Two Abortion Bills Sent to Gov. Napolitano

PHOENIX - Two bills on abortion - one on parental consent for minors and the other on late-term procedures - are headed to Gov. Janet Napolitano, who has a track record of vetoing measures that would restrict abortion rights.

Napolitano spokeswoman Jeanine L'Ecuyer said she didn't know what action Napolitano will take on the two bills. Each cleared the Senate Tuesday after previously being approved by the House.

Also Tuesday, abortion opponents opened a new front as the House approved a bill to prohibit nurse practitioners from performing the procedures. The House's 32-28 vote sent the bill (HB2269) to the Senate.

Arizona already has a parental consent law but the bill (HB2263) approved Tuesday by the Senate on an 18-12 vote would incorporate a state Court of Appeals ruling that spelled out what judges should consider when minors ask for court permission to have abortions without seeking consent from a parent.

Judges still would have substantial discretion on how much weight to apply to any relevant factors, said Sen. Linda Gray, a Glendale Republican who sponsored the Senate versions of the two bills.

Planned Parenthood Arizona, an organization that operates clinics that perform abortions, said the changes to the parental consent law would make it harder for minors to get exemptions because judges would be restricted from considering other factors, including maturity, that might be appropriate in individual cases.

Most minors have their parents' support but others would be at risk of abuse or violence, said Sen. Paula Aboud, D-Tucson.

Napolitano in 2006 vetoed a previous version of the parental consent bill. A 2007 bill was rejected by the Senate.

The late-term abortion bill (HB2769) was approved 21-9 by the Senate. It would impose restrictions on late-term abortions in ways that supporters say would be in line with a 2007 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that upheld a federal ban as constitutional.

The state already has a law against certain third-trimester abortions called ``partial birth abortions'' by opponents, but it can't be enforced due to a different court ruling. The current bill would impose tougher criminal penalties on violators.

"The state law is needed because the federal law only applies in limited scenarios, because parallel state and federal bans give prosecutors more options and because regulating abortion is primarily the job of the states," said Cathi Herrod, Center for Arizona Policy president.

Planned Parenthood Arizona said the state ban would not prevent any additional abortions because it mirrors the federal law. However, the state legislation would ``dictate what medical procedure doctors can perform to protect pregnant women with serious health problems,'' the group said in a statement.

Other abortion-related bills vetoed by Napolitano include ones that would have required that women seeking an abortion be told that fetuses would experience pain despite medication, required that parental authorizations for minors to get abortions be notarized and prohibited governments from providing insurance coverage for abortions.