Legislature(2019 - 2020)BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
03/13/2020 01:30 PM Senate JUDICIARY
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Confirmation Hearing(s) | |
| SJR13 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | SB 76 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | SJR 13 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
SJR 13-CONST. AM: PROHIBIT ABORTION/FUNDING
2:25:00 PM
CHAIR COGHILL announced the consideration of SENATE JOINT
RESOLUTION NO. 13, Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of
the State of Alaska relating to abortion.
[CHAIR COGHILL opened public testimony on SJR 13.]
2:26:32 PM
MARGARET MCDONAGH, representing self, Anchorage, Alaska, said
she is a lifelong Alaskan who believes SJR 13 violates the right
to privacy guaranteed in the Constitution of the State of
Alaska. She views someone's health care decisions, including
reproductive health care, as private decisions. She urged
members not to move SJR 13 from committee.
2:27:18 PM
MATT DUNCAN, representing self, Anchorage, Alaska, spoke in
opposition to SJR 13. He offered his view that charities care
for the unwanted children of the world. He suggested that people
will testify that they want abortion banned, yet they do not
want to care for the people who are not wanted. He referred to a
book, The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell, to substantiate his
belief that legalized abortion leads to less crime. He offered
his belief that a woman's right to make her own decisions is her
right.
2:29:55 PM
CHERYL LOVEGREEN, representing self, Anchorage, Alaska, stated
that SJR 13 would amend the Constitution of the State of Alaska
and remove Alaskans' right to privacy and the right to safe and
legal abortions. It would force women and teenage girls to
endure pregnancies resulting from rape or incest. She pointed
out that Alaska has high rates of sexual assault. She cited a
recent poll that indicates that nearly 8 of 10 Alaskans are
opposed to the legislature banning abortion. She urged members
to vote it down.
2:31:05 PM
SENATOR HUGHES clarified that this resolution does not ban
abortion or remove a woman's rights or force someone who has
been raped to seek an illegal abortion. Instead, SJR 13 would
allow the legislature and Alaskans through an initiative process
to decide if there are any parameters regarding abortion that
the state would like to set, just as other states have done. She
asked testifiers to read SJR 13. She reiterated that it would
allow the legislature to set the policy rather than the
judiciary.
2:32:34 PM
SENATOR KIEHL explained that the sponsor was correct on the
direct effect of SJR 13, but it would permit those restrictions
and many more.
CHAIR COGHILL acknowledged that would be part of the committee
discussion with the cloud of the Alaska Supreme Court's
decisions impacting the issue.
2:33:05 PM
SAVANNA SCHOESSLER, representing self, Soldotna, Alaska,
expressed her frustration of not being able to testify at an
earlier hearing. She said she is a lifelong Alaskan who opposes
SJR 13. She disagreed with the sponsor's earlier comments
because it leaves woman's health care decisions in the
government's realm instead of with women. This includes forced
births, which does not have a place in civilized society. She is
opposed to government intervention and to changing the
Constitution of the State of Alaska. She offered her view that a
member is being paid by an anti-abortion organization.
2:35:36 PM
SENATOR MICCICHE asked the Chair to prohibit accusations during
public testimony, which is unfair, unjustified, and should not
occur. He welcomed hearing opinions during public testimony, but
he was not willing to be personally maligned.
CHAIR COGHILL cautioned testifiers against making personal
accusations and to limit their comments to the resolution. He
acknowledged that this issue elicits strong opinions.
2:36:32 PM
HAYDEN NEVILL, representing self, Fairbanks, Alaska, stated that
he understands the language in SJR 13. He said he loves Alaska
because he values its natural beauty, but he also values
Alaskans' right to privacy and the right for individuals to make
their own decisions. In fact, the right to privacy is so valued
that it is included in the Constitution of the State of Alaska.
He offered his belief that the courts have correctly interpreted
that the right to privacy includes the right to access abortion.
A woman's decision surrounding abortion is intensely personal
but is none of his business or the business of lawmakers, he
said. He urged members not to undermine Alaskans' right to
privacy because of one issue.
2:38:24 PM
TERRISA BUKOVINAC, Founder, Pro-Life San Francisco, San
Francisco, Alaska, spoke in support of SJR 13. She said she is a
feminist, and an activist in several arenas. This organization
is dedicated to resisting the influence of abortion in her
community. She said SJR 13 is crucial to achieve equal
representation for all Alaskans. She said that as a fulltime
activist she has worked on similar legislation that does not
criminalize abortion but keeps the door open to regulation. She
indicated she has heard people's beliefs that resolutions of
this type will be used to ban abortion. She agreed that some
people do, just as some want to ban all birth control. She
informed members that hundreds of research projects rely on
fetal tissue that is provided by 18-24 weeks old fetuses. It
concerns her because fetuses over 22 weeks have a very high rate
of survival and because of the methods used for late term
abortions. She cited a poll that showed that 72 percent of
Democrats want abortion more restricted and regulated.
