Commentary by Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
According to a new report by the Guttmacher Institute, state governments have passed a record 80 pro-life regulations thus far this year, which breaks the previous record of 34 regulations passed in 2005.
The Christian Post (CP) is reporting that the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute, which was founded by a former president of Planned Parenthood, is reporting that 19 state governments have enacted 162 abortion-related regulations so far this year. More than half are pro-life and are mostly aimed at encouraging women to consider options to abortion, regulating clinic safety, restricting the gestational period for when a child can be aborted, or limiting government funds to abortion providers.
The CP lists some of the highlights of the study:
• Lawmakers in Indiana, Kansas, North Dakota, South Dakota and Texas have passed laws requiring waiting periods and/or counseling to help pregnant mothers understand the risk factors involved in getting an abortion.
• Alabama, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas and Oklahoma passed laws banning abortions after the fetus is 20 weeks old, the time at which an unborn child is capable of feeling pain.
• Florida, Idaho, Indiana and Virginia have all passed laws that will not allow abortion coverage in private plans which will be available through ObamaCare health exchanges.
• The states of Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Utah have opted to forbid abortion coverage in all private health insurance plans.
• Six states have passed laws regulating the use of the “abortion pill” – RU-486. In the states of Kansas and Oklahoma, use of the drug is now restricted to the first 49 days of pregnancy rather than the 63 days currently allowed by the Food and Drug Administration. Women in these states must also see their abortion provider to receive the required second dose of the drug, rather than being able to take it at home.
While some of the above laws may not go into effect right away due to legal challenges, numerous other regulations are still under consideration in state houses across the country.
In spite of having the most pro-abortion president in the history of the U.S., the wave of pro-life conservatives that were swept into office in 2010 have done serious damage to the pro-abortion agenda, and the year is only half over!
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