Napolitano vetoes medical workers' 'rights of conscience' bill

PHOENIX - Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano vetoed a bill Wednesday that would have allowed medical professionals to refuse to participate in the prescription or distribution of RU-486, the so-called "morning-after" pill.

Napolitano said in a letter to the speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives that the bill targets women.

"This bill likely would be successfully challenged in court on equal protection grounds," she wrote in the letter.

The bill, HB2541, was sponsored by Rep. Doug Quelland, R-Phoenix, who said it was unfair to force a person to participate in abortion by providing a woman with the means to do so if it was against that person's moral or religious beliefs.

Religious organizations supported the bill, while organizations such as the Arizona Pharmacy Association and Arizona Nurses Association opposed it.

"It is unwise to pass laws opposed by the leading associations of professionals whom the bill purports to protect," Napolitano wrote.

Organizations like Planned Parenthood say they support the veto because refusal of abortion is already a part of Arizona law.

In an interview earlier this semester, Ted Tong, associate dean of the College of Pharmacy, said if the bill passed, the most important thing would be making sure pharmacists were not leaving a patient with no other options.

Many argued the bill should have included a provision to guarantee a woman would at least be given a referral to another pharmacy that could fill her prescription if a pharmacist refused.

That measure was not added to the bill as it progressed through the legislative process this year.

"Most pharmacies already have developed internal policies that accommodate both the medical needs of their customers and the individual rights of conscience of their employees," Napolitano said in her letter.

Legislators consider preventing more drive-through liquor stores

PHOENIX - The Arizona Senate decided yesterday to put to vote a measure that would prevent drive-through windows on any liquor store that doesn't already have one.

The measure was added to a bill that has already been passed in the House of Representatives. The Senate is expected to vote on the bill next week.

Legislators have tried multiple times this session and in years past to get such a measure added to a bill. This is the first time this session they will actually vote on a bill that includes such a measure.

Sen. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Tucson, encouraged fellow senators to vote for the amendment, saying the windows make it even easier for people to drink and drive.

Giffords cited a report she had seen that showed video of customers driving up to the window, purchasing alcohol and opening it to take a sip before they even drove away.

Others said it does not amp up drunken driving ratios, but it can lead to a devaluation of property.

Sen. Barbara Leff, R-Paradise Valley, said the measure has failed every time it is attempted, and property rights are more important in the consideration because those who will drink and drive are not prevented from doing so when they have to go into a liquor store.

"It's already illegal to have any open container in a car, regardless of how a person purchases it," Leff said.

She said it is just as easy for a person to purchase alcohol and open it as they walk back to their car as it is for them to open it while they drive away from the service window.

"I don't think we have any right to devalue property," said Sen. Robert Blendu, R-Litchfield Park.

The bill would only prevent existing stores from adding a drive-up window or new stores from building a store with the window. It would allow stores that already have a drive-up window to continue using it to sell liquor, but if the store were ever sold to anyone other than a family member, the window sales would have to stop.

"You can sell (the store) to a relative of yours, but you can't sell it to another person or you'll lose your window," said Sen. Jay Tibshraeny, R-Chandler. "I think it's a bad addition to this bill."