TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs vetoed Senate Bill (SB) 1600 Thursday, a bill put forth in the state legislature that would require hospitals to report all abortions performed to the Department of Health Services.
The text of SB 1600 states:
"A hospital or facility in this state where abortions are performed must submit to the department of health services on a form prescribed by the department a report of each abortion performed in the hospital or facility."
The proposed law would have required demographic information about the woman receiving abortion services, such as her age, educational background, county of residence, marital status and number of prior pregnancies—though the bill also states "the report shall not identify the individual patient by name or include any other information or identifier that would make it possible to identify" her.
READ THE FULL TEXT OF THE PROPOSED LEGISLATION
In a letter addressed to State Senate President Warren Peterson, Hobbs referred to her campaign promise to "veto any bill that interferes with the reproductive rights of Arizonans."
"The bill is uniformly opposed by the medical community, and interferes with the relationship between a patient and doctor," Hobbs writes. "It's simply not the state's role to make such difficult medical decisions for patients."
CEO of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona Brittany Fonteno commented on Hobbs' veto, calling the proposed law "part of a coordinated effort to undermine the bodily autonomy of pregnant people and exploit the spectrum of the abortion experience for political and cultural gain."
Current Arizona law does allow abortions performed up through 15 weeks of pregnancy.
The second section of SB 1600 addresses instances in which 'an infant is born alive, including during the course of an abortion,' stating that in such cases the infant would be required to be treated as a legal person.
Legislation with similar language—the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act—is currently working its way through the Senate at the national level, after having passed in the House.
Though opponents argue redundancy when it comes to such 'born alive' protections, supporters say it's a necessary step to protecting newborns.
Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Denise Burke says had it passed, the bill would have provided legal protection and ensured medical care for "children who survive abortions."
"Gov. Hobbs has made it clear: She would rather cater to the abortion industry than affirm the basic human rights of vulnerable children," Burke says. "Her failure to protect the lives of children once they are outside of the womb is unthinkable and inexcusable."
For the other side of the debate, SB 1600 opponents applaud Hobbs in a move they say protects doctors and patients:
"Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona will not stand by while anti-abortion politicians threaten doctors for doing their job and shame patients who need access to reproductive health care throughout their pregnancies,” Fonteno said.
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Anne Simmons is the digital executive producer for KGUN 9. Anne got her start in television while still a student at the University of Arizona. Before joining KGUN, she managed multiple public access television stations in the Bay Area and has worked as a video producer in the non-profit sector. Share your story ideas and important issues with Anne by emailing anne.simmons@kgun9.com or by connecting on Instagram, Twitter or LinkedIn.
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Bivian Contreras is a real-time editor for KGUN 9. Bivian graduated from the University of Arizona School of Journalism with a Bachelor's degree in Journalism with an emphasis in Broadcast and is currently pursuing a degree in Broadcast Operational Meteorology. Share your story ideas and important issues with Bivian by emailing bivian.contreras@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
