HB 2269 ~Prevents Nurses from Performing Abortions

NOTE: Click the above link and you will be taken to the summary of the bill. Now, notice the title of the bill refers to Behavioral Health Copying Fees but the language of the bill has been amended to reflect the subject discussed below. This is an example of a "striker" or a bill that has been amended with a "strike-everything" amendment. The old language of the bill is stricken and the new language added.


From Cathi Herrod, President of the Center for Arizona Policy:

Two weeks ago, I told you about a nurse practitioner who has been performing surgical abortions for Planned Parenthood. For months, the Board of Nursing has been reviewing the situation but failing to take any action.

This week, the Board of Nursing again looked at the matter, and many Board members expressed doubt that a surgical abortion is within a nurse’s scope of practice. Amazingly, the Board refused to intervene, allowing this nurse to continue to perform first and second trimester surgical abortions! State law does not authorize non-doctors to perform abortions, but, according to Planned Parenthood, this has been their regular practice for the past eight years. Because the Board of Nursing continues to delay and Planned Parenthood continues to defy the obvious implications of current law, Rep. Bob Stump proposed a bill (HB 2269) specifically prohibiting nurses from performing surgical abortions. The reaction from abortion advocates has been bordering on panic, as they struggle to find doctors willing to take the lives of preborn babies. This is a huge safety issue. If something goes wrong, women need a doctor, not a nurse. Abortion advocates claim to care about women’s health but oppose a reasonable bill like this one that will protect women from having a risky surgical procedure performed by a non-doctor.

HB 2269 passed through the House Rules Committee and the party caucuses and will be debated during COW on the House floor next week.