Arizona Senate Gives Initial Approval to Abortion Provider Funding Bill

The Republican-controlled Arizona House has scheduled votes on three bills already passed by the Senate that target abortion or abortion providers.

Senate Bill 1324 bars doctors from prescribing a common abortion drug after seven weeks of pregnancy and requires it to be taken only in FDA-approved doses. Most abortions using RU-486 are now done at much lower doses. Courts blocked a similar 2012 law.

The Arizona House has passed a bill Planned Parenthood Arizona says is designed to make it easier to cut it off from Medicaid funding.

House Bill 2599 passed Wednesday on a 35-24 party-line vote without discussion with only Republicans in support. It now heads to the Senate.

The bill allows the state to cut off funding and revoke licenses for providers that fail to segregate taxpayer money from funds used to provide abortions. They also could lose funding if they violated medical waste rules or submitted a claim for procedures associated with an abortion.

Arizona's attorney general, Mark Brnovich, won't enforce a disputed section of a new law requiring abortion providers to tell women they can reverse drug-induced abortions until the matter can be sorted in court.

The decision made public Tuesday comes as the state prepares to defend itself in a lawsuit filed by abortion providers.

Critics have said there's no science that shows drug-induced abortions can be reversed, and abortion providers argue it's unconstitutional to require doctors to say something that goes against their medical judgment.

The Arizona Legislature has passed a bill that requires abortion providers to tell women the effects of an abortion medication might be reversible.