By Howard Fischer
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/knau/local-knau-693545.mp3
Phoenix, AZ – Governor Janet Napolitano has vetoed two abortion bills. Arizona Public Radio's Howard Fischer reports.
One would have enacted a state law outlawing partial birth
abortions. Arizona's original 1997 banning the procedure was
declared unconstitutional and never took effect. But since that
time the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the legality of a federal
ban. This measure mirrored that language, a move that would have
allowed county attorneys to prosecute offending doctors. The
other would have spelled out in statute exactly what a minor girl
must prove to a judge to be able to consent to an abortion
without parental consent. Napolitano found fault with both. That
angered Cathi Herrod of the anti-abortion Center for Arizona
Policy.
(Once again, Gov. Napolitano has shown how radical she is on the
abortion issue. The governor has refused consistently to consider
any reasonable restrictions or regulations of the abortion
procedure.)
Herrod noted the governor has vetoed every abortion bill sent to
her since she took office in 2003. But the governor, in her veto
messages, said lawmakers and others should spend less time trying
to impose criminal penalties and more -- quote -- to remedy the
root causes of unwanted pregnancies by addressing such important
topics as family planning and the prevention of sexual violence
against women.
For Arizona Public Radio, this is Howard Fischer.