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State Legislatures OK More Pro-life Bills
BY TOM STRODE ©2011 Baptist Press
State legislators continue to send pro-life bills to supportive governors for their signatures.
Measures restricting abortion are awaiting endorsement from the governors of Florida, Kansas, and Texas. All the governors--Florida's Rick Scott, Kansas' Sam Brownback, and Texas' Rick Perry--are expected to sign the bills, and all are Republicans.
The actions add to a variety of pro-life measures already signed into law in this year's state legislative sessions.
The Florida legislature passed five pro-life bills in the late days of its session -- four Scott is expected to sign and one that voters will consider. The measures sent to Scott will, according to a May 9 article by the Florida Baptist Witness:
-- mandate ultrasounds for women seeking abortions in their first trimester, although they can decline to view the sonogram images or hear descriptions of their unborn children.
-- prohibit insurance coverage of abortions in a future state exchange established by last year's federal health-care reform law.
-- toughen limitations on underage girls seeking judicial bypasses for abortions without their parents being notified.
-- change the method of dispersing funds gained from the sale of Choose Life license plates.