Abortion measures pass initial lawmaker votes

State lawmakers have voted to approve two new restrictions on abortions.But one, if not both, could end up being vetoed.

Governor vetoes new abortion restrictions

House panel OKs new late-term abortion bill with some changes

The Senate, on a voice vote, gave preliminary approval to a ban on allowing nurse practitioners to perform surgical abortions. That move comes just a month after the state Board of Nursing concluded that practitioners with special training are medically qualified to do the procedure.

That isn't the belief of Rep. Bob Stump, R-Peoria, the sponsor of HB2269. He said only doctors should terminate a pregnancy, at least in part because of the potential complications.

The bill, which has passed the House, needs a final Senate vote.

Separately, the House gave final approval to SB1048, which would make late-term abortions illegal in Arizona. The state's original ban, approved in 1997, was blocked by a federal judge before it ever took effect.

That measure now goes to Gov. Janet Napolitano. But both face an uncertain future.

Napolitano vetoed a slightly different version of the late-term abortion bill earlier this year. And while lawmakers altered provisions she did not like, the governor said she would prefer they spend their time trying to prevent unwanted pregnancies rather than interfering with a woman's relationship with her doctor.

Napolitano has never before dealt with the question of whether people other than doctors can perform abortions. But the governor has consistently vetoed legislation she believes restricts access to the procedure.

A spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood of Arizona says that will happen if the organization cannot use nurse practitioners. Carol Bafaloukos said the demand for abortion at the Tucson clinic is greater than the availability of doctors.

Planned Parenthood has allowed Mary Andrews, a nurse practitioner, to perform abortions in Tucson since 2001. But that fact was not widely known until a complaint was filed against her with the Board of Nursing.

Board members, after studying the issue, concluded last month that the act of "aspiration abortions," in which the fetus up to 13 weeks of age is vacuumed out of the uterus, is within the legal scope of practice of nurses with advanced training and experience. And they specifically rejected the contentions of an attorney for the anti-abortion Center for Arizona Policy that letting anyone other than a doctor terminate a pregnancy violates Arizona law. The board's decision would be voided if Stump's measure becomes law.

Backers of Stump's measure said the issue is strictly one of patient safety. But the legislation is being pushed heavily by not just the Center for Arizona Policy but also by Ron Johnson, who lobbies on behalf of the state's Catholic bishops.