Kaiser Daily Women’s Health Policy Report Highlights Issues In Maryland, Michigan, Ohio, Virginia

January 11, 2007 – 1:30 pm | posted in Abortion, Pregnancy, Women's Health / OBGYN

The following highlights recent news of state actions on women’s health issues. Abortion Regulations

Ohio: Gov. Bob Taft (R) on Thursday signed into law a bill (HB 239) that prohibits state funding from covering abortion services except for cases of rape, incest or when the pregnant women’s life is in danger, the Columbus Dispatch reports (Ludlow, Columbus Dispatch, 1/5). The bill also says it is the “public policy of the state … to prefer childbirth over abortion to the extent that is constitutionally permissible” (HB 239 text, 1/5). State Rep. Michelle Schneider (R), the measure’s sponsor, said it also gives people the right to file complaints in common pleas courts if they believe a clinic is unlicensed. Current rules give the state Department of Health enforcement powers over clinic licensure. The measure takes effect in 90 days. Gov.-elect Ted Strickland (D) “would not have supported” the measure, Strickland spokesperson Keith Dailey said (Craig, Cincinnati Enquirer, 1/4).
Virginia: The Virginia-based Family Foundation, which opposes abortion rights, this year is planning to call on the state General Assembly to pass legislation that would require providers to administer an ultrasound before performing an abortion, the Washington Post reports. The foundation also plans to call for a measure that would require clinics to provide women seeking late-term abortions with information about providing the fetus anesthesia during the procedure. Victoria Cobb, president of the foundation, said the proposals are designed to give women “the most advanced health care information available.” Ann O’Hanlon, executive director of Virginia’s chapter of NARAL Pro-Choice America, said her group would oppose the foundation’s efforts. “Getting a woman unbiased information is what we like to see, but when it is coming from people who oppose the legal option of abortion, it is not going to be unbiased information,” O’Hanlon said (Craig, Washington Post, 1/5).

Sex Education

Maryland: Board members of the Montgomery County Public Schools on Tuesday plan to consider a proposed middle and high school sex education curriculum that includes information on sexual orientation and condom use, the Washington Post reports (de Vise, Washington Post, 1/5). U.S. District Court Judge Alexander Williams in May 2005 issued a 10-day restraining order preventing the county’s previous sex education program — which included a condom use demonstration video and a discussion of homosexuality — from being taught at six county schools. Williams’ ruling was in response to a lawsuit filed earlier in the month by Citizens for a Responsible Curriculum and Parents and Friends of ExGays and Gays, which alleged that the program discriminates against students whose parents opt out of having their children participate in the program (Kaiser Daily Women’s Health Policy Report, 5/25/05). The county school board later that month voted 7-1 to revise the sex education curriculum and eliminate the use of a condom demonstration video (Kaiser Daily Women’s Health Policy Report, 9/12/06). School officials and medical experts spent more than one year drafting the proposed curriculum. The proposal incorporates 69 of 83 changes recommended by a citizens committee that included representatives from all parties in the 2005 lawsuit, but neither side is “completely satisfied,” the Post reports. Most committee members recommended the lessons include statements that homosexuality is not a disease or mental illness and that sexuality is not a choice. School officials decided such statements did not fit the “objectives for the lesson,” according to internal school system documents (Washington Post, 1/5).

Other Regulations
Michigan: Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D) on Thursday signed into law several bills that will create a statewide network of umbilical cord blood stem cell banks and vetoed a bill (HB 6292) that would have provided a tax incentive for people who donate money to the banks, the AP/Mlive.com reports. The bills Granholm signed, which are designed to encourage adult and umbilical cord stem cell research in the state, require the state to develop and distribute informational material about the stem cell banks. Under the legislation, the banks will receive and store donated cord cells and make them available to transplant centers for treatments of conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, spinal cord injuries and multiple sclerosis. Some of the inventory also will be allocated for peer-reviewed research. Granholm in her veto letter for the tax incentive bill said the state “continues to face enormous fiscal challenges” and should have solid finances before offering such incentives (AP/Mlive.com, 1/4).

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