2:42:00 PM
KATHY TAYLOR YOKEL, representing self, Fairbanks, Alaska, spoke
against SJR 13 and in support of the right to privacy. She
pointed out that that birth control is not 100 percent effective
and then related her family's experiences related to abortions
and to the medical risk of pregnancy.
CHAIR COGHILL held public testimony open and encouraged the
public to submit written testimony to
senate.judiciary@akleg.gov.
2:44:31 PM
MOIRA PYHALA, representing self, Soldotna, Alaska, said she is a
lifelong Alaskan. She remarked that Alaska has the highest
incidence of sexual assault in the nation. She stated that she
was a victim of sexual assault as a 15-year old, which
fortunately did not result in a pregnancy. She offered her view
that she would not have graduated from college if she had become
pregnant. She did not believe SJR 13 would end abortion, but
that it would end safe and legal abortions. She said she
considers health care to include abortion. She urged Senator
Micciche to help provide access to health care rather than to
undermine health care decisions that women in his district make
and urged the legislature to address important issues, including
the high incidence of sexual assault in Alaska.
CHAIR COGHILL reminded members to stay focused on SJR 13.
2:47:37 PM
DIANA REDWOOD, representing self, Anchorage, Alaska, spoke in
opposition to amending the Constitution of the State of Alaska
through SJR 13. She said this resolution seems to weaken the
privacy protections and reproductive health in the state. She
referred to SJR 13, which states it is to protect human life,
but access to family planning, including abortion, is also an
economic issue. When abortions are limited, it increases women's
chances to experience poverty, unemployment, and dependence on
public assistance programs. She urged members not to pass SJR 13
from committee.
2:49:11 PM
CHRISTINE ROBBINS, representing self, Fairbanks, Alaska, spoke
in support to SJR 13. She said this will put power back to the
people and restore balance in the legislative, executive, and
judicial branches of government. She offered her view that less
than one percent of abortions are medically necessary. She
offered her view that supporting abortion is a violation of
conscience for most Alaskans and Americans. She stated that she
works in various ministries and many people do want the
unwanted. She objected to public funding of abortion. She did
not consider abortions as health care. She offered her view that
the issue is not about privacy but about having abortion paid
for by someone else.
2:51:11 PM
ANDY RICE, representing self, North Pole, Alaska, spoke in
support of SJR 13, to place the matter on the ballot. She
offered her view that each life matters. She spoke in opposition
to having tax dollars spent on abortions and opined that all the
lives that have been lost is a travesty to society.
2:52:29 PM
At ease.
2:53:24 PM
CHAIR COGHILL reconvened the meeting.
2:53:30 PM
ROBYN STEVENS, representing self, Juneau, Alaska, said she has
been lucky to have consistent access to birth control, medically
accurate sex education, and healthy relations. Many women are
not lucky. She said she understands what SJR 13 does. It has
been upheld over and over that people have the right to self-
determination and cannot be forced to donate blood to another
person, yet she would be denied bodily autonomy. She said the
defining feature of slavery was to take away people's rights.
She offered her view that forced pregnancy is being executed by
the most barbaric factions in the modern world and listed as a
human rights violation by the United Nations. The U.S. has the
highest risk of maternal mortality in the developed world. She
suggested that the focus should be to provide the best chance
for every wanted child instead of forcing vulnerable women into
potentially life-threatening situations.
2:55:40 PM
DANIEL DAUGHERTY, Student, University of Alaska Fairbanks;
President, Arctic Students for Life, Fairbanks, Alaska, spoke in
support of SJR 13. He said he has not heard people define
abortion in today's testimony, but it is the ending of a human
life. He found it disturbing that people ignore that definition,
but instead talk about taking away women's rights. This
resolution would allow legislature to regulate the ending of a
human life.
2:58:29 PM
PRINCE NWANKUDU, representing self, Anchorage, Alaska, spoke in
support of SJR 13. He said the issue at stake is a human life.
He said protecting the child in the womb is a moral obligation
to ensure medical abortion is regulated. He did not view the
resolution as banning abortion, but to make sure that people do
not have an abortion as a right, which is contradictory to
federal laws. He said many pro-life people are champions of
adoptions. He urged members to let Alaskans decide this issue
via a ballot initiative.
3:00:33 PM
CHAIR COGHILL encouraged people to submit written testimony to
senate.judiciary@akleg.gov. He said public testimony will be
held open.
SJR 13 was held in committee.
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