In Our State
2011 Legislative Summary This year provided another opportunity to protect the rights and health of many
Arizonans. However, the anti-choice legislature again made national news with first-of-
their-kind attacks on women and families. Arizona Supported Legislation Sex Education for Arizona Schools (Bill Number: HB 1457)
Status at Sine Die: Bill did not pass out of committee
Would require schools to incorporate medically accurate and comprehensive sex education in their curriculum. Emergency Contraception (Bill Number: HB 2428)
Status at Sine Die: Bill did not pass Committee, dead.
This bill’s purpose was to make emergency contraceptive available in the emergency room, and to require pharmacies to carry and have staff on duty to the fill prescriptions. Making the public aware of accessibility emergency contraception was also part of the bill. NARAL Pro-Choice Arizona Opposed Legislation Abortion-Pill Prescribing Ban (Bill Number: SB 1030 – Strike Everything Amendment)
Status at Sine Die: Signed into Law by Jan Brewer on April 19, 2011
Disallows Physicians’ Assistants from performing abortion by pill. Abortion Care – Scope of Practice (Bill Number: SB 1169 – Strike Everything Amendment)
Status at Sine Die: Signed into Law by Jan Brewer on April 18, 2011
This new law prohibits the Arizona Board of Nursing from determining if abortion care is within the scope of practice for Nurse Practitioners. Working Poor Tax Credit Exclusion (Bill Number: HB 2384)
Status at Sine Die: Signed into Law by Jan Brewer on April 12, 2011
This legislation excludes organizations that provide abortion care or referrals for abortion care from eligibility for the Working Poor Tax Credit. Charitable organizations that provide services to the working poor will be unable to claim this tax credit if they also provide, promote, pay for, provide coverage of, or provide referrals for abortion
care. It also prohibits public funding for abortion care training. Surgical Abortion Definition, Telemedicine Prohibition and Informed Consent (Bill Number: HB 2416)
Status at Sine Die: Signed into Law by Jan Brewer on April 2, 2011
Under this new law, “medical abortion,” or abortion by pill, which is a safe way to abort a pregnancy before nine weeks, will be reclassified and defined as “surgical abortion.” The telemedicine provision disallows medical professionals from using telemedicine to provide the abortion pill. Reproductive care providers throughout Arizona will be unable to serve their populations. Additionally, an expansion of the current “informed consent” provisions requires abortion providers to perform an ultrasound and heartbeat monitoring at least one hour before the procedure. It requires doctors to offer patients
a chance to see/hear it, and requires patients to sign an affidavit stating they were given the chance to see/hear it and whether they did. Race and Sex Selection Prohibition (Bill Number: HB 2443)
Status at Sine Die: Signed into Law by Jan Brewer on April 12, 2011 Under the auspices of preventing abortions based on the fetus’ sex and/or race, this law only creates new restrictions and pitfalls for physicians who provide abortion care to women. This legislation acts only as a deterrent for at risk minority women to seek the medical care they require. 2009 Legislative Outlook 2009 promises to be a very tough year for the pro-choice movement in Arizona. The departure of Governor Janet Napolitano for a cabinet position leaves the state with an anti-choice house, senate and governor. For the past six years, we relied on Gov. Napolitano to veto the egregious anti-choice bills that the legislative branch sent to her desk each year. This year, House and Senate Republicans are looking to make up for lost time by pushing though severe, far-reaching and extremely drastic pieces of legislation that do more to limit choice than the all of the bills proposed in the last 10 years combined! With new Govornor Jan Brewer itching to sign anti-choice legislation into law, these bills are the most dangerous threat to reproductive freedom we have faced in years. NARAL Pro-Choice Arizona is committed to defeating these bills, but we cannot do it alone. We need every advocate for reproductive freedom to get involved if we hope to combat those who seek to limit our right to choose! There are a number of things you can do to help. TAKE ACTION! 2009 Legislation Summary PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR THE MOST CURRENT LEGISLATIVE UPDATES! HB 2400/SB 1138: Late Term Abortions This bill mirrors the federal late-term abortion ban that was implemented country-wide in 2007. This is the same bill that former Governor Napolitano rejected twice during the 2008 legislative session, calling it an unnecessary piece of legislation that interjects state government in the relationship between a woman and her physician. For more information on this bill click here HB 2564: Abortion This bill is the anti-abortion kitchen sink, it has a little bit of everything, 24 hour mandatory waiting periods, harsher restrictions on parental consent, service provider opt out, and biased government scripted and mandated counseling prior to an abortion procedure. HB 2554: Abortion; nurses prohibition This bill would prohibit nurses and nurse practitioners from providing surgical abortion services. HB 2544: Sex Education This bill would mandate comprehensive, medically accurate and age-appropriate sex education be taught in Arizona schools. 2008 Legislative Summary HB 2263: Restrictions to Young Women’s Access to Abortion
HB 2263 would have restricted minor’s access to abortion services even further. The bill outlined specific criteria for judges to use in determining whether a minor was mature enough to obtain an abortion without her parent or guardian’s express permission.
Gov. Napolitano also vetoed this bill, citing earlier legislation that “already sets forth the clear and convincing standard for proof of the judicial bypass of the parental consent requirement.” HB 2269: Physician’s Only Requirements
HB 2269 was a bill written to prohibit nurse practitioners from performing abortion procedures. The enactment of this bill would have significantly restricted access to abortion for women in rural communities where health care is routinely provided by nurse practitioners. This bill passed the house, but failed in the Senate. HB 2674: Emergency Contraception
HB 2674 would have required that sexual assault victims be given information and access to EC when receiving treatment from health care facilities.
This bill was never heard. | 
