SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The governor signed a bill Monday that makes Utah the first state to require doctors to give anesthesia to women having an abortion at 20 weeks of pregnancy or later.
The bill signed by Republican Gov. Gary Herbert is based on the disputed premise that a fetus can feel pain at that point.
“The governor is adamantly pro-life. He believes in not only erring on the side of life, but also minimizing any pain that may be caused to an unborn child,” Herbert spokesman Jon Cox said.
Many doctors in Utah and across the country are concerned that the requirement could increase the health risks to women by giving them unnecessary heavy sedation in order to protect a fetus from pain that it may or may not feel.
Dr. Sean Esplin of Intermountain Healthcare in Utah said anesthesia or an analgesic would need to go through the woman in order to reach the fetus. Doctors could give a woman general anesthesia, which would make her unconscious and likely require a breathing tube, or a heavy dose of narcotics.
No other U.S. state has passed this same law, said Elizabeth Nash, a policy analyst at the abortion-rights nonprofit Guttmacher Institute. Montana lawmakers passed a similar law in 2015 requiring fetal anesthesia before surgeries, including abortions, performed after 20 or more weeks of gestation, but its Democratic governor vetoed the measure.
Twelve states ban abortions after around 20 weeks of gestation, while a handful of other states give women the option of having anesthesia.
Previous Utah law gave women the choice to have anesthesia during an abortion.
The new law by Sen. Curt Bramble, R-Provo, targets a small subset of women who have elective abortions beginning at 20 weeks. State law normally allows abortions until viability, which is at about 22 weeks.
But it could affect women in many other medical situations.
Utah law defines abortions in part as “the intentional termination or attempted termination of human pregnancy after implantation of a fertilized ovum through a medical procedure carried out by a physician or through a substance used under the direction of a physician.”
David Turok of the University of Utah’s obstetrics and gynecology department said that could apply to instances in which a woman is past her due date so the doctor induces labor or there’s a problem with the pregnancy, such as pre-eclampsia, so it’s safer to deliver the baby early. These common procedures could now require general anesthesia, he said.
“You never give those medicines if you don’t have to,” Turok said.
Laura Bunker of the conservative group United Families International said if there is any chance a fetus feels pain at 20 weeks, doctors should do everything possible to make sure they are comfortable.
The new law would not apply to women who must have an abortion because their life is at risk or the fetus will not survive outside the womb.
Utah Medical Association CEO Michelle McOmber said her organization feels neutral toward the legislation. The association convinced Bramble to change its language from saying a fetus “is capable of experiencing pain,” to it “may be capable of experiencing pain.” She said the association would have preferred that the proposal stated it is inconclusive whether or not the fetus feels pain.
Bramble initially sought to ban abortions after 20 weeks entirely, but he changed course after the Legislature’s attorneys warned him that any such measure would likely be unconstitutional.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
oh good… add another complication for a problem that isn’t a problem that will eventually cause a problem…
from Wikipedia but I’m sure there are other sources that will support this…
"The incidence of life-threatening hypersensitivity reactions occurring during surgery and anaesthesia is around one in 10,000 procedures. Serious allergic reactions to anesthetic medications are rare and a usually attributable to factors other than the anesthetic. Neuromuscular blocking agents, natural rubber latex, and antibiotics are the most common causes of serious allergic reactions during surgery.[1] The mortality rate from these reactions is about 3–6%.
Successful immediate treatment requires prompt recognition by the attending anaesthetist, or in the US, the attending anesthesiologist or nurse anesthetist. Adrenaline (epinephrine) remains the mainstay of treatment, with corticosteroids and antihistamines providing limited benefit in the acute situation.
Subsequent investigation aims to determine the responsible agent to allow its future avoidance. Skin testing is often useful to identify potentially cross-reactive compounds and appropriate therapeutic alternatives. This is done weeks after the initial reaction to allow the immune system to reset itself. However, skin testing can be misleading in giving false positive and false negative results."
and when the inevitable happens it’ll be served up as ‘proof’ that abortion procedure have become unsafe…
So its threatening the lives of the mothers, that’s not the concern of the forced pregnancy crowd. I don’t even think they’re concerned with the life of the unborn child, they’re for sure not concerned once the child is born. Its really all about punishing women, isn’t it.
That’s the point. They are laying the ground work to introduce a Texas style bill requiring stricter standards and facilities to places providing abortion services in order to drive them out of business.
And in freaking Utah. This is a place where if you don’t have 5 kids by the time you are 20 everyone thinks you are gay.
Lots of things make me mad about this but this especially. How stupid do you have to be to waste everyone’s time on something that has been shown again and again? I get that some people don’t like it and wish it was different but to not even realize it before submitting your bill to the attorneys shows a general cluelessness that should disqualify you from having anything to do with creating or interpreting law. This is true even if he just said that as an act.
I wish we could create an isolated refuge for idiots like this where they can live without the women and government they obviously loathe so mature America can move on. Strangely, though, I have a sense that’s unconstitutional without having to get attorneys involved.
“I respect life sooooo’ much that I would kill someone to protect a fertilized egg!”
Republican logic 101:
Birth control?____BAN IT!
Abortion?_______BAN IT!
Gay marriage?___BAN IT
Guns?_________Look! Banning things is stupid and never works. People will always find a way to get them.