State-by-State Yays and Nays
The past couple of weeks have seen quiet a few legislative initiatives regarding reproductive rights all over the country, some for better and others for worse. Here’s a rundown of what’s going on state by state:
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A round of applause for South Dakota whose Health and Welfare Committee sent a bill (SB 164) to the state Senate amending previous law that allowed pharmacists to refuse writing prescriptions for birth control.
Despite these progressive efforts, several state legislators have sadly taken more regressive courses of action.
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The Indiana Senate passed a bill (SB 146) requiring physicians to provide information regarding the possibility of fetal pain and the medical opinion on when life begins to pregnant women considering an abortion at least 18 hours prior to her procedure.
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In Pennsylvania, Senator John Eichelberger has introduced “The Conscientious Objection Act” that would allow medical professionals in the state to refuse their patients contraceptives and abortions out of moral or religious objection.
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And in South Dakota, both the House and Senate have approved bills that would require physicians and clinics to offer patients seeking an abortion to view sonograms of their fetuses. Although women would not be forced to see the sonogram (the other option being to sign a statement of refusal), the measure still stands as a guilt-inducing obstacle in the abortion process.
And people say that reproductive choice isn’t an issue to worry about anymore. Sigh.