The Governor signed HB 2036 today- which amends state law regarding abortions. We’ll be responsible for implementing many of the law’s provisions. Our Rules and Medical Licensing teams will be responsible for writing new regulations for the operating procedures at abortion clinics, our Medical Licensing team will be ensuring compliance with the new rules, and our IT and Women’s and Children’s Health teams will be responsible for developing the website required by the law.
This bill is completely inconsistent and automatically leaves no options for some women. No where does it state provisions for extenuating circumstances, such as irregular menstrual cycles.
Take my situation for example. Although I’ve seen many doctors and there is nothing physically wrong, I can sometimes go to 9 or 10 months without a cycle. Furthermore, when I was pregnant with my son, I experiences a full period when I was 3 months along.
This bill says yes to the woman who had a cycle 2 months ago and is 7 weeks along and absolutely not to the woman next to her who had a cycle 6 months ago and is only 2 weeks. And then what happens when a woman is in her 2nd trimester by her doctor’s standards, but then has a period? According to the HB bill as it stands today, it would be legal to proceed with an abortion.
This bill is completely inconsistent from woman to woman, which, to me, makes it completely unconstitutional. The age of a fetus needs to be based on a consistent and unquestionable factor that can be medically documented, since it applies to a medical procedure.
I would really like to know what is going to be included in the provisions that would amend this situation as it applies to much more of the population than just myself.
Thank you for your time and for hearing my concerns.
Cynthia,
Our role is to implement the laws that are passed by our elected officials. We are going to take a long close look at the actual language in the new law and implement it as effectively as we can.
Thanks
I’m currently writing an analysis of this policy at my university. I’m embarrassed for the citizens of Arizona who don’t support this amendment. The fine print is quite frightening.
It’s impossible to menses during pregnancy, even if you bleed you cannot menses because if you did you would miscarry, the hormones would dump your baby. What might LOOK like a period is not a period, but more likely cysts or other problems that doctors need to see immediately. So even if a woman bled in her 8th month, it would not be her period, and the start of the pregnancy would not be at the start of the 8th month.
Also, a doctor would be able to contest the age and have it be listed as 7 weeks, at least from the way the law reads.
In fact, a doctor would be able to push for an abortion even past that date if it was warranted medically. This is talking about ‘easily obtained abortions’ vs late-term risky abortions.