03/09/2020 01:30 PM Senate JUDICIARY

          SJR 13-CONST. AM: PROHIBIT ABORTION/FUNDING                                                                       
                                                                                                                              
2:43:40 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.                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
2:45:10 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR  HUGHES,  speaking  as  sponsor   of  SJR  13,  said  the                                                               
resolution  proposes  an amendment  to  the  Constitution of  the                                                               
State  of Alaska  by  adding  a new  section  that would  provide                                                               
clarity  regarding  Article  1, specifically  pertaining  to  the                                                               
right to privacy and the  right to equal protection, and Alaska's                                                               
ability to set public policy related to abortion.                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
She  emphasized that  this resolution  does not  indicate what  a                                                               
woman may legally do. It is  not designed to tell the legislature                                                               
that  it  may or  may  not  fund  abortion  in the  future.  This                                                               
resolution  does  not  set   any  parameters  regarding  abortion                                                               
policy, but is designed to  keep the courts from adding something                                                               
to  the Constitution  of the  State  of Alaska  that its  framers                                                               
never envisioned  and to  allow Alaska  to be  on par  with other                                                               
states across  the nation  in terms of  policy under  the federal                                                               
courts.                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
2:46:53 PM                                                                                                                    
KATRINA  JACKSON, Senator,  Louisiana State  Legislature, Monroe,                                                               
Louisiana, said Louisiana passed a  resolution similar to SJR 13.                                                               
She echoed Senator Hughes that  the resolution protects the right                                                               
to legislate  in this  area, like any  other health  care policy.                                                               
She related  that Louisiana  had a clinic  near the  Texas border                                                               
that  was not  mandated  to report  human  trafficking. When  the                                                               
state's  Department  of  Health  received word  that  some  young                                                               
trafficking  victims  were  being   brought  into  Louisiana  for                                                               
abortions,  the department  learned it  could not  legally obtain                                                               
those health  records. The  state now has  statutes to  allow the                                                               
department to obtain such records.  Louisiana is filing a bill to                                                               
require  mandatory  reporting just  like  any  other health  care                                                               
provider, she said.                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  JACKSON   summarized  that   taking  a  stance   with  a                                                               
resolution  like SJR  13 does  not indicate  whether abortion  is                                                               
legal, but it  would allow states to regulate it.  In some states                                                               
that have not  passed resolutions to clarify the  law, the courts                                                               
have  recognized  the fundamental  right  to  abortion, so  bills                                                               
related to human trafficking are  being struck down. She said she                                                               
would not  hide the fact that  Louisiana is a pro-life  state but                                                               
given Roe v. Wade, she wants  to ensure that her constituents are                                                               
safe.  Most  states  have  not   required  these  clinics  to  be                                                               
mandatory reporters.  Legislation like  SJR 13 would  give states                                                               
the ability  to regulate the  clinics just as they  do physicians                                                               
providing other types of surgical procedures.                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
2:51:12 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR   HUGHES  said   that  when   the  committee   hears  the                                                               
presentation  at  the  next  hearing,  they  will  see  the  wide                                                               
spectrum  of  states  that  have  passed  similar  policies.  She                                                               
pointed out  that Senator  Katrina Jackson is  a Democrat  and an                                                               
African American serving in Louisiana.  She asked members to keep                                                               
an open  mind in this  matter and allow the  legislature, through                                                               
the voter initiative process, to  determine what type of policies                                                               
the  state may  wish  to have.  When  Senator Jackson  previously                                                               
testified before  the Senate Health and  Social Services Standing                                                               
Committee,  she mentioned  that because  of Louisiana's  parental                                                               
consent  or  notification law,  the  people  bringing some  young                                                               
girls to clinics for abortions  could not provide proof that they                                                               
were  their parents.  The committee  has  previously heard  about                                                               
problems in  Alaska related to  human trafficking.  She expressed                                                               
concern that  the legislature would  be limited in what  it could                                                               
do to control this activity  under the current conditions and the                                                               
interpretation of  the Constitution of  the State of  Alaska. She                                                               
stated that that was one of  the reasons to bring this resolution                                                               
forward.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  COGHILL thanked  Senator Jackson.  He apologized  that the                                                               
committee did  not have  time to hear  from Jeanneane  Maxon from                                                               
the Charlotte Lozier Institute in Washington, D.C.                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
2:53:37 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR HUGHES  advised that  Ms. Maxon was  a scholar  who could                                                               
provide information related to the legal aspects.                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
[SJR 13 was held in committee.]