To View the most recent action alerts, please subscribe using the form above. If you need a past action alert, please send email requests to info@grtl.org .
Action Alert Archive: (July 2004 - Sep 2007)
3/22/2006 9:24:53 AM
Legislative Alert for
March 22, 2006
ACTION NEEDED
SB 123 Receives Hearing
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
The Conscience Clause for Pharmacists (SB 123), cleared the Senate earlier this session and will have a hearing in a subcommittee of the House Judiciary Non-Civil chaired by Rep. Tom Knox on Wednesday afternoon.Authored by Senator Jim Whitehead, this legislation would protect pharmacists who refuse to dispense medication that terminates a pregnancy.The Code of Ethics already allows pharmacists to refuse, for any reason, to dispense medication.For that reason, Georgia Right to Life did not initially take a position on this issue.After further discussion with our national attorney and other interested parties, however, there is reason to believe that pharmacists may face discrimination because or their religious or moral beliefs.While it is true that Georgia is an “at will” state, religious discrimination should not be tolerated in today’s society.With their education and background, pharmacists should have the same right as doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals.Many feel this additional protection is necessary with recent firings and lawsuits in other states because pharmacists refused to dispense these drugs.
Action Needed
Call members of the Knox subcommittee to urge their support for the Conscience Clause for Pharmacists.Ask for pharmacists to have the same protection that doctors, nurse, and other health care professional already possess.
Georgia Right to Life Introduces Legislation to Protect the Mother and Child
LAWRENCEVILLE, GA, Feb. 17 -- Georgia Right to Life today announced the filing of The Ethical Treatment of Human Embryos Act in the Georgia Senate-SB 169.
It is apparent from the recent birth of octuplets to a southern California woman, that the fertility industry needs governmental oversight. This industry is one of the most lucrative medical fields and among the least regulated. In response to this need, Georgia State Senator Ralph Hudgens along with other co-sponsors in the Senate leadership have introduced legislation that will place limits on the creation and transfer of embryos produced by In vitro fertilization (IVF).
"This bill is written to help reduce the attendant harm that could come to the mother and her children through the creation and implantation of more embryos than is medically recommended by industry watchdog groups like the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology," says Daniel Becker, President of Georgia Right to Life.
"This bill would limit the number of embryos transferred in any given cycle to the same number that are fertilized, up to a maximum of three. This bill is similar to the same common-sense regulations passed in other countries such as the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy," said Becker.
Georgia Right to Life supports Sen. Hudgens in this legislation and wants to see strong protections in place to stop the dangerous practice of implanting more embryos than is medically recommended, so as to prevent the high risk of multiple gestations, premature births and babies with low birth weight for their gestational age.
Currently, the law requires that fertility clinics report their success rates to the Center for Disease Control (CDC.) By focusing on "success" the clinics are pitted against one another when marketing their services. "Due to a 'for profit' motive this can result in a serious compromise to the standard of care for the women and the children involved," says Becker.
"Now is the time to develop regulatory oversight that would protect our women and children and provide legal protection to embryos as living human beings and not as property," concludes Becker.
Georgia is the first state in the nation to file this legislation. However, in Britain they have similar legislation, passed in 2004, that protects the embryo and the mother from these harmful practices.
