Ariz., Iowa Republicans tweak abortion, contraception bills

GOP legislators have backed down from some of the anti-abortion and anti-contraception coverage measures they wanted.

The Associated Press/Arizona Republic: Brewer Now 'More Favorable' On Contraception Bill
Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer says a contraception coverage bill now on her desk was improved in the time since she voiced reservations about an earlier version ... As passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature, the bill would generally allow employers formally identifying themselves as religiously oriented organizations to opt out of the state's decade-old requirement that health plans generally cover contraception. ... The bill originally would have let any employer opt out of providing health plan coverage of contraception for birth control (Davenport, 5/9).

Des Moines Register: Abortion Restrictions Removed To Let DHS Bill Pass
[I]n the end, Republicans agreed to drop the abortion language, which would have eliminated state funding to abort pregnancies resulting from rape or incest and perhaps limited state funding for Planned Parenthood, the women's health organization whose services include abortion (Noble, 5/9).

The Texas Tribune: Video: Texas Vs. Planned Parenthood
In part two of "Fertile Ground," our occasional series on the battle over family planning, we go to West Texas to look at a fight that has centered on Planned Parenthood (Tan, 5/10).