Siteadmin, Bureaucrats, Check users, nsAm_Govt_101RO, nsAm_Govt_101RW, nsAm_Govt_101_ta, nsJudgesRO, nsJudgesRW, nsJudges_talkRO, nsJudges_talkRW, nsTeam2RO, nsTeam2RW, nsTeam2_talkRO, nsTeam2_talkRW, oversight, Administrators
125,789
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Line 3:
Line 3: + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
added Arkansas and ND cases
The [[National Right to Life Committee]] typically aligns itself with moderate Republicans (it endorsed [[Fred Thompson]] in 2008 for president) and has not endorsed this bill. Ohio Right to Life has lost local chapters in Ohio due to its decision not to endorse passage of the Heartbeat Bill:<ref>http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/05/health/policy/fetal-heartbeat-bill-splits-anti-abortion-forces.html?pagewanted=all</ref>
The [[National Right to Life Committee]] typically aligns itself with moderate Republicans (it endorsed [[Fred Thompson]] in 2008 for president) and has not endorsed this bill. Ohio Right to Life has lost local chapters in Ohio due to its decision not to endorse passage of the Heartbeat Bill:<ref>http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/05/health/policy/fetal-heartbeat-bill-splits-anti-abortion-forces.html?pagewanted=all</ref>
{{cquote|The refusal of Ohio Right to Life to get behind the heartbeat proposal has led to bitter dissent. In the last two weeks, six county chapters have angrily withdrawn from the organization including, on Thursday, the Cincinnati chapter, the state’s oldest and largest.}}
{{cquote|The refusal of Ohio Right to Life to get behind the heartbeat proposal has led to bitter dissent. In the last two weeks, six county chapters have angrily withdrawn from the organization including, on Thursday, the Cincinnati chapter, the state’s oldest and largest.}}
== Decisions concerning heartbeat legislation ==
In two cases handled by the same panel on the [[Eighth Circuit]], it invalidated heartbeat legislation in [[Arkansas]] and [[North Dakota]].
In the Arkansas case, the court held as follows:
:The Arkansas State Medical Board (the State) appeals from a summary judgment permanently enjoining certain sections of the Arkansas Human Heartbeat Protection Act. Ark. Code Ann. §§ 20-16-1301 to 1307 (2013). Having jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, this court affirms.
:I.
:The Act provides that a licensed physician "shall not perform an abortion on a pregnant woman before the person tests the pregnant woman to determine whether the fetus that a pregnant woman is carrying possesses a detectible [''sic''] heartbeat." Ark. Code Ann. § 20-16-1303(a) (footnote omitted). Further, a physician "shall not perform an abortion on a pregnant woman with the specific intent of causing or abetting the termination of the life of an unborn human individual whose heartbeat has been detected under § 20-16-1303 and is twelve (12) weeks or greater gestation." § 20-16-1304(a). If a physician violates section 1304, his or her medical license shall be revoked. § 20-16-1304(b). The Act provides exceptions to protect the life of the mother, for a pregnancy resulting from rape or incest, or for a medical emergency. § 20-16-1305. The Act requires informed disclosures about the existence of a heartbeat and the probability of bringing the unborn to term. § 20-16-1303(d), (e). ....
''Edwards v. Beck'', 786 F.3d 1113, 1115-16 (8th Cir. 2015).
In the North Dakota case, the same three-judge panel held less than two months later that:
:This case presents the question whether, given the current state of medical science, a state generally may prohibit physicians from aborting unborn children who possess detectable heartbeats. The district court held that it may not. Because United States Supreme Court precedent does not permit us to reach a contrary result, we affirm.
:I.
:North Dakota has, for a number of years, prohibited abortion "[a]fter the point in pregnancy when the unborn child may reasonably be expected to have reached viability," except when necessary to preserve the life or health of the mother. N.D. Cent. Code § 14-02.1-04(3). North Dakota defines "viable" as "the ability of an unborn child to live outside the mother's womb, albeit with artificial aid." Id. § 14-02.1-02(19). In 2013, North Dakota passed House Bill 1456, codified at N.D. Cent. Code § 14-02.1, which extends the general prohibition on abortion to the point in pregnancy when the unborn child possesses a detectable heartbeat. H.B. 1456 contains two operative provisions. The first requires a physician performing an abortion to "determin[e], in accordance with standard medical practice, if the unborn child the pregnant woman is carrying has a detectable heartbeat." H.B. 1456 § 1.1, 63d Leg. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (N.D. 2013). This requirement does not apply "when a medical emergency exists that prevents compliance." Id.; see also N.D. Cent. Code § 14-02.1-02(12) (defining "medical emergency"). A physician who violates the heartbeat testing requirement is subject to disciplinary action before the state board of medical examiners. See H.B. 1456 § 1.2. The second operative provision prohibits a physician from performing an abortion on a pregnant woman if the unborn child has a "heartbeat [that] has been detected according to the requirements of section 1." Id. § 2.1. There are exceptions for the life or health of the pregnant woman and for the life of another unborn child. Id. § 2.2(a). A physician who violates this provision commits a felony. Id. § 2.4. The pregnant woman, however, is not subject to liability. Id.
''MKB Mgmt. Corp. v. Stenehjem'', 795 F.3d 768, 770 (8th Cir. 2015).
== Contrast with Personhood Amendment ==
== Contrast with Personhood Amendment ==