“Abortion could be prosecuted as criminal homicide under bill filed by Kentucky lawmaker”, Feb 16, 2023, Ryan C. Hermens, Murray Ledger and Times, at <https://www.murrayledger.com/news/abortion-could-be-prosecuted-as-criminal-homicide-under-bill-filed-by-kentucky-lawmaker/article_e1b0beee-adaf-11ed-a15f-6384064b23ca.html>
“Abortion Bills Putting Doctors In Center Of Fray”, Feb. 17, 2023, David W. Chen, The New York Times.
Introduction by dmorista: The first article from a Kentucky Newspaper, “Abortion could be prosecuted as criminal homicide under bill filed by Kentucky lawmaker”, points out that a first-term term right-wing forced birth advocate in the Kentucky legislature introduced a bill that would make performing an abortion murder, with a possible death-penalty for both the pregnant woman and any medical staff that assisted her. The new draconian measure would also be applicable to women from Kentucky who left the state to obtain an abortion elsewhere. More experienced Republican officials in the state said the measure was too extreme (at least for now). A few months ago a member of the Louisiana State Legislature introduced a bill, to allow the forced-birth advocates in that state, to prosecute and execute women who obtained abortions. It was withdrawn after a firestorm of criticism.
Meanwhile the New York Times, in “Abortion Bills Putting Doctors In Center Of Fray”, notes that there have already been over 300 bills concerning abortion rights introduced in U.S. State Legislatures so far this year. The majority of those are attempts by Forced-Birth advocates to further limit access to abortion (not to mention contraception).
The fact is that the struggle over abortion rights is a high-profile Culture Wars issue that motivates many people, on both sides of the issue, to act politically. But, in reality, it is just one aspect of the general Corporate Reactionary assault on the working people of the U.S., and the world in general. The totally rotten U.S. ruling class, oversees the expenditure year-in and year-out of about 70% of all discretionary federal spending, that amounts to well over $1 trillion on war, covert operations, gigantic prisons, and internal and overseas repression efforts. They use a wide variety of propaganda and disinformation operations to mobilize the domestic far-right paramilitary; with their totally bogus arguments around the 2nd amendment. The American Right, closely allied with the most reactionary elements of the police and the military, have handled such outrages as the Uvalde School Massacre. In that disgraceful event nearly 500 heavily armed and armored police of various types cowered in the school’s hallways; while one teenage gunman killed many of his victims. The screams of the children, heard by this phalanx of police, were clearly audible on video and audio recordings of the event. However, the U.S. disinformation and propaganda machine, that is the real function of the Corporate Controlled Media, did not deign to release recordings without excising the screams.
All those sorts of political machinations are designed to keep the public from noticing that the right-wing has managed to give corporations the legal right to dump ever larger amounts of toxic materials in the environment; or to cut the staffing and safety equipment on railways and trucking to a point where accidents, like the ongoing derailment, chemical fires, and toxic materials releases, that took place in East Palestine, Ohio.
The ugly face of the U.S. ruling class and their henchmen has become clearly visible as the struggle over reproductive rights and abortion access have become more acute in the wake of the Partisan Hack dominated Supreme Court decision ending Roe on June 24th of 2022. This is, in reality, an opportunity for the progressive and left movements in the U.S. The Specter of reactionary authoritarian prosecutors and detectives, rifling through the papers, phone records, and internet searches of American Women, to see if they are thinking about seeking an out-of-state abortion is distasteful for the majority of Americans. Even in Mississippi a personhood amendment failed by nearly a 60-40 margin, and in Kansas a sneaky trickily worded state constitutional amendment change that the Forced-Birth movement tried to sneak through in an off year election failed by a 59 - 41 margin. The constant backroom and legal maneuvers by the right to enforce extremely unpopular and repressive social policies becomes more obvious as time rolls along.
“Abortion could be prosecuted as criminal homicide under bill filed by Kentucky lawmaker”, Feb 16, 2023, Ryan C. Hermens, Murray Ledger and Times, at <https://www.murrayledger.com/news/abortion-could-be-prosecuted-as-criminal-homicide-under-bill-filed-by-kentucky-lawmaker/article_e1b0beee-adaf-11ed-a15f-6384064b23ca.html>
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LEXINGTON — (TNS) Illegal abortions in Kentucky could be prosecuted as murder under a new bill from a Louisville Republican.
