SENATOR TAYLOR introduced SB 53 (ANNULLING ABORTION FUNDING REGULATIONS) sponsored by the Senate Health, Education and Social Services Committee. He explained the testimony would be heard on teleconference sites in Anchorage, Delta Junction, Fairbanks, Homer, Ketchikan, MatSu, Sitka, and Kenai/Soldotna. DANIEL DAVIS in Delta Junction opposed SB 53, and he read a letter he had written to the Fairbanks News Miner recently explaining his opposition. GEORGIA PATRICK from Fairbanks opposed SB 53, and she gave her reasons for considering abortion disastrous. Number 100 JIM CAMPBELL from Soldotna opposed SB 53, and he considered abortion murder. ALICE YOUNG from Sitka opposed SB 53, and she thanked everyone who watched the video, THE HARD TRUTH, at the last hearing. She thought abortion hurt women, families, and the extended families. MILDRED RHODES from Ketchikan opposed SB 53, and she drew on her life experience of being the oldest of 14 children for her testimony. Number 210 JAN CATTON of Anchorage opposed SB 53 for both she and her husband, and she described abortion as a last resort procedure used only in the cases of incest, rape, and if the mother's health is in danger. She deplored the use of abortions for contraceptive purposes and suggested education instead. MRS. CATTON questioned why the teleconference was not advertized in the newspapers and on television news. SENATOR TAYLOR explained he had done as much as possible to advertise to the extent available, but he reminded MRS. CATTON of the number of bills that came before committees, and how expensive it would be to advertize every bill. He suggested everyone check with their local Legislative Information Office for bill information. SENATOR TAYLOR returned to Juneau to call on BILL BURK. MR. BURK strongly urged the Senate to pass SB 53. He explained our country was founded on the separation of church and state, and he blamed the pro-life people as being from strong religious backgrounds. MR. BURK claimed they were trying to impose their moral values on everyone else. He gave some early history on illegal abortions and what he had seen as a social worker. Number 303 LYNN ZELLWEGER from Juneau supported SB 53, and she believes women have the right to do as they wish with their bodies. ROBERTA HALE opposed SB 53, because she thinks abortion is murder, and she suggested taxing those who perform abortions. She also objected to not receiving timely notice of meetings. SENATOR JACKO said they were published at the Legislative Information Offices, but MS. HALE continued to object to not seeing notices in the newspapers. She said most of the people in the state opposed the bill. MARSHA GEORGE from Ketchikan opposed SB 53. She told of her problems with three abortions and a miscarriage, the first abortion when she was 17, and she described the painful aftermath. MRS. GEORGE outlined what she thought the religious people should do to combat abortion. Number 369 STEPHANIE VIEIRA from Sitka thanked the Judiciary Committee for viewing the video, HARD TRUTH, at the last meeting. She is opposed to SB 53 and any legislation that facilitates abortion. JOYCE & MARK MOLDENHAUER from Sterling opposed SB 53, and she outlined her reasons for opposition to abortions. She urged everyone to stand against abortion. JOHN NOLAND from Fairbanks opposed SB 53 and urged the state to protect all life. LUKE & DEBRA JOSLIN from Delta Junction both opposed SB 53 and do not want state money used to fund abortions. Number 423 MICHAEL RAWALT from Delta Junction opposed SB 53. He thought when a woman was pregnant it should not be her choice to have an abortion, and the state should not support or promote the crime of abortion. CARL HORST of North Pole opposed SB 53. He described the growth of a baby from 21 days forth to an adult, and he discussed the genetic code of the child as a viable human being. He thought people should be held accountable for their choices and have public funding for adoption instead of abortion. DELPHIA LAWSON from Soldotna opposed SB 53 for state funding of abortions, and she urged attacking the problems. She felt paying taxes would make her a party to abortion, and she outlined the damage as she saw it. SENATOR TAYLOR urged those who had previously testified to give someone else a chance to testify. SHERON SCHAUWECKER said she represented 