The Arkansas House approved a measure Monday that would require a doctor to be present when medication abortions are administered.
House Bill 1076, sponsored by Rep. Julie Mayberry, R-Hensley, passed 83-4, with six members voting present and several others not casting a vote. The measure had support from both Democrats and Republicans; Mayberry billed it as legislation that all lawmakers could get behind.
"This is a bill that I think no matter what side of the abortion debate you are on, you can feel good about voting [for]," she said. "If you are pro-life like myself, you can feel good about this bill because this stops a certain type of abortion procedure from taking place in the state of Arkansas that does not currently exist.
"If you are on the other side of the abortion debate, you too can feel good about this bill because the argument has always been you want to make it legal and safe. This bill keeps chemical abortion legal ... and it also makes it safer," she added.
Telemedicine, where a doctor sees a patient through a closed-circuit camera system, is not currently used during medication-induced abortions in Arkansas. HB1076 would prevent the Telemedicine procedure from being used in the state.
Mayberry said that abortions induced usually using mifepristone, also known as RU-486, can have side effects, including bleeding and more serious issues. She said that in researching the bill, she found statistics that about 5 percent of women who have medication-induced abortions need to have surgical abortions later because the medication was ineffective.
In addition to requiring that a physician be in the room during the procedure, the bill requires that the doctors make "every reasonable effort" to see the women between 12 and 18 days after the procedure for a follow-up examination. The bill also notes that medical providers who violate the rules could be sued by the mother or the father of the embryo.
Rep. Deborah Ferguson, D-West Memphis, spoke for the bill. She said her husband is a physician and that she believed that the measure would make medication-induced abortions, often called chemical abortions, safer by requiring that a physician be in the room during the procedure.
"Most of you may be surprised that I'm speaking for an abortion bill because I am for a woman's right to choose, but, as she said, we want abortions to be safe, legal and rare," Ferguson said. "And I do think this bill properly addresses a safety issue."
No one spoke against the bill, but Rep. John Walker, D-Little Rock, asked some pointed questions about the possible side effect of limiting access for poor, rural residents of the state.
"What are the corresponding benefits to the people who may not be able to afford the medical procedures which Miss Mayberry may wish to prevent them?" he asked. "What about those people who cannot afford to leave their residences because of poverty who might not be able to get to a metropolitan area? Or live in an area, say, of this state, where there may not be a hospital?"
Ferguson said standards of less-safe or less-qualified care in rural areas set up a double standard that affects poor and rural patients.
The measure will now go to the Senate Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee, where its Senate companion bill, SB53 sponsored by Sen. Missy Irvin, R-Mountain View, has been sitting on the agenda.
The measure is the first bill by abortion opponents filed during the 90th General Assembly, two years after the Arkansas Legislature passed two of the strictest abortion bans in the country, one prohibiting most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, the other barring most abortions after 12 weeks.
The 12-week ban is being challenged in federal appeals court.
Other abortion measures are expected to be introduced this session, but as of late Monday no other bills had been filed.
The House also approved a handful of other measures Monday, including "Andi's Law," a measure by Rep. Rebecca Petty, R-Rogers, that would give the family of a murder victim more access to the execution of their loved one's killer.
Petty named HB1012 after her daughter, Andi Brewer, who was kidnapped and murdered in 1999 by an uncle, Karl Roberts. Roberts is on death row but has gone to court to block the execution.
The measure passed 95-0 Monday with two members voting present. Several lawmakers spoke in favor of the bill and in support of their colleague.
"Rep. Petty has worked on this a long time. There have been a lot of issues in getting to this point," said Rep. Nate Bell, R-Mena. "She has encountered what is nothing less than obstructionism for a number of years in order to get to this point. Today, let's have her back and pass this bill."
The House also passed the first measure to clarify constitutional Amendment 94, which extended term limits for state lawmakers, prohibited lobbyists from giving certain gifts to state elected officials and banned direct corporate contributions to candidates.
HB1002, sponsored by Rep. Warwick Sabin, D-Little Rock, would formally give the Ethics Commission the power to issue advisory opinions and investigate complaints involving the new rules created by the ethics changes established by Amendment 94.
The House also approved HB1005, a bill that amends state law concerning county property exchanges to allow community colleges or institutions of higher education to also transfer or exchange property with counties, and to exempt those transactions from the state's procurement laws.
HB1073, approved Monday by the House, would extend the assessment period for local personal property taxes if the deadline falls on a holiday or weekend.
The House also approved HB1178, which gives a sales and use tax exemption for a lessee of an intermodal transportation authority under certain circumstances.
Representatives also approved two resolutions Monday, including a resolution to encourage Arkansas' congressional delegation to seek an extension of the Commodity Credit Corp.'s loan repayments for farmers who marketed their grain through the now bankrupt Turner Grain Merchandising Inc., which shut down in August.
The body also approved a resolution to support continued collaboration among health care providers, law enforcement, educators and others in fighting the abuse of prescription drugs in Arkansas.
All of the measures approved by the House on Monday will head to Senate committees or to the Senate floor before final approval. The Senate did not take any floor votes Monday.
Information for this article was contributed by Spencer Willems of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Metro on 02/03/2015