Abortion Rights in 2015 Evaporated at a Swift Pace
We aren't just losing the battle for reproductive rights, we're getting hammered.
The new anti-abortion laws states passed in 2015, mapped
States have enacted an unprecedented number of anti-abortion laws in the past five years, and 2015 continued that trend. According to a new report from the Center for Reproductive Rights, state lawmakers proposed nearly 400 bills restricting abortion in 2015, and 47 of those bills were enacted. Some of those 47 bills contained more than one restriction, and the Guttmacher Institute estimates that a total of 57 new abortion restrictions became law. Arkansas passed six new anti-abortion laws, the most of any state in 2015.
That's a lot of restrictions, but many of them may seem familiar. Keep in mind that the maps below only cover new laws passed in 2015, so they don't provide a full picture of where abortion is least accessible in America. Some states, like Texas, have already passed some of the most stringent statewide anti-abortion laws out there.
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http://www.vox.com/2015/12/31/10696424/abortion-laws-2015-mapped
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/12/31/1459980/-States-added-another-47-abortion-restrictions-in-2015-No-doubt-there-are-more-to-come
In North Carolina:
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State to take abortion ultrasounds: Some provisions of the abortion law approved in June are already in effect, including a required 72-hour waiting period for abortions that began in October.
Starting Friday, abortion providers must send the state Department of Health and Human Services records for all abortions or induced miscarriages after the 16th week of pregnancy, including measurements and ultrasound images of fetuses.
The law says the records are for “statistical purposes only,” with patients’ and doctors’ names remaining confidential. The records will not be made public.
Supporters say the change “strengthens” reporting requirements that help state regulators.
The new rules are “medically unnecessary and purely politically driven,” Melissa Reed, director of Planned Parenthood Votes! South Atlantic, said in a statement. “The true intent of the law is clear – to shame women and intimidate the doctors that care for them.” She said it’s “completely inappropriate” for the state to demand ultrasound images that are part of a woman’s personal medical file.
Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/politics-government/article52357740.html#storylink=cpy
Ohio:
http://radio.wosu.org/post/2015-review-lawmakers-chip-away-abortion-clinics-through-new-regulations-defunding-effort#stream/0
Arkansas:
2015 in reproductive rights: Arkansas sets off year of abortion restrictions
Year sees more than double the number of new laws enacted in 2014, with lawmakers approving 57 new anti-abortion measures, thinktank finds
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/dec/29/abortion-laws-2015-reproductive-rights-arkansas
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