Abortion: Arizona women could face questions about rape, abuse

Women who receive an abortion in Arizona could soon face a more detailed line of questioning about why they want to end their pregnancy.

The Arizona House of Representatives voted Monday to amend a controversial abortion bill that would require doctors to ask their patients for a specific reason for having the procedure.

It was an unexpected twist after Republican lawmakers had earlier voted to water down the patient-question portion of Senate Bill 1394.

The bill would now make doctors ask women if their abortion is a result of sexual assault or because they are victims of sex trafficking or domestic violence.

Doctors would report that information to the state, without using patient names.

If a woman says her abortion is due to assault, incest, coercion, human trafficking or domestic violence, the bill would require the abortion clinic to notify her about how to contact law enforcement.

SB 1394 is now likely one step — a final vote in the Senate — from Gov. Doug Ducey's desk.

RELATED: Arizona ranked most 'pro-life' state in U.S. by anti-abortion group

Supporters: Bill will help women

Rep. Eddie Farnsworth, R-Gilbert, pushed the floor amendment, saying the additional questions are intended to help victims of assault or trafficking who are coerced into having an abortion.

“This will help us identify those women who are being trafficked," Farnsworth said. “This may be the only opportunity they have to answer the question of whether they are being coerced."

But the Arizona Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic Violence opposes the bill.

Jason Vail Cruz, the coalition's sexual violence policy coordinator, said the group worries forcing victims to disclose an assault when they haven't chosen to do so could be retraumatizing.

Vail Cruz said if the state is really concerned about trafficking victims, it could fund rape crisis centers. He said doctors who perform abortions might not be trained to deal with a patient's emotional needs.

"It really adds another layer of trauma to a situation that’s already fraught with a lot of stigma and nerves," he said. “This is just an overreach."

Farnsworth and other supporters also have said the data it would require doctors to gather and report to the state could help improve women's health services.

The bill passed 35-22, along party lines with Republicans in support.

Democrats and other critics of SB 1394 said the real purpose of the measure — which an anti-abortion advocacy group helped write — is to scare and shame women who seek the procedure.

'None of the government's business'

"It’s none of the government’s business why a women is getting an abortion," said. Rep. Athena Salman, D-Tempe. "This bill would intimidate patients, intimidate women who are seeking abortion services."

The bill also is opposed by a host of medical organizations, including the Arizona chapters of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and American Academy of Pediatrics.

Lawmakers who voted against the bill said if Republicans want to stop unplanned pregnancies, they should increase access to birth control and sex education.

Jodi Liggett, vice president of external affairs for Planned Parenthood Arizona, said the bill isn't about helping women. She called Republicans' move to remove and then reintroduce the detailed 'why' question for patients a "bait and switch."

"Doctors do not what to interrogate their patients," Liggett said. "Let's get in front of this issue. Birth control is what prevents unplanned pregnancies. Period. Full stop."

Current state law vs. proposed changes

Under state law, doctors already must ask if an abortion is elective or due to a maternal or fetal medical concern. They report that information to the Arizona Department of Health Services.

SB 1394 would expand that by requiring doctors to ask women for a more specific reason why they want to end a pregnancy. Doctors must select at least one reason from a list of 10 potential answers, including that the "abortion is elective" or the "woman declined to answer."

Originally, SB 1394 listed "economic reasons" and "extramarital affairs" as other potential reasons for a doctor to report, but those were removed by an earlier amendment Farnsworth brought.

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Rep. Regina Cobb, R-Kingman, said while she had concerns about the original bill, the amended language will allow the state Health Department to get data about complications like birth defects.

“As the bill stands, I do not feel that this is an anti-abortion bill," Cobb said. "It gives us data that we have not been able to gather before."

The bill would also require doctors and clinics to report more specific information about any medical complications from an abortion, which they already must report to the state.

Medical groups and abortion providers, however, say the requirements are unnecessary and intended to burden clinics.

Serious complications from abortion are rare: In 2016, 13,170 Arizona women received abortions in the state; 33 of them experienced complications, according to the state Health Department.



