Gov. Mike Dunleavy has a few days left to decide whether to veto a bill that many pro-life advocates say will vastly expand the killing of unborn babies through abortion.

House Bill 195, easily passed both the Alaska House and Senate and was transmitted to the governor on June 1. If Dunleavy fails to veto the measure, it will automatically become law on June 18 – even without his signature.

On the surface, the bill aims to expand the ability of pharmacists to prescribe and administer drugs that are intended to achieve outcomes related to the cure, prevention or management of a disease.

According to an April 1 analysis by Alaska Legislative Attorney Conrad Gunther, however, the legislation could also indirectly open the door for pharmacists to vastly expand chemical abortions across the state.

The legal memo notes that under existing law, pharmacists have broad authority to dispense prescription drugs ordered by practitioners who are licensed to prescribe or administer the drugs, but pharmacists have “limited authority to prescribe and administer drugs themselves.”

Attempts to amend the bill to explicitly prohibit pharmacists from prescribing abortion-inducing drugs were shot down, leaving many pro-lifers deeply concerned that pharmacies would become new hubs that facilitate chemically induced abortions.

If Gov. Dunleavy, who has long claimed to be pro-life, vetoes the bill, it would return back to the Legislature. If lawmakers attempt to override the governor, they will need 40 of 60 members to vote for the override.

It appears that they might have the numbers, given the fact that many self-described pro-life Republicans actually voted in favor of the bill.

Eleven Republicans in the Alaska State House joined all their Democrat and left-leaning independent colleagues to pass the bill on a 32-8 vote. In the Senate, six Republican voted with Democrats to approve the bill on a 15-5 vote.

In order to uphold a governor’s possible veto, eight lawmakers would need to abandon their prior support of the bill.

HOW LAWMAKERS VOTED

House legislators who voted for HB 195: Bynum, Carrick, Coulombe, Dibert, Edgmon, Eischeid, Elam, Fields, Foster, Frier, Galvin, Gray, Hall, Hannan, Himschoot, Holland, Jimmie, Josephson, Kopp, Mears, Mina, Moore, D. Nelson, Prax, Ruffridge, Saddler, Schrage, St. Clair, Story, Stutes, Underwood, Vance.

House legislators who voted against HB 195: Allard, Costello, Johnson, McCabe, G. Nelson, Schwanke, Stapp, Tomaszewski

Senators who voted for HB 195: Bjorkman, Claman, Dunbar, Giessel, Gray-Jackson, Hoffman, Kaufman, Kawasaki, Kiehl, Merrick, Olson, Stedman, Stevens, Tobin, Wielechowski

Senators who voted against HB 195: Cronk, Myers, Rauscher, Tilton, Yundt

TAKING ACTION

— Click here to contact Gov. Mike Dunleavy and express your opinion on House Bill 195.

Click here to support the Alaska Watchman.