House of
Representatives
HB 2400
partial-birth abortions; definition
Sponsors: Representatives Barto, Antenori, Ash, et al.
HB 2400 makes several clarifying and substantive changes to the partial-birth abortion section of statute including specifying a term of imprisonment for a physician shall not exceed two years for a violation of this statute, allowing defendants to appear before the Arizona Medical Board or Osteopathic Board for an assessment of the medical necessity of the procedure, and changing the definition of partial-birth abortion.
History
Laws 1997, Chapter 83, § 1 added § 13-3603.01 to Arizona Revised Statutes (A.R.S.) which states that a person who knowingly performs a partial-birth abortion and who kills a human fetus is guilty of a class 6 felony. It includes an exemption for partial-birth abortions that are necessary to save the life of a mother if no other medical procedure would save the mother’s life. In it, partial-birth abortion is defined as an abortion in which the person performing the abortion partially vaginally delivers a living fetus before killing the fetus and completing the delivery.
On October 27, 1997, an Arizona federal district court found A.R.S. § 13-3603.01 to be unconstitutional. See Planned Parenthood v. Woods, 982 F.Supp. 1369. In 2003, the United States Congress passed the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act (Act) which prohibited the procedure. On April 18, 2007, the United States Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Act. See Gonzales v. Carhart, 127 S.Ct. 1610.
Provisions
· Specifies that a physician found to have knowingly performed a partial-birth abortion shall be fined or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.
· Clarifies that the partial-birth abortion prohibition does not apply to cases when the procedure is necessary to save the life of a mother whose life is endangered by a physical condition.
· Clarifies that a civil action brought pursuant to the partial-birth abortion section of statute may seek relief for psychological and physical injuries.
· Allows a defendant accused of violating the partial-birth abortion section of statute to seek a hearing before the Arizona Medical Board or the Arizona Board of Osteopathic Examiners to determine whether the defendant’s conduct was necessary to save the life of a mother who was in physical danger.
o Stipulates that the findings on that issue are admissible on that issue at the trial of the defendant.
o Requires the court to delay the beginning of a trial for not more than thirty days, on a motion of the defendant, to allow a hearing to take place.
· Modifies the definition of partial-birth abortion.
· Eliminates the definition of person, and replaces it with a modified definition of physician.
· Includes a severability clause.
· Makes technical and conforming changes.
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Forty-ninth Legislature
First Regular Session 2 January 21, 2009
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