BF2S Forums Wave of anti-abortion Bills sweeps US

Dozens of Bills are advancing through state capitals across the United States that would put an array of new obstacles - legal, financial and psychological - in the paths of women seeking abortions.

The tactics vary: Mandatory sonograms and anti-abortion counselling, sweeping limits on insurance coverage and bans on abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

To abortion-rights activists, they add up to the biggest political threat since the Supreme Court's landmark Roe vs Wade decision of 1973 that legalised abortion nationwide.

On Tuesday, South Dakota Governor Dennis Daugaard signed into law a Bill that would impose a longest-in-the-nation waiting period of three days before women could have an abortion - and also require them to undergo counselling at pregnancy help centres that discourage abortions.

In a number of states, lawmakers are also considering Bills that would ban elective abortions after 20 or 21 weeks of pregnancy. These measures are modelled after a law was approved last year in Nebraska that was based on the disputed premise that a fetus can feel pain after 20 weeks.

In more than 20 states, Bills have been introduced to restrict insurance coverage of abortion. In Utah, one such measure - affecting both private and public plans - has cleared both legislative chambers and been sent to Governor Gary Herbert.

Of the various types of Bills, the insurance bans could have the broadest impact, according to some abortion-rights activists.

While routine first-trimester abortions generally cost US$400 (S$506) to US$700, later and more complicated abortions can run into the thousands of dollars, especially if hospitalisation is needed.

Fighting back tears as he talked up his home state's abortion laws, Haley Barbour vowed Friday that he will not adhere to any social-issues "truce" if he runs for president.

Speaking to a gathering of conservatives hosted by the Iowa Renewal Project here, Barbour grew emotional when he touted Mississippi's top rating from Americans United for Life and spotlighted a law enacted early in his first term as governor that required doctors to do everything possible to save a fetus that survives an unsuccessful abortion.
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The comments represented Barbour clearest move away from his good friend, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, who has been pummeled by conservatives for saying social issues should take a back seat to a focus on fiscal concerns. Until now, Barbour has more often used language and a laser-like fiscal focus that led some to believe he was closer to Daniels' camp on the issue than other presidential hopefuls.
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“We’re doing everything that we can to stop abortion in our state,” Barbour said. “And if I get elected president, I will come into office with that attitude. And that’s about 180 degrees different from the current president.”