The following highlights recent news of state actions on women's health issues.

Abortion Regulations

• Georgia: The state House on Monday voted 155-0 to approve a bill (SB 77) that would make it a felony to kill a fetus during an attack on a pregnant woman, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports (Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 3/28). Under current state law, a person can be prosecuted for murder only when the fetus could be viable outside the uterus. The new measure would make it a crime to kill a fetus at any point during a pregnancy (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 3/6). The House passed the bill -- which was sponsored by state Sen. Renee Unterman (R) -- with no debate (Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 3/28). The state Senate earlier this month passed a similar measure and would have to approve minor changes in order to send the bill to Gov. Sonny Perdue (R) for consideration (AP/Macon Telegraph, 3/27).
  


• Kentucky: The state Senate on Friday voted 33-4 to approve a bill (HB 585) that would require women seeking abortion to receive face-to-face counseling prior to undergoing the procedure, the Louisville Courier-Journal reports (Smith, Louisville Courier-Journal, 3/25). The state House earlier this month voted to approve the bill, which was sponsored by state Rep. Tanya Pullin (D) (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 3/6). Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher (R) plans to sign the bill, according to Fletcher spokesperson Brett Hall (Louisville Courier-Journal, 3/25).
  


• Mississippi: State House and Senate negotiators on Monday failed to reach a compromise before the legislative session deadline on a bill (SB 2922) that would have banned abortion except when the life of the woman is in danger or in cases of rape or incest, the AP/Houston Chronicle reports (AP/Houston Chronicle, 3/27). The state House earlier this month voted to approve the bill, and the state Senate voted to seek a compromise on the bill (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 3/17). House Public Health Committee Chair Steve Holland (D) gave Senate negotiators the latest House proposal about ten minutes before the 8 p.m. deadline. The House version would have required that the abortion ban not take effect until the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade -- the 1973 Supreme Court decision that effectively barred state abortion bans. The Senate wanted negotiators to insert language into the bill that would have upheld Mississippi's current informed consent law if the bill were challenged in court. Some senators wanted to reinsert language from the original Senate bill that would have required doctors to perform ultrasound on pregnant women before they undergo the procedure, but State Senate Public Health Committee Chair Alan Nunnelee (R) said the Senate was willing to leave out the ultrasound language because of House opposition. Both Senate and House negotiators refused to sign the other's proposed compromise (Byrd, Associated Press, 3/27).

Stem Cell Research

• Maryland: The General Assembly on Monday approved the state's $29.4 billion budget, which included establishing regulations for using state funds for stem cell research projects, the Baltimore Sun reports (Green, Baltimore Sun, 3/28). The approved budget allocates $15 million to fund stem cell research projects -- a compromise between the House budget bill that would have allocated $20 million and the Senate proposal that would have allocated $10 million (Stuckey, Associated Press, 3/28). The budget is scheduled to take effect July 1 (Baltimore Sun, 3/28).