NEWS: Gov’t Regs Not the Place for Women’s Health Decisions

CONTACT:Mark Gnadt (907) 465-3842 www.akhouse.org

 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 13, 2013

Gov’t Regs Not the Place to Make Women’s Health Decisions

Democratic legislators stand up against bureaucratic intrusion into women’s health decisions

ANCHORAGE – Today, House democratic legislators Beth Kerttula, Harriet Drummond and Geran Tarr spoke out against the governor’s bureaucratic intrusion into Alaska women’s personal health decisions. The Parnell administration recently announced it was bypassing the legislative process and applying language designed to restrict access to abortions through regulations.

“Government should not be involved in these decisions, period,” said Kerttula (D-Juneau), the House democratic leader. “We in Alaska have a strong belief in, and a constitutional right to, privacy, and we don’t want government’s hands involved in personal decisions about our bodies.”

“These decisions should be made by a woman in consultation with her doctor, her family, and her faith,” said Drummond (D-Anchorage). “No government bureaucrat in a cubicle should be able to take that choice away from poor women or any other woman.”

“In my 15 years of experience working with Alaska women on reproductive health issues, I know these situations are often complicated and the decisions are always best made between a health provider and the patient,” said Tarr (D-Anchorage). “My concern is that with these regulatory changes, Alaska women may not have another safe alternative.”

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