The Alaska State Medical Board has proposed new abortion regulations, prompted by a lawsuit from abortion-rights advocates who argue that existing rules restrict second-trimester abortions.
Debora Stovern, the board’s executive administrator, says the lawsuit flagged for the board the fact that some existing rules were more than 30 years old and perhaps due for review.
The proposed new rules, among other things, would repeal a requirement that a physician consult with another doctor before performing an abortion after the twelfth week of gestation.
The lawsuit, from Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest and the Hawaiian Islands, is on hold to give the board time to consider its rules.
Planned Parenthood’s Katie Rogers says her organization won’t make final decisions about the case until any rules changes are final.