Lawmakers in Kansas, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri and Kentucky are drafting bills similar to Nebraska's to protect preborn babies starting at 20 weeks gestation.
The statehouses in New Hampshire, North Carolina and Ohio added to their pro-life ranks in November, which could mean greater protection for preborn life.
"State pro-life legislation represents our best present opportunity to reduce the number of abortions and limit access to it," said Carrie Gordon Earll, senior bioethics analyst at CitizenLink. "Moving the legal ball forward for the pro-life cause requires pro-life majorities in state legislatures because that's where the action is."
Even abortion activists were forced to agree that this will be an important year.
"Thanks to the gains by conservatives in the Nov. election, 2011 will be a banner year for anti-choice legislation in the states," Donna Crane, policy director of NARAL Pro-Choice America, told Women's eNews.
* New Hampshire: Republicans, who enjoy a veto-proof majority in the House and Senate, plan to introduce parental-notification legislation. In 2007, Gov. John Lynch repealed the state's parental-notification law.
* North Carolina: Incoming House Speaker Thom Tillis has pledged to pursue legislation to limit the number of abortions performed in the state, specifically through an informed-consent requirement.
* Ohio: With huge Republican majorities in both chambers, pro-life members have placed priority status on legislation to ban late-term abortions.
* Maryland: Despite heavy Democratic majorities in the Senate and House, Republican Rep. Michael Smigiel is working to outlaw interstate abortions — in which an abortion could be initiated in a neighboring state and be completed in Maryland.
Earll concluded: "Polls find Americans are supportive of these incremental laws as a way to reduce the number of abortions, a reflection of increasing pro-life sentiments among the public."
Contact: Jennifer Mesko
Source: CitizenLink
Publish Date: January 17, 2011
