Abortion issues draw state-level attention

As Congress considers legislation to eliminate Planned Parenthood funding, state legislatures are also considering measures related to abortion issues.

The Hill: Efforts To Limit Abortion Flare Up In The States
States have been moving full speed ahead with efforts to curtail abortion rights even as the House's decision to eliminate funding for family planning and Planned Parenthood garnered national headlines last week. According to Americans United for Life, lawmakers in Delaware and Georgia plan to introduce legislation this week that would require abortion clinics to be licensed and inspected regularly by state officials. ... Oklahoma is "already moving on similar legislation," according to AUL. Abortion-rights advocates, however, say the legislation seeks to make abortion in effect illegal by imposing insurmountable hurdles, such as requiring screening for a broad array of risk factors. In addition, the legislatures in four states — North Dakota, Iowa, Texas and Oklahoma — are debating legislation declaring that unborn children are persons who deserve legal protection (Pecquet, 2/23).

The Texas Tribune: Lawmakers Hear Graphic Abortion Sonogram Testimony
House lawmakers had their first chance to weigh in on the controversial abortion sonogram bill today in a State Affairs committee hearing — and they didn't mince words. ... Last week, the Senate voted 21-10 to pass legislation requiring a doctor to perform a sonogram at least two hours before a woman has an abortion. ... The versions of the bill under consideration in the House are at this point more stringent; they require the sonogram to take place at least 24 hours ahead of the abortion (Aaronson, 2/23).