June 06, 2002
Thursday - 12:05 am

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Saying it is unconstitutional and arbitrarily limits poor women's access to medically necessary abortions, Gov. Tony Knowles on Wednesday vetoed Senate Bill 364. Present to support the veto were members of the medical community who were offended by the bill's intrusion into the doctor-patient relationship and into the practice of medicine. Also present were women's reproductive rights and civil rights advocates, who recognized this bill as a violation of a recent Alaska Supreme Court decision regarding equal protection of poor women.

"This bill is the most recent attempt by the Alaska Legislature to override court decisions and deny women their constitutionally protected right to safe, legal abortions," said Knowles in his letter vetoing the bill. "I must, once again, cry foul at this unconstitutional effort." Specifically, the bill was likely to be found unconstitutional because it:

• Selectively denies payment for medically necessary treatment to Medicaid eligible women;
• Fails to use neutral criteria in establishing the standards for paying for abortions; and
• Creates differential treatment for payment for services under Medicaid provided to pregnant women who do not meet the strict limitations set out in the statute.

More than two dozen Alaska physicians thanked the Governor for vetoing the bill, arguing that it used vague and non-medical terms to limit a physician's ability to determine whether an abortion is medically necessary for the health and life of a woman. Some women for whom abortion is a medical necessity would have been denied their right to treatment under the bill, simply because the doctor could not state with certainty that the woman's health would be seriously endangered without the procedure.

"This bill, as written, would endanger the lives of many Alaska women," said Dr. Jan Whitefield. "Medicine rarely deals in absolutes, but deals with possibilities or probabilities. It is highly likely that a pregnancy may represent a life-threatening situation to some women. By requiring absolute certainty that a women's life would be jeopardized, this bill has the chilling effect of discouraging the performance of an abortion even if it is highly likely that the life of the women will be jeopardized without the procedure. This places physicians and patients in an impossible position."

"The very sensitive and personal decision to have an abortion should be made between a woman and her doctor," said Knowles as he vetoed the bill. "Our state constitution clearly protects that right. Legislators and bureaucrats have no place in the decision."

The bill encountered a storm of controversy as it moved through the Legislature, inspiring passionate and conscientious objections from both majority and minority legislators. Rep. Andrew Halcro (R-Anch) and Rep. Lisa Murkowski (R-Anch) were among many who rose to speak in opposition to the bill.

Source of News Release & Photo:

Office of the Governor
Web Site

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