Ducey signs abortion bill into law

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From AZ Capitol Times:

Gov. Doug Ducey on Friday signed into law what appears to be the most comprehensive restrictions in the country on what doctors have to do if a baby is born alive during an abortion.

Ducey’s action came less than 48 hours after he got the final version. And while the governor had told Capitol Media Services earlier Friday he wanted to be briefed on its provisions, he telegraphed his intentions, acknowledging that it would be out of character for him to veto the measure.

“I have been consistently pro-life through my time as governor,” he said. Ducey has signed every abortion bill that has reached his desk since becoming governor more than two years ago.

The law which takes effect this summer expands on existing statutes, which say if there is a live birth it is the duty of any doctors in attendance to see that “all available means and medical skills are used to promote, preserve and maintain the life of such fetus or embryo.”

But doctors who testified during hearings on SB 1367 told lawmakers that they read the current law to require no special efforts if there is no reasonable chance the child will survive.

Read more at AZ Capitol Times

Corrie O'Connor