Rep. Emily Callaway filed the “Prenatal Equal Protection Act” on Tuesday, which proposes that unlawful pregnancy termination “shall be subject to the same legal principles as would apply to the homicide of a person who had been born alive,” according to the bill language.
Criminal homicide under Kentucky law means a person is “guilty of causing the death of another human being under circumstances which constitute murder,” first and second degree manslaughter, or reckless homicide. Callaway’s House Bill 300 proposes broadening the definition of “human being” to also include an “unborn child.”
Abortion is already illegal and criminalized in Kentucky, except in cases where termination is necessary to save the life of a pregnant person — a too-narrow exception Kentucky providers have said harms pregnant patients and deprives them of medically-recommended care.
A trigger law banning abortion except in medical emergencies and a six-week ban on abortion took effect in June after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned federal abortion protections. Kentucky’s bans do not include exceptions for rape, incest, or for pregnant minors.
Kentucky’s current trigger law aims to prosecute doctors who provide unlawful abortions, while pregnant people who get an abortion are not subject to prosecution. But Callaway’s proposed bill would allow for pregnant people and their doctors to be prosecuted.
Callaway is a first-year representative, having beaten Democratic incumbent Rep. Jeff Donohue by 14 points in a South Louisville district that changed significantly after the GOP-led redistricting effort last year.
Exceptions under the bill include abortions necessary to “avert the death of the pregnant woman;” in cases of “spontaneous miscarriage;” or when abortion is provided only after “all reasonable alternatives to save the life of the unborn child are unavailable; or were attempted unsuccessfully before the performance of a medical procedure.”
The bill makes clear the attorney general’s office would have concurrent jurisdiction over prosecuting this crime, along with county and commonwealth’s attorneys.
But Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron, ardently supportive of Kentucky’s bans on abortion, was quick to criticize Callaway’s bill on Wednesday, saying it “strikes the wrong balance.”
“While I strongly support prohibiting abortions in Kentucky, I just as strongly support helping pregnant women,” Cameron said in a statement, calling on lawmakers not to support the bill. “Pregnant mothers deserve our help, support, and life-affirming options, not to face criminal charges.”
He touted Kentucky’s trigger law as one that “appropriately values the life of a pregnant woman and her unborn child, (because) it does not permit the prosecution of pregnant mothers.”
Kentucky, along with dozens of other states, already has fetal homicide laws on the books. Recognizing fetal personhood, the commonwealth’s laws dating back to 2004 make it a criminal offense to cause the death of an “unborn child.”
But not only do those laws only refer to perpetrators with “he” and “him” pronouns, the list of exceptions makes clear doctors who provide abortions to their consenting patients are not guilty of fetal homicide.
Since Roe v. Wade was overturned last summer, a handful of GOP-controlled states have floated bills to make abortion a crime of homicide. But even in states that have aggressively restricted abortion access, it’s a hard sell. A proposal in Louisiana last year that would’ve allowed women who get abortions and doctors who provide them to be charged with murder was withdrawn after a firestorm of opposition.
Callaway’s bill is ostensibly aimed at people who coerce pregnant people into getting abortions, even though it also carries punitive measures for pregnant people: “Pregnant mothers should be protected from being pressured to abort their children by repealing provisions that may otherwise allow a person to solicit, command, aid or counsel a mother to abort her child,” the bill reads.
It’s the second abortion-related bill in as many days filed by Republicans. Sen. Whitney Westerfield, R-Crofton, proposed on Tuesday asking voters whether they want to amend the Kentucky Constitution to make clear it does not contain a protected right to abortion. Voters rejected a near-identical proposal last November in Amendment 2.
Legislative leaders have expressed caution at passing any abortion-related laws until the Kentucky Supreme Court rules on the merits of a lawsuit from the state’s two outpatient abortion providers, challenging the constitutionality of the trigger law and six-week ban.
That ruling will have a bearing on whether or not either law is ultimately enforceable.