12 SCHAUWECKER'S in Sitka, who are all opposed SB 53. She didn't believe abortion was a religious issue, and she compared the abortion issue to the civil rights conflict over slavery as twisted logic. She also discussed the discrimination of the Natives in Alaska, citing a book by ERNEST GRUENING, and the work of ELIZABETH PERATROVICH. She reviewed the medical technology she said proved life begins at conception, and she urged the legislators to deny abortions. TERESA CREVIER from Ketchikan opposed SB 53 and SENATOR DONLEY amendment mandating state funded abortions. She sent personal thanks to SENATOR TAYLOR, SENATOR LEMAN, and other legislators who were trying to protect the unborn Alaskan children. Number 540 PAUL HOUSTON, an attorney from Anchorage, opposed SB 53, saying he believed in the sanctity of life, and he didn't think the government should fund abortions at any level. He suggested offering assistance to parents who want to adopt the unwanted babies. He also compared the abortion issue to slavery, and he described the judgement awaiting those who condoned abortion. MELINDA GRUENING from Juneau opposed SB 53, and she explained she had been an activist and lobbied on child abuse issues for the past 15 years. She viewed abortion as the ultimate child abuse and a tremendous civil rights issue. She encouraged the legislature to oppose abortion legislation. CLYDE BUETLER from Wasilla, testifying in Juneau, added his name to those who opposed SB 53. TAPE 93-17, SIDE B Number 001 He suggested a vote on the issue of abortion, since he thought there were more who were opposed than not. SENATOR TAYLOR returned to the teleconference network to Anchorage, and said he would address both the amendment and the bill at about 3:00 p.m. RUBY BECKER, a Upik Eskimo from Anchorage described the beauty of Alaska and the people as independent thinkers, and she said an abortion should not be the right of a woman. She thought Alaskans should be an example to the chaotic, immoral lifestyle existing in the rest of the nation. She ended her testimony by describing the slaughter she saw in abortions and the use of fetal tissue. KATHRYN GRONLUND from Ward Cove opposed SB 53 except for victims of rape, incest, or for the health of the woman. She said women needed to assume the responsibility over their bodies and actions and not dump their problems on the tax payers. She read a letter she had written to the Anchorage Daily News objecting to paying taxes for abortions and saying, "... you play, you pay." LORRAINE THOMPSON from Sitka opposed SB 53 and any amendments, because she could see no reason why the state should pay for an elective abortion, and she reviewed the current abortion regulations. Number 509 KATHLEEN HOFFMAN from Soldotna opposed SB 53, and she used her religious principles to describe the efforts to preserve life with great advances in medicine. She praised the local ABC crisis pregnancy center, where they offer alternatives to abortions. She said it was staffed with trained volunteers, and operated on financial donations by individuals and organizations. She praised the alternative of adoption, and she quoted Biblical passages in her opposition to abortion. BEVERLY BERDAHL from Nikiski also represented her husband and four daughters in opposition to SB 53 and objected to using murder as birth control. SENATOR TAYLOR noted only observers were left in Fairbanks, so he switched to DELTA JUNCTION. DEBRA DAVIS of Delta Junction opposed SB 53, and spoke as one who could have been aborted. She urged the use of adoption rather than abortion. Number 120 DEAN BIALIK from Delta Junction opposed SB 53 and supporting abortions with tax dollars. He didn't think anyone should have the authority to take a life from any other person, and was a principle to create a balanced world, a healthy family, and a strong nation. DEBORAH MORRIS from Kenai opposed SB 53, and she described her own decisions with an unplanned pregnancy as the right choice for her. CHARLES HORAN from Sitka opposed SB 53. He thanked SENATOR TAYLOR for holding the hearings and the committee for their time. He thought the previous testimony had been tremendous, and he directed his testimony to any legislators in favor of SB 53 and maintaining the status quo. He challenged their advocacy for abortion rights, and suggested the state needed