House panel advances abortion bans; one sent back to committee
This article was originally published February 19, 2013 at 10:14 a.m. Updated February 19, 2013 at 2:45 p.m.
PHOTO BY GAVIN LESNICK
Sen. Jason Rapert speaks before a committee Tuesday shortly before it voted to advance his bill to ban most abortions at 12 weeks.
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LITTLE ROCK — Separate bills that would ban most abortions 12 weeks and 20 weeks into a pregnancy were passed by an Arkansas House committee, but one was later sent back over for a new vote after concerns were raised about the process.
Abortions would be banned after 12 weeks when a heartbeat can be detected with an abdominal ultrasound under Senate Bill 134, the second measure passed Tuesday by the House Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee.
The measure was passed by a voice vote. Committee Vice Chair Reginald Murdock, D-Marianna, asked for a roll-call vote, but chairman Rep. John Burris, R-Harrison, ruled he had already called on the next agenda item and that it was too late.
Murdock called Burris' actions an "obvious abuse of the position" of chairman. He was told he could appeal the move to the rules committee.
House Speaker Davy Carter said later Tuesday that he is sending the proposal back to a committee after the complaint over the vote.
After the House adjourned, the Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee held a special meeting concerning Senate Bill 134. The committee took a roll call, and the bill passed with an 11-5 vote. It will now return to the House.
The bill contains exemptions for cases involving a "highly lethal fetal disorder" and for pregnancies resulting from rape or incest. Amendments to the bill provided for abortions in cases of medical emergency and removed a criminal penalty for doctors who perform abortions it bans.
Bill sponsor state Sen. Jason Rapert, R-Bigelow, told the committee he believes the changes have helped strike the "proper balance."
The committee on Tuesday also passed by voice vote a revised version of House Bill 1037, which would ban most abortions at 20 weeks.
The bill sponsor, Rep. Andy Mayberry, R-Hensley, told the committee he felt it was a "good bill" that will "save some babies' lives."
Rita Sklar, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas, spoke out against Mayberry's bill, the first item on the agenda. After the hearing, she said the committee's actions were a "blatant disregard for the female population" and that the bills wouldn't hold up to lawsuits challenging their constitutionality.
"I would say it's open season in terms of lawsuits right now," she said.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Comments on: House panel advances abortion bans; one sent back to committee
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rainbowharold55 says... February 19, 2013 at 11:04 a.m.
Let's hope the voters remember the excesses of these boobs next election.
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BillSmith says... February 19, 2013 at 11:41 a.m.
jobs,jobs,jobs,jobs
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gwen9 says... February 19, 2013 at 11:45 a.m.
Finally some bills being passed that will make a difference!! This has been a long time coming!
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hah406 says... February 19, 2013 at 12:17 p.m.
The only difference these bills are going to make is in the Attorney General's budget, since he will have to try to defend them when they are ruled unconstitutional. And what cowards, calling a voice vote instead of a roll call vote. Sounds to me like they probably didn't have the votes to pass it out of committee if they were actually counted!
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morebeer says... February 19, 2013 at 12:39 p.m.
Saw another article that stated Arizona has passed a 20-week bill that has so far been upheld in federal court. Actually, I think 20 weeks is about right. A woman has had plenty of time, several months to make decisions about motherhood, her health and the health of the fetus. Abortion is a trade-off between personal liberty and respect for life. Sometimes we have to draw a boundary and say that side's yours and this side's mine. Of course, Rapert, Mayberry and company will probably come back next session and try for 18 weeks, and so forth. The anti-abortion strategy is to nibble away at Roe v. Wade.
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TheBatt says... February 19, 2013 at 1:12 p.m.
"Amendments to the bill provided for abortions in cases of medical emergency and removed a criminal penalty for doctors who perform abortions it bans."
If there is no criminal penalty for breaking the law... then whats the point of a law?
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fasttony46 says... February 19, 2013 at 2:03 p.m.
