News from the Senate Majority
Alaska State Legislature

Wendy Lindskoog, Senate Majority Press Secretary
State Capitol
Juneau, AK 99801-1182
Phone: 907/465-4582
http://www.akrepublicans.org
Broadcast Actualities: 800/478-6540

Senate Defends Alaskan’s "Freedom of Choice"

Measure Will Restore Citizens’ Right to Choose on Abortions

For Immediate Release: April 16, 1998 Contact: Portia Parker, Assistant to Senate President Mike Miller, at (907) 465-4711.

Juneau – To protect Alaskans’ freedom of choice, the Senate passed Senate Joint Resolution 35 by a 14 to 6 vote calling for a constitutional amendment that would restore the right of Alaskans to chose whether or not to participate in an abortion.

"I believe people are guaranteed certain inalienable rights under our constitution," Miller said. "One of those rights is our freedom of choice. No one should be forced to do something to another person they believe to be wrong. We have an obligation to protect the rights of all citizens – not just a select group."

SJR 35 calls for a constitutional amendment which must be decided by a vote of the people in November’s election. If approved by Alaskans, the amendment will restore rights guaranteed in Alaska’s 1970 law that legalized abortions. The law gave women the right to choose an abortion, while at the same time ensuring that hospitals and physicians retained the right to choose whether or not to participate in an abortion procedure.

State law protecting all Alaskans’ right to choose was recently stripped by the Alaska Supreme Court in a 1997 court case involving Valley Hospital in Wasilla. The court found Valley Hospital’s decision not to participate in abortions unconstitutional and ordered it to change its policy.

The proposed amendment in SJR 35 would add the following section to Alaska’s Constitution:

Section 25: Participation in Abortion not Required. Nothing in this constitution requires a person or health care facility, including a public or private health care facility, to participate in, or provide accommodation for the performance of, an abortion.

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= Mike Miller, 62 K