Gov. Jan Brewer signed into law late Friday a bill that bans the state or any local government from using public money to contract with an organization that includes abortions in its services.
The governor's signature on House Bill 2800 follows on the heels of her approval last month of a bill that bans abortions after 20 weeks.
Brewer signed the measure while speaking at a reception for the Susan B. Anthony List, a group devoted to helping elect anti-abortion officials to public office.
"This is a common-sense law that tightens existing state regulations and closes loopholes in order to ensure that taxpayer dollars are not used to fund abortions, whether directly or indirectly," Brewer said in a statement. "By signing this measure into law, I stand with the majority of Americans who oppose the use of taxpayer funds for abortion."
HB 2800, sponsored by Rep. Justin Olson, R-Mesa, passed through the Legislature with Republican support.
The law aims to prevent contracts with or grants to any group that perform abortions that do not meet the federal requirements under Title 19 of the Social Security Act, which reimburses in cases of rape, incest or life endangerment. It also prioritizes how public money for family planning will be distributed -- such as to state-owned health care centers and rural hospitals.
The law would not impact money that passes through the state Department of Health Services because the state does not provide money for family planning, an agency spokeswoman has said.
Planned Parenthood of Arizona officials have said the bill targets them and is intended to impact non-abortion services they provide, such as cancer screenings, birth control and well-woman exams. Fewer than one in 10 women seek abortion services from Planned Parenthood of Arizona, according to the organization.
"I think it's also instructive that the place that the governor would sign this is at a political rally -- it might be an elegant political rally, but it is a 100 percent political event, and that speaks volumes about what this legislation was about from day one," said Bryan Howard, president of Planned Parenthood of Arizona. "But, while the impetus for the governor is political, and for the sponsors it's political, the impact is on health care for poor Arizonans, and that is a terrible, terrible tradeoff."
Planned Parenthood officials said the bill essentially would no longer allow them or other groups that also provide abortions, to seek reimbursement from the state for non-abortion services provided to Arizonans on Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, the state's Medicaid program.
However, a spokeswoman for AHCCCS told The Republic late last month it is doubtful the bill would affect its services because the program sends public dollars to private providers who can choose which partners to work with. The spokeswoman said the agency is still analyzing the bill's potential effects.
Democrats have decried the proposal as an attack not only on Planned Parenthood, but also on low-income women. Anti-abortion advocates, meanwhile, have cheered the bill.
The Governor's Office said Kansas, North Carolina and Texas already have enacted legislation similar to HB 2800. Indiana, New Jersey and Wisconsin have used their budget processes to bar public funding for abortion providers.
