Arizona Senate Rejects Bill Preventing Nurses from Providing Abortion Care

Yesterday, the Arizona Senate defeated a House-passed bill preventing advanced practice nurses from providing abortion care. This bill would have contradicted last month’s decision by the Arizona Board of Nursing that it is within the scope of practice of appropriately trained advanced practice nurses in the state to provide early aspiration abortion care.

A nurse's scope of practice is determined by the state Board of Nursing based upon specified guidelines established in the Nurse Practice Act for that state. Professional boards are charged with making these types of scope of practice decisions due to their extensive knowledge of the profession, and their judgments should be respected.

>Learn more about the role of advanced practice clinicians in abortion care.

Article Examines Ultrasound Laws

An article published yesterday by Stateline.org takes a comprehensive look at the nation’s ultrasound laws. This year legislation mandating ultrasound provision was introduced in 18 states. In April, Oklahoma passed the most restrictive law, which requires a woman to undergo an ultrasound one hour prior to obtaining abortion care and listen to an explanation from the medical professional performing the ultrasound while the image is displayed so that she can see it. This type of legislation unfairly manipulates women and violates the integrity of the doctor-patient relationship.

>Learn more about abortion rights in the states.

Canadian Women Still Face Challenges Accessing Plan B

While Plan B has been approved to be sold on drugstore shelves instead of behind-the-counter in Canada, many women may still face challenges in accessing the drug in a timely manner. A reporter with the Edmonton Sun anonymously called 10 drug stores in the Edmonton area and found that none of them offered the medication on pharmacy shelves, only behind the counter. The National Association of Pharmacy Regulatory Authorities approved Plan B (also known as emergency contraception) for over the counter sale in Canada in mid May.

>Learn more about emergency contraception.

Majority of People Reject Criminal Penalties for Abortion According to Opinion Poll

According to an opinion poll released this week, majorities in 17 out of 18 nations surveyed reject the use of criminal penalties such as fines or imprisonment, as a means to prevent abortion.

WorldPublicOpinion.org interviewed 18,465 respondents in 18 geographically and culturally diverse countries representing 59 percent of the world’s population. Respondents were from countries where abortion is legal including the United States and France, and also countries with highly restrictive abortion laws like Mexico, Poland, and South Korea. On average across all 18 countries, 52 percent of respondents favored leaving the matter of abortion to the individual.

“Clearly many governments around the world using criminal penalties to try to prevent abortions are out of step with their publics,” said Steven Kull, director of WorldPublicOpinion.org.

WorldPublicOpinion.org is a collaborative research project of research centers from around the world, managed by the Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) at the University of Maryland.

Michigan Governor Plans to Veto Proposed Abortion Ban

Today, Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm stated that she would veto a bill headed to her office, which bans certain types of abortions without an exception for a woman’s health. The bill was passed today by the Senate, and resembles a federal ban upheld by the Supreme Court last year. There have been three previous attempts in the state to outlaw the procedures covered in the bill, but all have been declared unconstitutional by federal courts.

Anti-Abortion Protester Charged with Violating Oakland Bubble Zone Ordinance

Anti-abortion protester Walter Hoye was due in court today on four misdemeanor charges of violating an Oakland bubble zone ordinance.

The bubble zone ordinance protects patients, doctors, nurses, and other employees of reproductive health care facilities as well as volunteer escorts who assist people entering and exiting the facilities. The ordinance prohibits several different behaviors at reproductive health care clinics, including approaching closer than 8 feet for the "purposes of counseling, harassing, or interfering" with someone without the person's consent.

In February, the Oakland City Council unanimously passed the bubble zone ordinance. Hoye has been involved in legal challenges to the bubble zone, and last month became the first person cited for violating the ordinance.

>Learn more about state Clinic Protection Bills.

Liberal Party Leader Vows to Defeat Bill C-484

Today, Stéphane Dion, leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, vowed to block passage of Bill C-484, which would create a new crime of causing injury to or the death of a foetus.

Dion indicated that he shares the view that the bill would reopen the abortion debate and said: "We will not allow that to happen."

>Learn more about why NAF opposes Bill C-484.