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Ohio Bill Would Require Biological Father's Consent For Abortion
A bill (HR 252) introduced this month in the Ohio House would require a pregnant woman seeking an abortion to obtain written consent from the fetus" biological father, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports. If the woman does not know the identity of the biological father, she would have to provide proof of paternity tests of potential fathers. The bill is sponsored by Rep. John Adams (R) and co-sponsored by four other Republicans.The bill would establish "abortion fraud" as a first-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $1,000. Repeat offenders could be charged with a fifth-degree felony, punishable by up to one year in jail and up to a $2,500 fine. The bill is not clear as to who could be fined or jailed. Becki Brenner, president of Planned Parenthood of Southwest Ohio, said that she believes doctors would be the ones ultimately fined or jailed.Brenner criticized the bill, saying that a woman would have to pay at least $1,400 for each DNA test if she is unsure who the father is. Brenner called the legislation "a burden on a woman," adding that the whole purpose behind the bill is to make it harder to obtain a legal abortion. She said, "Hopefully, [the bill] won"t even get debate in the committee" because it is "blatantly anti-woman."Paula Westwood, executive director of Right to Life of Greater Cincinnati, said that her group supports the bill. She added, "I would think men would want to have these rights."According to the Enquirer, the bill does not have the support of the House Democratic majority. The current version of the bill has not been assigned to a committee, and it is unlikely to pass the House, much like past bills seeking new restrictions on abortion (Craig/Preston, Cincinnati Enquirer, 7/24).
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Rep. Pitts To Offer Amendment Excluding Abortion Coverage From House Health Care Bill
Rep. Joe Pitts (R-Pa.) said he plans to introduce an amendment to the House health care overhaul bill (HR 3200) that would prohibit insurers from being required to cover abortion, unless the woman"s life is at risk or the pregnancy is a result of rape or incest, CQ Today reports. Pitts said he will offer the amendment Thursday at the first House Energy and Commerce Committee mark-up session.The House bill would authorize the Obama administration to craft minimum benefit standards for health insurance plans, CQ Today reports. President Obama has said that he considers reproductive health care an essential service. Democrats say Republicans are trying to expand the Hyde amendment"s exclusion on using federal Medicaid funding to cover abortion to all health care services. Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), vice chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee, said, "I think that if anti-choice Republicans or others see this as an opportunity to expand prohibitions on a legally allowed and medically appropriate practice, then they are wrong." She added, "We are not going to use the health care bill to expand prohibitions on a legal medical practice, period." Pitts, Rep. Christopher Smith (R-N.J.) and other supporters of the amendment say it is necessary to block the administration from requiring abortion coverage. The committee has blocked three of Smith"s abortion-related amendments so far this year (Wayne, CQ Today, 7/15).
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Protalix Holds Pre-NDA Meeting With FDA For PrGCD For The Treatment Of Gaucher Disease
Protalix BioTherapeutics, Inc. (NYSE-Amex:PLX), announced that the Company held a pre-NDA meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the a proposed new drug application (NDA) submission for prGCD, a new proprietary plant-cell expressed recombinant form of glucocerebrosidase, for the treatment of Gaucher disease and to confirm the clinical, nonclinical and chemistry requirements for the proposed NDA filing.
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AARP President: House Bill Makes "Substantial Progress" Toward Health Care Reform, USA

AARP President Jennie Chin Hansen is testifying before the House Committee on Ways and Means during its hearing on "Health Reform in the 21st Century." In her remarks, Hansen discusses the health care needs of older Americans, including affordable coverage for 50- to 64-year-olds and prescription drugs for people in Medicare. Excerpts from Hansen"s statement follow: "Enacting legislation to give all Americans quality, affordable health coverage options is AARP"s top priority this year. "The draft Tri-Committee legislation marks substantial progress toward this goal. "Today I am proud to represent nearly 40 million members of AARP- half over age 65 and therefore in Medicare, and half under 65. "Both age groups face serious problems in today"s health care system, and AARP commends the Tri-Committee for including critical reforms in its draft that will help AARP members of all ages." "To make insurance affordable for Americans age 50-64, AARP believes these individuals should be charged no more than twice what someone under 50 is required to pay for quality health coverage. Why? "Because older may mean wiser but it doesn"t mean richer. In fact, the income of uninsured adults age 18-24 is a little over $28,000 and for those 50-64 it is $30,000." "One of the greatest difficulties faced by our older members is the extraordinary out-of-pocket cost of health care. In fact, Medicare beneficiaries spend 30 percent of their income on health care costs and they face costs that are six times costs faced by those of us with employer-sponsored coverage. This is a particularly stark reality for the nearly half of all Medicare beneficiaries who have incomes of less than $22,000 per year. "Prescription drugs are, of course, a big piece of Medicare beneficiaries" out-of-pocket expenses, which is why AARP has made closing the doughnut hole and improving low income assistance programs top priorities in health care reform. The Tri-Committee has lead the way on both of these vital issues, including the closure of the doughnut hole as well as important improvements to Medicare low-income supports in its draft legislation.." AARP


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