We're really starting to experience the effects of the far-right nasties at the Arizona legislature. Just about every study I've read over the past few months dealing with education, the fate of our children, healthcare, the environment, and future employment looks grim and grimmer. There doesn't seem to be a meaningful indicator where we're not ranked from 45th to 50th. For the yahoos like Senator Russell Pearce who want to take us back to the '50s, when women and Hispanics knew their place, well, the Way-Back Machine is about to take off.
In February I wrote a diary saying that Planned Parenthood, because of new laws then being debated in the 2011 session, may have to cease offering services at clinics outside of Phoenix and Tucson if the bills passed. Today that possibility became reality:
Planned Parenthood announced Thursday that it will stop offering abortion services at seven of its locations across the state.
The move means there will no longer be abortion services in communities outside of metro Phoenix and Tucson. The announcement comes on the heels of an appellate court ruling that upheld a 2009 law placing new restrictions on the procedure -- including the requirement that nurse practitioners no longer perform surgical abortions. Arizona Republic
The good news is that Planned Parenthood will not close any of its 13 sites throughout the state, which was a possibility as well. One wonders what they'll still do at these locations, however, since, according to our illustrious Senator Kyl, abortions comprise 90 percent of Planned Parenthood's services. Ass.
The powerful pro-life lobby at the Arizona legislature, which includes Governor Brewer, led a multi-pronged attack on Planned Parenthood and women's rights last session. One result of their assault on women and family planning is that the crackpot Arizona Family Project just awarded nearly every Republican in the legislature a "Friend of the Family" award. How nice, let's see how friendly they were:
• HB2384 went after the funding of abortion services and Planned Parenthood in particular. It stipulated that no public funds, state or federal, can be used to train doctors to perform abortions. It also said Planned Parenthood cannot receive "charitable organization" status, thus disallowing a tax deduction for donors.
•HB2416 was a comprehensive assault. First it said doctors must offer women a fetal ultrasound, which must include an audible heartbeat, within 24 hours of the procedure. The patient must also produce an "in-person" signed consent at the time, which previously women could do over the phone. What really led to today's announcement, though, is that nurses can no longer provide the RU-486 pill through "telemedicine," where a doctor provides videoconferencing oversight. HB2416 requires a doctor to conduct the procedure in person.
These bills easily passed the 2:1 GOP-dominated legislature -- you know, the officials who assure us that they are focused like a laser on jobs. Other job-enhancing legislation they approved allows pharmacists and healthcare providers to refuse to provide abortion services, or even contraception, for moral reasons. Then there's that whacky HB2443, which makes it a felony to preform an abortion on the basis of sex or race. Brewer actually signed this weirdness, regardless of the fact there's no evidence of gender-based abortions here. But it's all part of spreading abortion (and Planned Parenthood) paranoia.
The upshot is that, given the budget of rural clinics, coupled with Arizona's vast size (6th largest), it's simply not feasible to staff every site with doctors, so all rural clinics will cease abortion services. Much of rural Arizona is already poor, with few services. So now, if you're living out there on the Navajo Reservation, for instance, you'll have to drive six hours to Phoenix, then spend time and money there you don't have because you have to comply with all the 24-hour requirements. Having an abortion is already a morally tough decision for many people; the GOP is simply trying to compound that by erecting logistical and economic roadblocks.
We are going back to the '50s, when wealthy or connected families could always find a doctor who'd provide an abortion. While others relied on a quack or their own hand. Similarly, today if you live in Scottsdale, no problem. But for rural Arizona, the number of children living in poverty will likely skyrocket. Good going GOP. How's that "small government" thing working out?