USA North Carolina Abortion Bill: State Senate Votes On Restrictive Measure

[Tejwant Singh]

North Carolina Abortion Bill: State Senate Votes On Restrictive Measure

The Huffington Post | By Mollie Reilly
Posted: 07/02/2013 8:12 pm EDT | Updated: 07/02/2013 8:19 pm EDT

North Carolina's state Senate voted Tuesday to pass a second reading of a measure placing tougher restrictions on abortion after Republicans in the legislature tacked the abortion regulations on to a bill targeting Sharia law.

The state Senate passed the second reading of the omnibus bill by 27-14. A final vote will be held Wednesday.

The bill, according to the News & Observer, would require abortion clinics to meet the same standards as ambulatory surgery centers. Just one clinic in the state currently meets that standard, according to staffers in the state legislature. The sweeping legislation would also place limits on health care coverage for abortion procedures, require clinics to have "transfer agreements" with hospitals, and require doctors to be present when women take RU486, the drug that induces abortions.

The bill cleared a Senate committtee earlier Tuesday. WRAL reports:

The measure was unveiled unexpectedly during an unusual late-day committee meeting Tuesday. It combines several bills in different stages of the legislative process into one omnibus measure.
...

Until 5:30 p.m., the measure on the committee's calendar only reflected a bill that dealt with the family law provisions of the bill. That measure itself was controversial when it cleared the House, with opponents fearing it could interfere with recognition of U.S. law in foreign courts.

However, almost immediately, the committee took up an amendment to the bill that dealt with abortion.

The decision to attach the abortion bill to the measure banning "foreign laws" drew fire from pro-choice advocates.

“It seems to me that they’re trying to pass under cover of darkness legislation that would not otherwise be passed,” NARAL Pro-Choice North Carolina executive director Suzanne Buckley said. “They’re trying to pull a Texas.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/02/north-carolina-abortion-bill_n_3537238.html

Some facts:

1. The GOP held majority congress has passed 38 abortion related bills according to http://www.govtrack.us/

2. Some 600 such laws have passed since 1995 in different states according to http://www.americanprogress.org/.

3. As many as 13 states have already passed or are considering the passage of bills to prohibit the application of Sharia law according to http://njjewishnews.com/- New Jersey Jewish News. Further, Mr.Abraham H. Foxman of the NJJN says-Sharia bills: bigotry by any other name.

4. The Texas anti-abortion bill, which threatened to close nearly all of the abortion clinics in the state and prompted an 11-hour filibuster by state Sen. Wendy Davis (D), is dead, The Austin American-Statesman reported. She spoke for 11 hours non stop without any bathroom breaks.

Now some questions:

1. What do the members think about the bills passed by the US Congress that will never pass the Senate?

2. What is the reason of passing these bills which have no way of becoming laws?

3. Is it the waste of public money which can be used in other what ways?

4. What is the idea behind passing Sharia laws when the US has its own solid constitution?

5. Can pro choice people be against abortion? If yes, in what ways?

6. What are your views about abortion?

7. What are you views about Sharia Law as the law of the US?

Participation from all would be appreciated.

 

[spnadmin]

Tejwant ji

You raise some really interesting points and ask interesting questions as follow-up to the article.

I am only going to tackle one question right now, though there are several there I really like, including the one about passing bills in the house that all know will not succeed at the senate. It comes across as political drama, intended to impress the voters of specific house districts, with no real purpose or intent of getting the job done, and of course if the bill loses the senate can be blamed, and all go home for the weekend without any worry about having a sense of responsibility. This happens whether the law is about abortion or capping hours for watering lawns across the state.

The question about Sharia Law is the one that is like a magnet for me. Courts in North Carolina have already rejected lawsuits intended to prevent the administration of Sharia Law in various towns. The courts dismiss the cases because it is impossible to rule on a matter if nothing has happened yet. And nothing does happen because Sharia Law has little relevance to anything that would apply to anyone other than a Muslim doing Muslim things in a Muslim setting (like a Mosque). In fact, most countries that have Sharia Law also have criminal and civil statutes that have nothing at all to do with Sharia Law. For example, Egypt follows the Napoleonic Code as does most of Europe, except in domestic law cases pertaining to divorce, custody of children, wills and estates.

There is a growing fear of Sharia Law in various parts of the US that is nothing more than rank paranoia. Those suffering from these fears do not even know what Sharia Law is about. They somehow think it will creep up on them and undermine their constitutional freedoms. If on the stray moment when a nut might get the idea to punish someone by public stoning in the city of Anapolis Maryland or Tulsa Oklahoma it just wouldn't pass muster. Religious laws cannot be substituted for protections granted by state and federal laws and the constitutions of the states and the federal government. On top of that, what situation would come up where Sharia Law might be an option? In the US, unlike some countries with large, non-immigrant Muslim populations, the village panchayat doesn't even exist. A divorce settlement supervised by a council of local elders would never come up.

The legislators who go down this paranoia path make fools of themselves. And it rings clear as a bell that they are either religious fanatics themselves or they are feeding on the fears of voters to get votes. For certain they are not providing informed leadership. All I can feel is compassion for communities who are wrapped up in ignorance and irrational fear, and pass this on to their children. Tolerance must not be an important value in their world.