ARIZONA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES SECOND REGULAR SESSION - 1998

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__X__ For Committee on GOVERNMENT REFORM AND STATES' RIGHTS

_____ For Committee on ______________________________________

_____ For Caucus and COW

_____ As Passed the House

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Bill Summary for HB 2670 abortion; viable unborn child; definition Sponsors: Brimhall, Johnson, Aguirre, et al.

Current law requires physicians performing abortions to explain to the mother of an unborn child the consequences of having an abortion, choosing the best available method or technique to preserve the unborn child's life and to have another physician assist in preserving the life of an unborn child.

HB 2670 replaces the term fetus with viable unborn child and defines viable unborn child as a child that has attained a gestational age of twenty weeks or in an attending physician's opinion the unborn child can be sustained outside the uterus with or without artificial support.

The bill provides an alternate amendment if the provisions of the bill are found to be unconstitutional. The alternate amendment renames fetus as unborn child.

The bill specifies that the proposed changes to statute shall in no way affect the current void statutes on prohibiting abortions and be repealed when the current void statutes prohibiting abortions becomes enforceable under federal law.

The bill will not hold a mother of a viable unborn child liable to criminal or civil penalties if an abortion is performed in violation of current law.

Prepared by: Debbie Mosbacher, Michael Iannini

hb2670.grs 2/13/98 bh

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