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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  July 14, 2014

Contact: Mallory Quigley, [email protected], 202-223-8073

“Women’s Health Protection Act” Affects Federal & State Laws

Washington, D.C. – A new paper authored by Charlotte Lozier Institute’s Legal Policy Fellow Thomas M. Messner examines S. 1696, the “Women’s Health Protection Act of 2013,” introduced by U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT). The legislation, which currently has 35 cosponsors, will be the subject of a U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing tomorrow.

“Contrary to its innocuous name, S.1696 will have profound impact on a wide range of federal and state laws that have enjoyed consensus support. This sweeping legislation would jeopardize or outright overturn hundreds of federal and state laws that promote unborn life and protect women’s health,” said Chuck Donovan, president of the Charlotte Lozier Institute. “Our legal review finds that Senator Blumenthal’s bill would overturn state third-trimester bans on abortion, overturn limits on abortion after 5 months of pregnancy, and upend laws against sex-selection abortion.  It would install abortion on demand for any reason throughout all nine months of pregnancy – even disability discrimination abortions. The bill would also make it practically impossible for states to stop off-label uses of abortion drugs and ‘tele-med’ abortions carried out without a physician present, to retain rules against non-physicians performing abortions, or to adopt health and safety standards for abortion facilities.” 

Excerpts from the analysis follow:

• S. 1696 would wipe out 20-week laws. These laws are designed to advance women’s health and protect unborn children from pain.
• The bill would protect the practices of discrimination abortions based on sex and disability.
• The bill would make it harder if not practically impossible for states to stop off-label uses of abortion drugs.
• The bill would make it harder if not practically impossible for states to stop the practice of telemedicine abortions and require that a physician be physically present.
• Depending on how it is interpreted, the bill would wipe out state ultrasound information requirements and waiting periods.
• Depending on how courts interpreted the bill, the bill could trump state and federal conscience laws that protect pro-life doctors and hospitals.

The full text of the paper can be found online here.

 

The Charlotte Lozier Institute was launched in 2011 as the education and research arm of Susan B. Anthony List.  The CLI is a hub for research and public policy analysis on some of the most pressing issues facing the United States and nations around the world. The Institute is named for a feminist physician known for her commitment to the sanctity of human life and equal career and educational opportunities for women.  She was an associate of Susan B. Anthony and her capsule biography can be found at lozierinstitute.org.

 

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