Though the GOP-controlled Legislature has made no moves to amend current abortion bans since both laws took effect seven months ago, House leadership on Wednesday morning said bills with exceptions would be filed in the coming days.
In a statement, House Speaker David Osborne’s office also distanced itself from Callaway’s proposal: “In the history of our Commonwealth, the Kentucky General Assembly has never passed a pro-life measure that did not take into consideration the necessity for any exceptions, nor has this House Majority Caucus ever contemplated doing so.”
While the Legislature waits for the high court to weigh in, “we continue to have legitimate discussions on future policy. As a result, we anticipate legislation will be filed in the coming days, including bills that will provide further exceptions,” Osborne said.
That case was heard before the previous court in November. But justices did not rule in time before two new justices joined their ranks in January.
(By Alex Acquisto and Austin Horn, Lexington Herald-Leader via Tribune News Service)
“Abortion Bills Putting Doctors In Center Of Fray”, Feb. 17, 2023, David W. Chen, The New York Times.
For the first time since the fight over abortion access was kicked to the states after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, newly elected legislatures around the country are coming into session and are putting the polarizing issue at the top of their agendas. Around 300 bills in 40 states have been proposed so far -- with a majority seeking to restrict access to abortion, and others trying to strengthen it.
Most of the bills are in the early stages, and many are not likely to survive politically divided state governments to make it into law. But if there is one thing that is evident, the legislative flurry shows that both sides of the debate agree on at least one point: Doctors are the critical link -- and that has made them the most vulnerable to punishment. At least three dozen bills are aimed at doctors and other medical personnel as a way to regulate abortion.
In a bill in Wyoming, doctors and nurses who perform abortions or prescribe medication for abortions could face five years in prison.
In Nebraska, where abortion is currently legal until 22 weeks after a woman's last menstrual period, a bill to make it illegal after around six weeks would strip doctors who perform abortions of their medical licenses if they perform one after detecting cardiac activity on an ultrasound, or even if they fail to provide an ultrasound before an abortion.
''Our goal isn't to throw a lot of doctors in jail; our goal is accountability,'' said Sue Liebel, the director of state affairs for Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, an anti-abortion group that lobbies for restrictions and bans.
More than a dozen states already ban most abortions, and those laws punish doctors with prison and steep fines. That tactic has largely worked: Abortion providers have shut down in states with bans, and doctors and hospitals are reluctant to provide abortions until women are sick enough to qualify for exceptions that say the procedure is legal when a woman's life is in danger.
In states with bans, abortion pills have become a crucial workaround. Although bans prohibit abortion by any method, including medication, pills are tougher to regulate. Before Roe was overturned, medication was already used in more than half of all abortions in the United States. Pills and their providers are increasingly becoming targets of attempts to restrict abortion. A suit filed by anti-abortion groups in federal court in Texas is seeking to overturn federal approval of a key abortion drug.
In Iowa, where abortion is currently legal until 22 weeks after a woman's last menstrual period, a new bill would make it a felony for doctors or anyone else to distribute abortion pills, punishable by up to 10 years in jail. The bill would not penalize women who take or obtain the pills.
Abortion rights advocates are guardedly optimistic that several states with Democratic legislatures will preserve or strengthen executive orders signed by current or previous governors, making it harder for future elected officials to change the law if political dynamics change.
In Hawaii, one bill would allow physician assistants to perform abortions. Another would shield doctors and patients from out-of-state subpoenas relating to reproductive health and preclude doctors who perform abortions from losing their medical licenses -- not unlike one that was recently signed into law in Illinois, and another that was introduced in Vermont.
In New Hampshire, where abortion is legal until 24 weeks, doctors who perform them beyond that time may no longer be subject to prison sentences, under newly proposed legislation.
Nine abortion-related bills have been filed, according to New Hampshire Right to Life, which opposes abortion. One bill would ban abortions if cardiac activity is detected, which is usually around six weeks. Another would require medical professionals to provide written instructions and warnings about abortion medication and mandate the right to view ultrasound images.
Another bill, sponsored by Representative Daniel Wolf, a moderate Republican, would repeal the penalties against physicians who violate the existing abortion law: a prison sentence up to seven years and a fine up to $100,000.
Mr. Wolf said he had heard from doctors and hospitals, already short-staffed, who worry about recruitment and retention.
