion, or a stand-in such as a relative.
"It's a very historic day," said Mary Boyert, who was president and executive director of Georgia Right to Life from 1980 to 1999. "Twenty-five years in the making." Boyert now heads the Pro-life office for the Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta.
The debate Wednesday on the House floor was civil and relatively brief, in part because several provisions of the bill that opponents found particularly onerous had been removed in committee. Among them was a requirement that doctors tell women of a link between abortion and breast cancer, which is a matter of dispute in the medical community.
Another provision would have allowed the husband or parents of a woman who has an abortion to sue doctors if they hadn't complied with the bill's requirements.
A few proposed amendments to the bill, including one to add an exception in the case of rape and incest, failed.
One failed amendment would have allowed a minor seeking abortion to notify grandparents, an aunt or an adult sibling instead of her parents.
Rep. Pam Stephenson (D-Atlanta) said some minors don't live in traditional homes and are being reared by relatives who don't have legal guardianship.
During an almost two-hour debate, Rep. Hinson Mosley (R-Jesup) quoted Bible verses to bolster his position that abortion is wrong. Rep. Tommy Smith (R-Alma) cited public opinion polls showing favor for waiting periods and other restrictions on abortion. "This bill is well within the mainstream of public support, nationwide and in the state of Georgia," Smith said.
Rep. Douglas Dean (D-Atlanta) scolded colleagues who support the abortion bill but fail to fund health and welfare programs that would help babies and their young, impoverished mothers.
"I have a real problem understanding how you can be against abortion and against health care services for people who are . . . going to bring people into the world who cannot care for their kids," Dean said.
Leola Reis, a spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood of Georgia, said the vote was "disappointing." She said she hopes the Senate will adopt some of the amendments that failed in the House.
"I'd like to see the authors of this bill throw their enthusiasm behind programs aimed at preventing unintended pregnancy, family planning and education, not erecting barriers to access," Reis said. "In this political climate, this may be the best we can hope for."
Find this article at:
http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/legis05/0205/24legabortion.html