‘Junk Science’: Abortion rights advocates slam passage of Arizona anti-abortion bill

‘Junk Science’: Abortion rights advocates slam passage of Arizona anti-abortion bill

Democrats slammed a requirement in the bill that women be informed of a way to reverse the abortion pill as "quack medicine."

Arizona lawmakers have approved a bill that would block women from buying insurance that includes abortion coverage through the federal health care exchange and require doctors to tell women about a controversial medical procedure to reverse an abortion, a move that abortion-rights supporters say is a blatant attempt at curbing women’s rights based on a non-issue.

The bill would further require that doctors inform women of the possibility of reversing the effects of an abortion that has been brought on by drugs, something that critics are calling “junk science” according to a Reuters report.

The Republican-controlled Arizona Senate passed the bill by an 18-11 vote, with two Democrats joining them, and the House approved it by a vote of 33-24, Now it goes to the desk of Arizona Republican Governor Doug Ducey, who hasn’t indicated what he will do but is known to be anti-abortion.

Supporters are arguing that the bill would keep taxpayers money from being used for abortions, except in cases of incest, rape, or life-saving situations. Opponents, on the other hand, called the law an overreach, as there was no proof that government money had been used for elective procedures.

However, the more heated debate came from a requirement in the bill that patients be told that the effects of abortion pills can be undone, something that Senate Minority Leader Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, called “junk science” and “quack medicine,” arguing that there was no evidence that giving high doses of hormone to a patient to reverse an abortion is a valid medical procedure, according to the Reuters report.

The Center for Arizona Policy, a conservative advocacy group, hailed the decision as a “great day for women in Arizona who are considering getting an abortion to get all the facts they need and a great day for Arizona taxpayers,” according to the report.

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