''You can't go to jail for screwing up an appendectomy -- that's the thing that gets to me,'' he said. ''If somebody will show me where there are other types of surgeries that a doctor can do that can send you to jail, let me know.''
Though a handful of legislatures, like Florida, have yet to kick off their sessions, a majority of new doctor-related bills seek to punish providers and are being proposed in states where some abortion limits are in effect, or are being litigated, as a way to tighten regulations. Even bills not directly aimed at doctors still feature mechanisms to hold them accountable.
In Idaho, a bill that would make the transporting of minors seeking abortions a human trafficking crime stipulates that the burden is on doctors to prove in court that they didn't break the law.
As part of the ''Life Is a Human Right Act'' in Wyoming, performing an abortion or administering abortion medication would be considered a felony, and doctors and those with professional licenses who are implicated would lose their licenses. Women who received an abortion could sue for civil damages. Wyoming's current ban on abortion is on hold because of a legal challenge. The new bill, which easily passed the House last week, would take effect if the existing ban is ruled unconstitutional.
In a Feb. 1 hearing, the bill's primary sponsor, Representative Rachel Rodriguez-Williams, a Republican from northwestern Wyoming, cited ''the integrity of the medical profession.''
In response to emailed questions seeking more details about the punitive impact on doctors, Ms. Rodriguez-Williams wrote that the bill ''clearly defines what is prohibited and makes abortion as defined in the bill a crime with appropriate penalties.''
She added: ''I believe the abortion industry is placing profits over people, causing physical and emotional harm to women and girls facing unplanned pregnancies.''
On the same day as that hearing, around 100 people testified for eight hours at a health committee hearing in Lincoln, Neb., where doctors also took center stage.
Under the Nebraska Heartbeat Act, abortion would be banned when any fetal cardiac activity is detected. The bill would revoke the license of any doctor who performed an abortion, with exceptions for rape, incest or if the pregnant woman is in danger of dying.
But during the hearing, opponents said that legislators were potentially opening doctors up to criminal charges.
''I do not need you to believe abortion is OK -- what I need from you all is to allow me to be a doctor,'' said Dr. Abigail Delaney, a reproductive endocrinologist. ''I need you to get out of our exam room. I need you to allow me to shoulder the ethical burdens of the profession I chose.''
The committee adjourned without taking a vote.
To Dr. Catherine J. Wheeler, a retired physician in Colorado who used to perform abortions, but is now opposed to them, these measures are overdue.
''If we're protecting the most vulnerable, then yes, you do want to punish the people or do something that has teeth in it to stop the people who are propagating it,'' said Dr. Wheeler, who is a member of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
But Molly A. Meegan, the chief legal officer and general counsel of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, which opposes any ''criminal penalties, lawsuits, fines or other punishments for providing the full spectrum of evidence-based care,'' said that doctors, who are already under incredible duress, were caught in the middle.
''They are becoming a punching bag for legislators trying to make a political point,'' she said.
The Interstate Medical Licensure Compact, which coordinates and streamlines the process by which physicians can be licensed in multiple states, has taken a neutral stance on abortion legislation. But it did change its rules in November after being prompted by increased concerns from doctors.
Previously, a physician whose license in one state was revoked or suspended would automatically face the same penalty for 90 days in the nearly 40 states that have joined the compact. But now if a physician is licensed in, say, two states and one of them takes away the physician's license solely because of abortion, the other state does not have to abide by that suspension order.
''It's up to each state how they should govern how medicine is practiced in their state,'' said Marschall Smith, the commission's executive director.
In Montana, where abortions are legal up to viability, usually around 23 weeks, the House approved a bill last week requiring doctors to agree in writing to participate in abortion procedures. Referred to as a medical conscience bill, the legislation also gives medical institutions and health care providers the right to decline abortions based on ethical or religious beliefs.
Dr. Jamila Perritt, an obstetrician-gynecologist and the president of Physicians for Reproductive Health, which supports abortion rights, said the surge of new legislation should be ''a rallying call'' for doctors who had not been previously engaged.
''There is no state -- there is no place -- that is safe,'' she said. ''Everything is at risk right now.''
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