Protect Life and Parental Consent!

Tomorrow the House will be voting on two bills (HB 609 and HB 819) related to contraception that includes abortion causing drugs and could threaten parental consent.  Both bills were amended by the Senate and are now back before the House for a final vote. 

HB 609 (D - Price), which originally passed the House 56 - 43, creates a presumed right to contraceptive drugs and devices that can result in an abortion, without any religious protections for doctors or prescribers.

The bill states that “[a] person shall have the right to obtain contraceptives and to engage in contraception.”  Since “person” is not limited to adults, this would presumably include minors.  The bill would also give minors the right to contraception including the “the use of sterilization procedures," the legislation would actually give minors the presumed right to sterilization procedures and undermine the parental consent law for minors to have a surgical procedure.

HB 819 (D-Mundon King), which originally passed the House 65 - 31, would require all health insurance companies to cover the cost of contraceptive drugs and devices that include abortion causing drugs.  The Senate amended the bill to also include over-the-counter contraceptives.