And in the continuing war on women...

The Arizona state legislature with nothing else to do, (what's a little desertification anyway), and in an endless fight with Governor Janet Napolitano has passed two measures to further assert the Republican right to interfere with reproductive freedom.

The Senate, on a voice vote, gave preliminary approval to a ban on allowing nurse practitioners to perform surgical abortions. That move comes just a month after the state Board of Nursing concluded that practitioners with special training are medically qualified to do the procedure.

Ah! The State Board of Nursing decided nurse practitioners are qualified.

That isn't the belief of Rep. Bob Stump, R-Peoria, the sponsor of HB2269. He said only doctors should terminate a pregnancy, at least in part because of the potential complications.

That would be Bob Stump the doctor? No?

No.

Separately, the House gave final approval to SB1048, which would make late-term abortions illegal in Arizona. The state's original ban, approved in 1997, was blocked by a federal judge before it ever took effect.

Enter Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano.

That measure now goes to Gov. Janet Napolitano. But both face an uncertain future.

Napolitano vetoed a slightly different version of the late-term abortion bill earlier this year. And while lawmakers altered provisions she did not like, the governor said she would prefer they spend their time trying to prevent unwanted pregnancies rather than interfering with a woman's relationship with her doctor.

Napolitano has never before dealt with the question of whether people other than doctors can perform abortions. But the governor has consistently vetoed legislation she believes restricts access to the procedure.

Un huh. Which is exactly what Planned Parenthood of Arizona says will happen.

Carol Bafaloukos said the demand for abortion at the Tucson clinic is greater than the availability of doctors.

Planned Parenthood has allowed Mary Andrews, a nurse practitioner, to perform abortions in Tucson since 2001. But that fact was not widely known until a complaint was filed against her with the Board of Nursing.

It's worth noting here that Andrews is a nurse practitioner - a registered nurse with advanced training and admitting privileges with authority to act independently of doctors in most places. And the Arizona Board of Nursing approved her role with Planned Parenthood, dismissing the complaint.

Backers of Stump's measure said the issue is strictly one of patient safety.

Yup. Here comes the argument they always use and look who's using it. The Center for Arizona Policy, an anti-abortion group.

But the legislation is being pushed heavily by not just the Center for Arizona Policy but also by Ron Johnson, who lobbies on behalf of the state's Catholic bishops.

Hmmm. That figures. And one could be excused for believing that all Catholics, especially bishops, will find any excuse to interfere with a woman's reproductive choices.

Well, sit back, pour yourself a healthy three-fingers and read this. (Hardline Catholics should grab some beads and start chanting... or something.)

RICHMOND, Va. - Authorities are investigating whether a Catholic charity violated state and federal law by helping a 16-year-old illegal immigrant who was in the organization's care get an abortion.

Workers with Commonwealth Catholic Charities helped the girl travel to and from the procedure in January and signed a consent form for the abortion, Joanne Nattrass, the charity's executive director, said in a statement Thursday. She declined further comment.

[...]

The federal department is looking into the charity's actions and the role played by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. The conference receives $7.6 million a year in federal funds to place unaccompanied illegal immigrant children in foster care until they're reunited with relatives, sponsored, or returned to their homeland. The girl is from Guatemala but was living in Virginia when the abortion took place.

As a plate of fettuccine is my witness the most astounding thing about this is that both stories appeared on the same day and they don't involve South Dakota or Florida.