Sunday, January 8, 2012

Passing these laws because we can

The number of state provisions to restrict abortions jumped in 2011. Yes, provisions, not just laws, because several laws contain more than one provision. There were 135 provisions enacted last year with only 89 in 2010. There were several categories of restrictions:

* Bans that deny abortion after 20 weeks.

* Waiting periods of 24 to 72 hours between the time a woman receives counseling and can then have the procedure.

* Mandated ultrasound, usually followed by the doctor showing or describing the image to the woman.

* Prohibiting standard health insurance from covering abortions except in cases of life endangerment. The woman must pay extra for it.

* New standards for abortion providers that are close to impossible to meet.

* The doctor prescribing the medical abortion pills must be in the same room as the patient.

* Cut or eliminate funding of family planning clinics (though a few states actually expanded funding).

* Make it more difficult to offer alternatives to abstinence-only sex education.

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