Utah Governor Signs Bill Requiring Abortion Anesthesia
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - The governor of Utah 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 proposal is based on the disputed premise that a fetus can feel pain at that point.
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.
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Twelve states ban abortions after around 20 weeks of gestation, while a handful of other states give women the option of having anesthesia.
The plan by Sen. Curt Bramble, R-Provo, is meant to target 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.
Laura Bunker of the conservative group United Families International said if there is any chance a fetus feels pan at 20 weeks, doctors should do everything possible to make sure they are comfortable.
Bramble's plan 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.
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.
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