One of these day's men are going to stop trying to tell women what to do with their bodies! As voter, and a smart man I will remind my species!
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Nate says... February 19, 2013 at 3:14 p.m.
And this 7-week legislative session has cost us how much money? The 2012 election in Arkansas could best be described as an ABORTION based on what we've gotten so far from our elected officials - November 2014 is less than 20-months away is the BEST NEWS!
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akhaddd says... February 19, 2013 at 4:37 p.m.
yay more govt control
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Packman says... February 19, 2013 at 5 p.m.
Let's hope the voters remember the boobs who voted against the bill next election!
Hey morebeer - Nice post.
Heyfasttony - When a woman decides to have unprotected sex and gets pregnant as a result, this issue is no longer just "her body". That was the pre-sex question. Once pregnant, there is no individual liberty. Once pregnant, the liberty is shared between the unborn child, the impregnator and the impregnatee. You may be a voter, but the "smart man" assertion is highly questionable.
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Coralie says... February 19, 2013 at 5:30 p.m.
Packman says "Once pregnant, the liberty is shared between the unborn child, the impregnator and the impregnatee."
Liberty? The impregnator can leave, and often does, but the pregnant woman does not have this option.
She may be faced with the "inconvenience" of looking forward to 18+ years of responsibility while working at a job that pays 2/3 of what men earn.
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djigoo says... February 19, 2013 at 6:15 p.m.
Why are so many Arkansawyers so hell-bent on reinforcing all the nasty old stereotypes about Arkies?
Lead paint chips?
Lack of fluoride in the water?
Bonsai Family Trees?
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Packman says... February 19, 2013 at 8:38 p.m.
Hey Coralie - The woman should have the moral character to accept the responsibiity of making sure the "inconvience" lives after making the decison to have unprotected sex. And your statement about women making 2/3 of what men earn is a lie once the data is controlled for years of experience and education levels. Women make less because they are 30 times more likely than men to leave the workforce to raise those silly "inconviences". Just the facts, Coralie (Koonce?), just the facts.
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BillSmith says... February 19, 2013 at 10:04 p.m.
I know this has nothing to do with infants before they are born, but after they are born.
When will the GOP look into this disparity as they seem to be so concerned about fetus deaths before birth, but not so much infant deaths after birth.
*
FYI Health Care Facts
Prenatal Care Use in the US and Europe
The American College of Obstetricians
and Gynecologists recommends
13 visits if the first visit takes place
by the eighth week of pregnancy and if the
woman delivers at 40 weeks of pregnancy.
In France, it is generally recommended
that women should have seven
visits during their pregnancy.
Isn’t it odd that OBGYN’s in France recommend only half the visits, than do their counterparts in the US.
Yet, for 2005/2010 infant mortality was 3.54 deaths per 1,000 live births in France, while in the US it was 6.81 deaths per 1,000 live births for the same period.
France ranked 9th in the world for infant mortality and the US ranked 34th.
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morebeer says... February 20, 2013 at 6:32 a.m.
Hear that gals, packman wants you to stay in the workplace and forgo having kids so your careers don't suffer. He also wants you to forgo sex, since if you should accidentally get pregnant, there goes the career, about a third of your earning capacity and the responsibility of caring for a lazybar for the rest of your life.
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cindi22202170708 says... February 20, 2013 at 7:02 a.m.
The 20 week bill has not been upheld by the court in Arizona. It's pending but the court has not ruled yet on constitutionality. You might be thinking that because the court didn't issue an emergency injunction to stop it.
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Coralie says... February 21, 2013 at 1:27 p.m.
Packman says "The woman should have the moral character to accept the responsibiity."
And what about the man?
Pregnancy doesn't always result from "unprotected sex." Condoms break, and none of the protections are fool-proof.
You get some teen-age kids who don't know what they're doing and poof! you've got a teen-age pregnancy rate that's way higher than any other industrialized country.
But we're exceptional!
Yes, especially in all the wrong ways.
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