Kentucky, Nebraska, Virginia Take Actions On Abortion, Embryonic Stem Cell Legislation

The following highlights state legislative action on abortion and human embryonic stem cell-related bills.

Abortion

• Kentucky: On Thursday, the Senate voted 32-4 to pass a bill (SB 40) that would require a physician to perform an ultrasound and present the images to women seeking abortions before providing the procedure, the Lexington Herald-Leader reports. Among provisions in the bill, sponsored by Sen. Jack Westwood (R), physicians would be required to consult with women 24 hours before the procedure. The legislation also would adopt a language mirroring a federal ban (S 3) on so-called "partial-birth" abortion by abortion-rights opponents. Rep. Tom Burch (D) said he believes the bill would make it more difficult for women to obtain abortions in the state. The bill now moves to the House for consideration. House Speaker Jody Richards (D) said he cannot predict the outcome of a vote on the bill (Brammer, Lexington Herald-Leader, 2/8).
  
  
• Virginia: The Senate Committee on Education and Health on Thursday rejected three antiabortion-related measures, the AP/NBC4.com reports (AP/NBC4.com, 2/7). The committee voted 10-4 to reject a bill (SB 542), sponsored by Sen. Mark Obenshain (R), that would have prohibited public schools and their employees from providing abortion services, as well as barring "any abortion provider from providing information or course materials related to human sexuality or sexually transmitted diseases" (SB 542 text, 2/11). Obenshain acknowledged that no schools provide abortion services. The bill was intended to prevent Planned Parenthood affiliates from teaching sex education in schools (AP/NBC4.com, 2/7). Another bill (SB 762), which was rejected 10-5, would have charged anyone who "coerces a woman" into having an abortion with a crime, the Roanoke Times reports. The measure, sponsored by Sen. Chris Smith (R), would have created a Class 1 misdemeanor for people charged under the bill, as well as a Class VI felony charge if the person violating the measure was the father and the woman who had the abortion was older than age 18. The committee also voted 10-5 to reject a bill (HB 894) that would have required abortion clinics to meet the same licensing and regulation standards as outpatient surgery centers (Adams, Roanoke Times, 2/8).

Stem Cell Research

• Nebraska: The Judiciary Committee on Thursday approved a bill that would ban reproductive cloning and the use of state funds or facilities for creating or destroying human embryos for embryonic stem cell research, the AP/Sioux City Journal reports. The measure, titled the Stem Cell Research Act, would create an advisory committee composed of the deans of Nebraska medical schools and two scientists from outside the state. The group would be able to award grants for stem cell research that does not destroy human embryos. If approved, the measure would make researchers who violate the ban guilty of a Class IV felony, which is punishable by up to five years in prison, a $10,000 fine or both, the Journal reports. In advancing the bill, the committee rejected a similar bill (LB 700), sponsored by Sen. Mark Christensen (R), that would have banned all human cloning for both reproductive and research purposes in the state. Opponents of stem cell research said they are not happy with the bill because it leaves open the possibility for private groups to conduct embryonic stem cell research (Ross, AP/Sioux City Journal, 2/7).