Post by Logan on Apr 8, 2016 4:13:50 GMT -6
Under orders from lawmakers, a divided Arkansas State Medical Board voted Thursday to replace the term "fetus" with "unborn child" and "unborn human individual" in proposed regulations implementing abortion-related laws passed by the state Legislature.
The board had presented the wording governing abortion procedures for doctors in January, changing the Legislature's language to "fetus" because its members said that was an accepted medical term, while "unborn child" was not. A subcommittee of the Arkansas Legislative Council sent the proposed rules back to the board with directions to restore the original language. The board did so Thursday on a 9-4 vote.
Several panel members asked board attorney Kevin O'Dwyer if there were any options besides adopting the legislative language.
"Can the Legislature not pass a law without the need for the board to ... act on it?" asked board member Dr. Omar Atiq, who voted against the change. "There has to be a reason for 14 additional people, who are mostly physicians ... for this to come to them. If it was just the Legislature, then they could make any law they want. Why do they force 14 other people to necessarily agree with them?"
Read more: www.arkansasonline.com/news/2016/apr/08/word-fetus-out-of-abortion-rules-201604/
The board had presented the wording governing abortion procedures for doctors in January, changing the Legislature's language to "fetus" because its members said that was an accepted medical term, while "unborn child" was not. A subcommittee of the Arkansas Legislative Council sent the proposed rules back to the board with directions to restore the original language. The board did so Thursday on a 9-4 vote.
Several panel members asked board attorney Kevin O'Dwyer if there were any options besides adopting the legislative language.
"Can the Legislature not pass a law without the need for the board to ... act on it?" asked board member Dr. Omar Atiq, who voted against the change. "There has to be a reason for 14 additional people, who are mostly physicians ... for this to come to them. If it was just the Legislature, then they could make any law they want. Why do they force 14 other people to necessarily agree with them?"
Read more: www.arkansasonline.com/news/2016/apr/08/word-fetus-out-of-abortion-rules-201604/