The Arizona Legislature is at it again. Just in case Arizona state laws aren’t intrusive enough, state Sen. Nancy Barto has introduced SB 1394, a bill that would require doctors to ask patients why they are seeking an abortion. SB 1394 would add to Arizona’s already robust reporting requirements, bordering on harassment.
SB 1394 will be heard at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, February 14, by the Senate Health and Human Services Committee.
Arizona already requires people seeking abortions to disclose all kinds of personal information, including age; race; ethnicity; marital status; educational background; and number of prior pregnancies, miscarriages, and abortions. SB 1394 inserts the government even deeper into the doctor-patient relationship with questions that are much more intrusive, such as:
- Can the patient afford a child?
- Does the patient not want children?
- Was the patient raped?
- Is the pregnancy a result of incest?
- Did the patient or the sexual partner have an extramarital affair?
- Was the patient abused by the would-be father?
SB 1394 would require doctors to report the answers of the survey to the Arizona Department of Health Services. Continue reading