to get involved in the abortion rights, because, he declared, abortion is destroying a fetus - and a child's issue. MR. HORAN suggested providing education and job opportunities, and eliminating all kinds of criminal and social injustice instead of abortion. He said the present regulations were too weak, and said SB 53 should be killed instead. Number 200 FRANCIS YOUNG from Ketchikan opposed SB 53, agreed with KATHRYN GRONLUND and MR. HORAN, and she shared a letter from a family member who has struggled with the problems of an unexpected pregnancy, which was solved by adoption without cost to the public. She suggested funding for adoption rather than abortions and teaching control of sexual behavior. DOUGLAS BECKER from Anchorage opposed SB 53, thanked everyone attending the meetings, and described his meaning of an abortion. He explained how society had to protect the life of an unborn child, and he said abortions could no longer be tolerated in the State of Alaska. He discussed the video, HARD TRUTH, and suggested any legislator supporting SB 53 should submit to psychiatric evaluation to determine fitness to govern the people of the State of Alaska. He said the fitness would be determined in the next election and demanded the legislators vote against SB 53. JEANNIE GREEN from Juneau opposed SB 53 and 55. She thought SB 53 would allow people to become more unaccountable for their actions, and she suggested the woman would have the choice of adoption. Number 275 SUSAN FICHETTI from Eagle River opposed SB 53 and thought the legislators have the obligation to use the people's money wisely and not pay for the choice of an abortion. She said abortions were not healthy or necessary. JANICE DAREFF from Ketchikan talked about birth control failure, and she disputed there was a potential parent for every aborted baby. She described orphanages overflowing with unwanted babies, and asked if those who didn't want their tax dollars to go for abortion, would rather support the child on welfare. MS. DAREFF asked for support for the woman, who is ignored while only the unborn fetus is considered. She gave additional reasons for supporting SB 53 and felt people should not force their beliefs on another person. Number 333 TOM SHELTON from Sitka opposed SB 53, and thanked SENATOR TAYLOR and the committee for a thorough review of the issue. He explained he represented voters who evaluated their prospective legislators in the issue of abortion and voting pattern. He said the role of the legislator was not to reflect the electorate but were put in office to examine all aspects of the issue, to determine what is right, just, and fair. He summarized his testimony and said abortion was an act of violence that kills babies. SENATOR TAYLOR concluded the testimony and apologized to DR. CHARLES BLOOD and PASTOR ROY MOONEYHAM in Delta Junction, and in Ketchikan, MRS. ELEANOR JACOBSON, MARTA POORE, KAREN DANGERFIELD, DEBBIE LAW, HEATHER MUNCH, BROOK HUNT, ROBYN BOATWRIGHT, and DIXIE DUEHN, who had not been able to testify.. He invited them to submit their testimony in written form for the record. Number 361 SENATOR TAYLOR thanked everyone on the teleconference sites for their participation and left the network. He asked his aide, KENNY LEAF, to summarize the testimony received through the Public Opinion Messages and today's testimony. MR. LEAF explained, of the POM'S previously received, 254 were against SB 53 and 57 supported SB 53. Of those testifying today, 35 opposed SB 53 while 3 supported the bill. SENATOR DONLEY moved his amendment, SLO343\A.1 dated 2/9/93, and explained it would make a permanent prohibition on the executive branch from adopting similar regulations. SENATOR TAYLOR asked SENATOR DONLEY if the change would be to place SB 55 into SB 53, and SENATOR DONLEY said that was correct. They discussed whether that would be pulling a bill from committee, and SENATOR DONLEY defended his actions. SENATOR TAYLOR declared the motion out-of-order. SENATOR DONLEY challenged the decision and appealed the decision to the chair, citing Roberts Rule of Order. SENATOR TAYLOR withdrew the order, and asked for a vote on the amendment. The vote failed on a 2 - 2 vote. Number 435 SENATOR DONLEY moved to pass SENATE BILL NO. 53 from committee with individual recommendations. SB 53 passed from committee on a 3 - 2 vote.