A total of 43 new pro-life laws went into effect in 19 states last year, making 2012 the year with the second highest number of pro-life legislation passed at the state level.
The pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute recently released the “Law Affecting Reproductive Health and Rights: 2012 State Policy Review,” which details the pro-life legislation passed in these states.
According to the report, Arizona enacted seven provisions — more than any other state — to help protect preborn children. Following Arizona are Kansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Wisconsin, which enacted three or more pro-life laws.
“Anything that we can do to encourage the reduction of abortions is a victory for women,” said Dawn McBane, bioethics analyst at CitizenLink. “The reality is that abortion is a dangerous business – not only does the preborn child die, but the women often suffer severe, life-altering physical, emotional, and psychological complications from an abortion.”
Most of the restrictions passed in 2012 focused on stopping late-term abortions and limiting coverage in health exchanges or chemical abortion. In addition to Arizona, Georgia and Louisiana enacted measures to ban late-term abortions, once the baby can feel pain.
“There is an ever-growing body of scientific evidence that demonstrates preborn children feel pain so banning abortions after 20 weeks of gestation — at which point it’s generally understood preborn babies can feel pain — is a significant development for those who seek to protect all human life,” McBane said.
Laws adopted in Louisiana and Oklahoma require abortion businesses to make the pre-born baby’s heartbeat audible to the mother prior to undergoing an abortion, the report states. Virginia passed a law requiring a woman to have an ultrasound before an abortion; the law also requires abortionists to give the woman the option of hearing the preborn baby’s heartbeat.
“Laws that allow women to see an ultrasound of their preborn baby have provided a window into the womb of the preborn child,” McBane said. “Other laws ensure that abortion sellers have hospital admitting privileges which helps to make sure they’re held to the same standard as other medical clinics.”
McBane said the passage of so many pro-life provisions is encouraging.
“For those who have been in the pro-life trenches for years, the remarkable passage of so many pro-life pieces of legislation should give great these faithful warriors much hope and encouragement.”
There were 92 pro-life laws enacted in 2011, making it a record-breaking year for pro-life legislation.
