Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report Highlights Women's Health Issues In Various States

The following highlights recent news of state action on women's health issues.

• Iowa: Campaign staff to Republican gubernatorial candidate and U.S. Rep. Jim Nussle on Tuesday said that Nussle would sign a bill banning abortion in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy if elected, the Des Moines Register reports (Beaumont, Des Moines Register, 9/6). "Currently in Iowa it is legal to have an abortion in the second or third trimester," Nussle campaign manager Nick Ryan in a statement said, adding, "Jim would sign a law that bans second and third trimester abortions because it saves lives. Jim does not personally favor first trimester abortions" (Nussle release, 9/5). According to the Register, Nussle's aides did not say if he would support exceptions in cases of rape or incest (Des Moines Register, 9/6). Some state Democrats have said that Nussle's campaign has been unclear about his position on abortion rights, the AP/Cedar Rapids Gazette reports. "I think that women of this state have a right to know where candidates are on this issue," state Agriculture Secretary Patty Judge, Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor and Secretary of State Chet Culver's running mate, said on Wednesday, adding that she and Culver "have been very consistent when it comes to choice" (Glover, AP/Cedar Rapids Gazette, 9/6). Culver has said he supports abortion rights and would veto any legislation seeking to place limitations on the procedure (Des Moines Register, 9/6).
  

• New Jersey: A proposed bill (A 2016) that would allow health care professionals to refuse to fill prescriptions for any drug that contradicts their religious, moral or ethical beliefs likely will be narrowed, according to the bill's sponsor, Assembly member Sean Kean, the Gannett/Cherry Hill Courier Post reports. The bill -- drafted by the state Office of Legislative Services and based on a 1974 state law that allows health care providers the right to refuse to provide abortions -- currently applies to a "range of professions," including acupuncturists, chiropractors, dentists, marriage counselors, optometrists, pharmacists and veterinary medical examiners, the Gannett/Courier Post reports. Kean said that the state Office of Legislative Services might have gone too far in what professions would be covered, adding, "I would not be interested in pursuing [the bill] being so expansive." Jill Morrison, senior counsel to the Washington, D.C.-based National Women's Law Center, said the bill is "among the worst [he's] seen," adding that parts of the legislation "clearly violates standards of care and codes of ethics, because it is allowing health care providers to wholly abandon patients in their time of need." Hrant Jamgochian of the American Pharmacists Association -- which recognizes pharmacists' right to refuse to fill prescriptions that might be against their beliefs -- said the APA believes that "there needs to be some system in place that doesn't disrupt a patient's access to appropriate health care" (Bowman, Gannett/Cherry Hill Courier Post, 9/6).
  

• New York: The state Court of Appeals on Wednesday heard arguments in a case challenging a state law that requires employers that offer prescription drug plans to provide coverage for FDA-approved contraceptives for women, the Albany Times-Union reports (Morgan Bolton, Albany Times-Union, 9/7). The law, titled the Women's Health and Wellness Act, exempts religious or faith-based organizations from offering contraceptive coverage only if they primarily employ and serve members of that faith. The law does not exempt some Roman Catholic groups because their activities are not considered to be religious. The Appellate Division of the high court in January ruled against a coalition of Catholic and Protestant institutions in the state, including state Roman Catholic bishops, that is seeking to block the bill. In its ruling the court said that the law does not violate state or federal constitutions (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 1/17). Attorney Michael Costello, who is representing the coalition, on Wednesday asked the high court to issue an injunction that would exempt the religiously affiliated groups from adhering to the law. "You can judiciously craft an appropriate exemption," Costello said, adding, "You can either expand it or declare the exemption unconstitutional." State Assistant Solicitor General Shaifali Puri and attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union and New York Civil Liberties Union on Wednesday said the law supports women's health and seeks to eliminate gender discrimination in insurance coverage. Puri also said that in drafting the law, state legislators were responding to evidence that it protects women, the Times-Union reports. The court is expected to decide on the case in about one month (Albany Times-Union, 9/7).
  

• Texas: Gubernatorial and state Senate candidates recently expressed their views on a proposed abortion-related "trigger law" that would ban abortion in the state if the U.S. Supreme Court were to overturn Roe v. Wade -- the 1973 court decision that effectively struck down state abortion bans -- or if the U.S. Constitution were amended to allow states to regulate the procedure, the AP/Sherman Denison Herald Democrat reports (Castro, AP/Sherman Denison Herald Democrat, 9/1). Seven states have trigger laws, and 12 states in the 2005-2006 legislative session introduced bills that would criminalize abortion, according to the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Most of the state legislatures this session adjourned without final actions on the bills, but South Dakota passed a law (HB 1215) that bans abortion in the state except to save a pregnant woman's life, and bans in Ohio and Tennessee still are under consideration (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 6/13). State Senate candidate Dan Patrick (R) -- who said he believes the Supreme Court will overturn Roe -- if elected said he would file trigger-law legislation in case Roe is overturned, the AP/Herald Democrat reports. "It could take years to work through [the] political firestorm" if the decision is overturned, Patrick said, adding, "I want to have a law on the books as soon as the Supreme Court acts." Democratic gubernatorial nominee Chris Bell on Friday said he would veto attempts to pre-emptively outlaw abortion in the state if Roe is overturned. According to independent gubernatorial candidate Kinky Friedman's spokesperson Laura Stromberg, Friedman also would veto such legislation. Gov. Rick Perry's (R) spokesperson, Robert Black, said that the governor supports efforts that "preserve the sanctity of life," but added that it is "hard to comment on a specific bill that hasn't even been written." He added, "The governor would certainly want to see the bill." Independent gubernatorial candidate Carole Keeton Strayhorn -- who opposes abortion except in instances of rape, incest or to protect the life of the mother -- did not comment (AP/Sherman Denison Herald Democrat, 9/1).
  

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