Coat Hanger Abortion Bill Stuck In Committee - Bipartisan Opposition
By CAMILLE GIGLIO
April 29, 2012 - San Francisco, CA - PipeLineNews.org - Indicating a rising tide of bipartisan opposition, SB 1338 [see our feature piece on this legislation http://www.pipelinenews.org/index.cfm?page=giglio4112012101%2Ehtm CA Legislation Empowers Midwives To Perform Backyard Abortions] authored by Sen. Christine Kehoe failed passage
out of the Business and Professions Committee hearing today with a tie
4 to 4 vote. The bill received a tie vote because one legislator was
absent. If he had been at the hearing it would have been a 5 to 4
"NO" vote and the bill would have lost.
The absent legislator was Sen. Tony Strickland, [R-Santa Barbara]. We
understand he was out pursuing his own special interests - re-election.. His district contact number 805-965-0862.
The hearing before the Business and Professions Committee was aired over
the internet at www.calchannel.com. Two Democrats voted "NO"
along with two Republicans creating a tie vote.
Sen. Kehoe immediately called for a re-consideration allowing her the
opportunity to have two more weeks to lobby the Democrats on the
committee. Since this was not a fiscal bill it has until May 11 to pass
to the assembly or fail.
Prior to today's hearing, the bill's language had been totally
revised and new wording amended in. Very briefly, the wording called for
recognizing the training provided to the 41 persons involved in the pilot program [the details of which remain intentionally clouded by pro-abortion radicals] and
authorizes them to be licensed to perform abortions for as long as those licenses were maintained. It also seeks to extend the final date of the training period
to January 1, 2013.
To their credit the two opposing Democrats, Juan Vargas, [D-Chula Vista]
and Lou Correa, [D-Santa Ana] provided the strongest opposition to
passage, closely questioning the author, Sen. Kehoe and her one witness,
Tracy Weitz, Ph.D. on the lack of any publicly published critique and
analysis of the training, how much training they received, and any
information on the competency of the group to perform this procedure.
Vargas, a lawyer by trade, questioned Kehoe and Weitz about potential lawsuits and about the lack of disclosure involved with the program.
Sen. Mark Wyland, [R-Carlsbad] questioned them on the length of
training given to the group. Weitz stated that the length of time was
about 7 days or 45 "procedures" required before it was felt that
the trainees had satisfactory results.
The stage of the pregnancy and complications of the procedure were also
brought up. Seitz stated, rather coldly, "The longer in gestation it
goes...the more complications can arise."
The California Nurses Association's representative, speaking at the hearing stated that the organization had previously opposed the bill, but now are supporting it because the author met their requirements of including in
the bill, the acknowledgement that abortion was already within the scope of
practice of the "three clinicians," which this law will empower, i.e., nurse midwives, nurse
practitioners, and nurse assistants.
She further said that the data provided to the stakeholders was peer
reviewed; meaning that those involved rated themselves and that
"abortion doctors" felt that these "clinicians" were
quite competent to perform the abortions. Three institutions provided
"peer reviews." UCSF, Kaiser and "one other" which she would not
name.
This is not the standard definition of "peer review," which is widely understood in the academic community as having the findings of such studies published in professional journals, thereby making the data available for review by disinterested professionals.
A troubling aspect of the testimony provided by Ms. Weitz was a claim that as of now, even without this legislation, and apparently therefore outside the law, that approximately "half
of the abortions performed are done by non-surgeons." This bit of information, though offered proudly as testimony to
the value of midwife performed abortions, appeared to be a bit of a shock to the legislators. Abortions performed by non-surgeons
is a crime. SB 1338 would do away with the criminal aspect of
non-surgeons aborting women.
Of the $4 million in funding part of it went to Planned Parenthood/Mar
Monte - in the Santa Cruz area, Kaiser/Oakland, PP-Los Angeles,
PP/Shasta Diablo-Contra Costa Co. and to the Feminist Women's Health
Collective.
Further, many of the pregnant women seeking abortions were young,
minority, low-income women who were offered $5.00 if they would consent
to using a midwife to perform the abortion.
So, that's how much these clinics value the health and safety
mantra, they look at the entire process as a clinical experiment, despite the fact that two lives will be affected, one, deprived of any choice, will be silenced forever.
The bill will be back in the Senate Business and Professions Committee
sometime within the next two weeks. If this legislation is to be defeated, then Senators Vargas and Correa need to
receive phone calls thanking them for their courage in voting to protect
women's health from the abortion predators. They will probably
receive some sort of disciplinary action from the senate and Assembly
leaders. Juan Vargas - district office: [619]409-7690, Sacto office
[916] 651-4040. His office is in the heart of the Southern California
Hispanic Community.
Sen. Lou Correa [D-Santa Ana] Dist. office [714] 558-4400, Sacramento
[916] 651-4034.
© 2012 Camille Giglio. All rights reserved.
