"Today, April 4, 2008, a day
where we recall the life and
death of Dr. Martin Luther King
Jr., Janet Napolitano marked the
day by vetoing two bills passed
by the Arizona Legislature with
the overwhelming support of the
people of Arizona. One bill was
designed to insure that the
barbaric practice of
partial-birth abortion would not
happen in this state and the
other was designed to provide
additional protection to
parents' rights when a minor
child seeks an abortion."
So spoke John Jakubczyk. In
response to the news that the
Arizona Governor had vetoed
these two bills.
"Napolitano is an abortion
extremist who has vetoed every
reasonable effort by the
legislature to protect the lives
and health of women in Arizona.
The Governor's response to this
legislation shows that she
doesn't even
partially care about the
partially born children for whom
this law was designed to
protect. "
Cathi Herrod, president of the
Center for Arizona Policy had
this to say:
"We are appalled that Governor
Napolitano today vetoed
legislation to enact a state ban
on partial-birth abortion. The
Governor refuses to prohibit an
extreme procedure in which a
baby is delivered except for the
head and then killed by having
scissors stuck into its skull
and its brains sucked out. This
procedure borders on
infanticide.
"Governor Napolitano is showing
her radical pro-abortion
position and disregard for a
position held by a strong
majority of Arizonans by vetoing
this legislation that had strong
bipartisan support in the
legislature.
"Also, the Governor vetoed the
bill related to parental consent
for abortion. The bill would
have codified a court opinion
that explained what factors a
judge should look at in deciding
whether a minor was mature
enough to make the decision to
have an abortion without her
parent's permission."
Both measures were passed as a
result of the efforts of
pro-life citizens who made their
views known through thousands of
phone calls and emails, as well
as through the hard work of
pro-life legislators and
pro-life groups such as the
Arizona Catholic Conference and
the Center for Arizona Policy.
Unfortunately, Governor
Napolitano has a well-entrenched
track record of vetoing pro-life
legislation that crosses her
desk. The Arizona Partial Birth
Abortion Ban was written to
mirror the Federal Partial Birth
Abortion Ban, which was upheld
by the U. S. Supreme Court last
year. Arizona Right to Life will
continue to monitor the
Governor's actions with future
pro-life legislation and, in the
spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King
Jr., we will peacefully but
powerfully demand that all men,
women, and children be granted
equal protection and dignity
under the law.
