Attention Arizona!

ACT NOW: Two anti-choice bills will be voted on in the Arizona House of Representatives TOMORROW! We just found out that HB2416 AND HB2384 will be voted on byHouse Committee of the Whole (COW) tomorrow.  Usually, bills are approved in the COW and then scheduled for a final vote (Third Read) at least a few days later.  Last Monday, another anti-choice bill we are tracking (HB2443 – Gender and Race-Based Abortion Prohibition - see how YOUR legislator voted by clicking here) was voted on in COW and then IMMEDIATELY voted on in Third Read without notice to the public.  There was no time to make our voices heard to our legislators on this issue.  Which is exactly what opponents of choice want.  So this week we are alerting you that two more bills will be voted on in the House COW, and could possibly go to a final, third read, vote immediately afterward without government transparency, so that you get a chance this time to make your voice heard.  We will NOT let them silence us this time.  Please TAKE ACTION on BOTH of the items below: Click here to TAKE ACTION on HB2416. Click here to TAKE ACTION on HB2384. Here is some background information on these two bills: House Bill 2416 – Deny Access to Early Abortion Planned Parenthood believes that women must be provided with the best possible care to ensure they are able to make well-informed decisions. HB2416 does nothing to ensure that.  Instead, HB2416: Redefines taking the abortion pill as “surgery” and therefore the definition of abortionfor the purposes of determining which healthcare facilities must be licensed as abortion clinics, and the rules governing those clinics. Requires the appointment of guardians ad litem for every minor asking a judge to waive the parental consent requirement for abortion adding additional burdens and delays to the process. Introduces an entirely new regulatory burden regarding informed consent having to do with ultrasound. Legislators are now micromanaging medical standards and guidelines. Bans providing abortion by pill through audio or video communications (Telemedicine). These extravagant over-regulations will result in the majority of Arizona’s current abortion providers becoming ineligible to provide care and complete loss of availability to early abortion care for rural women across our state. Planned Parenthood Arizona believes that this bill intrudes upon a patient's privacy, endangers her health and assaults her dignity. It dangerously discounts a woman's abilities to make informed decisions about her own health. This bill fails to address the root problems of unplanned pregnancy and will do nothing to reduce the actual number of abortions. House Bill 2384 - Tax Credit Discrimination HB2384 would limit organizational eligibility for the Arizona Working Poor Tax Credit on the basis of providing, referring to, promoting, paying for, or providing coverage for abortions. This bill specifically targets Planned Parenthood as an organization and is discriminatory because Planned Parenthood is the only abortion provider that is a qualifying organization. This bill is not only designed to prevent PPAZ from continuing to qualify as a charitable organization, but is essentially gagging all other charitable organizations from referring their clients to us for care. ANY organization that serves the working poor that provides, funds, refers, or offers insurance coverage for abortion cannot qualify for the credit under this bill. By taking away these tax credit donations, this bill will only reduce access to essential safety net preventive care that Planned Parenthood provides, such as well-woman exams, breast cancer screenings, and cervical cancer screenings, since none of this money is used to fund abortion. Abortion accounts for less than 10% of the services provided by Planned Parenthood Arizona. We believe that the women and families of Arizona should not lose access to the life-saving, preventive care that Planned Parenthood provides because of this politically-motivated bill. Please TAKE ACTION TODAY and tell YOUR Representative to VOTE NO on HB2416 AND HB2384, and forward this alert to your pro-choice friends! Thank you for your support of Planned Parenthood and the thousands we serve.