http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/knau/local-knau-949990.mp3
Phoenix, AZ – The measure adds some new requirements before someone could
terminate a pregnancy, such as performing an ultrasound that
would have to be available to the woman and giving the patient a
chance to hear the fetal heartbeat. But Planned Parenthood
President Bryan Howard said the most far-reaching could be a
provision to expand the definition of a surgical abortion to one
performed only with a drug like RU-486.
(That entire regulatory framework is built around surgery -- what
prep you have to do before the surgery, what facilities and
instruments and medicines you need to have on site during the
surgery and what preparations you have to safeguard the woman
post surgery. Abortion by pill involves exactly zero of any of
that.)
More to the point, Howard said it would eliminate non-surgical
abortions by nurse-practitioners at rural clinics, where there
are no doctors on site. That means women would have to drive to
Phoenix or Tucson. Rep. Kimberly Yee said her legislation is
designed to protect women. But Yee it's OK if it results in fewer
abortions.
(I vowed to stand up for populations that can not otherwise speak
for themselves. So this bill speaks up for the rights of the
unborn, our most precious population, and for women, their health
and their safety.)
For Arizona Public Radio this is Howard Fischer.