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Senate amends abortion statistics bill to calendar-year reporting, adds optional self-reported reason; debate centers on data use and privacy
Summary
Senators amended SB60 on Feb. 11 to change reporting from fiscal to calendar year and to include an optional, self-reported reason for seeking an abortion (language the sponsor said mirrors federal forms). The measure drew questions about privacy, administrative burden, and the utility of collecting race and reason data.
Senate Bill 60, addressing abortion statistics and reporting requirements, was debated and amended on the Senate floor on Feb. 11. Sponsor Senator Dayton moved two verbal amendments to change reporting from a fiscal-year schedule to a calendar-year schedule and to add optional self-reporting of the reason a patient sought an abortion.
Dayton said the Department of Health requested the switch from fiscal-year reporting to calendar-year reporting and that the optional ‘‘reason for seeking an abortion’’ question is already part of the federal reporting form; including it in state code preserves continuity if federal forms change. Dayton described the change as data collection only and said the Department already gathers much of this information.
Several senators posed questions and objections. Senator Robles asked whether the self-reporting language had been presented in committee; Dayton said it had not and that the amendment addresses potential future federal-form changes. Senator DeBackus expressed concern about additional paperwork and the Department of Health’s capacity to manage more reporting. Senator Jones said some choices are agonizing and questioned the comfort of asking that additional information. Senator Davis expressed concern about bringing race into reporting and whether the data would be meaningful.
The sponsor and supporters reiterated that the intent is statistical data collection rather than any change to clinical access or legal rights; the sponsor said responses are voluntary and the federal form already gathers similar data. After debate the Senate adopted the verbal amendments (changing reporting dates and replacing references to 'fiscal' with 'calendar') and approved the self-reporting language; the clerk later recorded that SB60 would be read for a third time after a tally of 21 yeas, 2 nays and 6 absent.
What to watch: The transcript shows the bill is focused on data collection and statutory clarity rather than changes to access. Observers and affected stakeholders will likely seek the enrolled bill text and any fiscal notes from the Department of Health to understand reporting burdens and data protections.
Next steps: The bill will proceed to third reading per the clerk’s announcement and follow the legislative enrollment process.
