- A bill proposed by an Arizona lawmaker would charge a person who had an abortion and his doctor with homicide.
- A similar bill proposed in Mississippi also targets abortion providers with criminal penalties.
- Republicans in several state legislatures in the United States have proposed bills to limit access to abortion.
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Republican Party lawmakers across the U.S. are eyeing new restrictions on abortion in the new year, with the toughest proposals aimed at criminalizing women who have abortions and doctors who perform the procedure.
An Arizona bill proposed by Congressman Walt Blackman, a Republican who represents Snowflake, would change Arizona law to add “an unborn child in the womb at any stage of development” as a person, allowing prosecutors to prosecute both women who make a abortion with “abortion homicide,” according to a Central Arizona report.
Blackman had previously held firm anti-abortion views, saying in August that people who are pro-choice must “spend some time in our Arizona penal system,” according to the report. Under the proposal, women and their doctors could be charged with first-degree murder, a charge that carries the possibility of the death penalty.
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The bill comes at a time when several states are considering anti-choice proposals that would further burden women seeking abortion. An Ohio law, signed by Republican Governor Mike DeWine at the end of last year, required that fetal tissue be buried or cremated after an abortion.
In Indiana, a law signed by then Gov. Mike Pence finally came into force after a four-year legal battle against Planned Parenthood, the Tribune-Star reported. The law requires the mother to receive an ultrasound 18 hours before the abortion, which advocates have argued that this represents an undue burden on the person seeking abortion.
A Mississippi bill, also proposed by a Republican state legislator last week, would similarly accuse women and a medical service provider who perform abortions with intentional homicide. As reported by WREG, the state of Mississippi currently has only one abortion provider, located in the city of Jackson.
Under the Mississippi proposal, made by Republican state deputy Dan Eubanks, an abortion provider would face a fine of up to $ 25,000 and could spend up to 10 years in prison for performing the procedure.
Republican lawmakers in New Hampshire have also made attempts to limit access to abortion in the state. A bill, proposed by Republican MP Beth Folsom, would ban abortion after 24 weeks of gestation. Another bill, proposed by Republican Representative Walter Stapleton, would prohibit abortion “to end the life of a viable fetus,” as the Concord Monitor reported.
South Carolina Republicans have also proposed legislation to limit abortion, proposing a bill that would stop abortion as soon as a fetal heartbeat is detected, an effort often called a “heartbeat bill.” South Carolina’s proposal does not include exceptions for pregnancies caused by rape or incest, according to the state.
Republicans in the Kansas House of Representatives last week took steps to amend the state constitution as part of their effort to overturn a 2019 state supreme court ruling that found the Kansas constitution granted women the right to abortion, reported the Kansas City Star.