Exclusive: Ralston scraps 'special interest' abortion bill; crafts his own

By Aaron Gould Sheinin

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

House Speaker David Ralston (R-Blue Ridge) will make a final-hour push on Thursday to pass a revamped abortion bill that removes many of the original proposal's most controversial elements, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has learned.

Ralston told the AJC on Tuesday that the abortion bill now before the House, Senate Bill 529, is unacceptable as written. On Thursday, he will propose an alternative that is more constitutionally sound and not designed to encourage a court fight.

"I'm working with pro-life House members and House members who feel very passionately, and have supported SB 529, by suggesting to them that I'm interested in protecting the unborn," Ralston said. "I'm not interested in the agenda of a special interest group, and I believe what we have done is craft a bill that has done that."

It's been at least five years since abortion was a dominant issue of the legislative session. Yet in February, Georgia Right to Life began a major push for legislation that would make it a 10-year felony for a physician to perform an abortion if the patient discloses that she is having the procedure because of objections to the race or gender of the fetus. It also made it a crime for the physician to perform an abortion if the patient were coerced into ending a pregnancy.

The original bill, HB 1155, never made it out of House committee. However, supporters in the Senate picked up the mantle and in late March passed SB 529.

Now with lawmakers forced to adjourn for the year on Thursday, Ralston is making his move with a plan of his own. He said the original SB 529 had several problems.

"The definition of coercion, I thought, was overly broad," Ralston said. "It was intrusive and it had no precedent in Georgia law."

Perhaps worse was a version that would make criminals out of the doctors but had no penalties for those who coerce a woman into an abortion or the woman who aborts a fetus because of the race or gender.

"My understanding is they had been told that the bill in that form was the only way they could mount a legal challenge to Roe v. Wade," Ralston said. "But that's hearsay."

Ralston's new version eliminates the criminal penalties for doctors and uses a more traditional definition of coercion. It also:

• Allows for exception in the case of rape, incest or medical necessity.
• Says a doctor must not perform an abortion if he learns that the woman was being coerced into the abortion or that she wants an abortion due to objection to the race or gender of the fetus.
• Clinics must post a sign that says they will not perform an abortion unless they "know you have freely and voluntarily consented to having an abortion."
• Doctors must inform the patient that no one can force her to have an abortion and the patient must certify in writing that she was so informed.
• Also, the bill would ban federal funds from paying for abortion services under health insurance exchanges created by the federal health care legislation.

Ralston knows time is short, but he is confident that his bill can cross its many hurdles before the session ends on Thursday.

"The big stuff has been done," he said.

Tuesday, however, was busy on both sides of the Capitol -- one more so than the other.

The House met all day at a good clip, while the Senate breezed through more than 50 bills before 6 p.m. In all, lawmakers told teenagers to stop texting behind the wheel, pickup drivers to buckle up and urged President Barack Obama to close the borders on the harried next-to-the-last legislative day.

Among the highlights was a House bill that required student performance as part of teachers’ job evaluations. The bill was sent back to committee. The Senate voted to retain the so-called proportionality review for death-penalty cases. Senators also passed a measure to allow local communities to vote on a fractional penny sales tax to fund the arts.

Staff writer Ernie Suggs contributed to this article.