Indiana – SB 371: Women must now be given ultrasounds before getting abortions in Indiana, under a new law signed by Republican Gov. Mike Pence on May 1. Any health care provider that prescribes abortion pills must now abide by the same regulations as medical abortion clinics, and the secretary of state’s office must now draft a new set of regulations for sanitation standards, staff qualifications, necessary emergency equipment and other requirements for clinics.Medication abortions can no longer be prescribed via telemedicine consultations: Abortion doctors or nurses must meet with women in person and discuss the health risks of taking an abortion pill.
Kansas – HB 2253:Under what’s known as a “sex-selection abortion ban,” Kansas now bans doctors from performing an abortion if they know it’s being sought because of the fetus’ sex.Signed in April by Gov. Sam Brownback, a Republican, the new law also requires abortion doctors to tell their patients that after 20 weeks, a fetus can feel pain and that “the abortion will terminate the life of a whole, separate, unique, living human being,” as the bill puts it. Doctors also must warn women that having abortions puts them at greater risk of breast cancer – a point that’s up for debate. The National Cancer Institute writes, on a Web pageabout such a potential risk, that “[N]ewer studies consistently showed no association between induced and spontaneous abortions and breast cancer risk.” Kansas abortion providers are also banned from participating in public-school sex education.In 2014, the law will block some tax breaks that abortion clinics enjoy as health care providers and prevent women from deducting abortion expenses from their state income taxes, the Associated Press reported.
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