The Supreme Court will consider two questions set forth by the governor for declaratory judgement, the second of which is the following:
To the extent P.L. 20-134 is not void or otherwise unenforceable, has it been repealed by implication through subsequent changes in Guam law? - See Supreme Court Order
The answer is NO. And here's why.
It appears the question refers to eight abortion-regulating bills enacted into law as follows:
Public Law No. | Date Enacted | Name | Description | Original Bill No. | Sponsors | Date Introduced |
P.L 29-115 | Nov. 18, 2008 | The Partial-Birth Abortion Act of 2008 | “THE PARTIAL-BIRTH ABORTION BAN ACT OF 2008. " | Bill No. 374 (EC) | Sens. Eddie Calvo, Frank Blas, Jr., James Espaldon | Oct. 7, 2008 |
P.L. 31-155 | Jan 4, 2012 | Parental or Guardian Consent Required for Abortion | Parental or Guardian Consent Required for Abortion | Bill No. 323-31 | Sen. Dennis Rodriguez, Jr. | Oct 5, 2011 |
P.L. 31-235 | Nov. 1, 2012 | The Women's Reproductive Health Information Act of 2012 | Women’s informed consent required for abortion | Bill No. 54-30 & 52-31 | Gov. Eddie Calvo | Jan 25, 2011 |
P.L. 32-090 | Nov. 27, 2013 | Infant Child’s Right to Life Act | AN ACT RELATIVE TO PROTECTING INFANTS WHO ARE BORN ALIVE AS A RESULT OF AN ABORTION | Bill No. 195-32 | Sen. Frank Aguon, Jr. | Sep. 25, 2013 |
P.L. 32-089 | Nov. 27, 2013 | See description | Deleted the provision in P.L. 31-235 requiring the printed materials and the checklist certification to undergo the rule making process pursuant to the Administrative Adjudication Law. | Bill No. 193-32 | Sen. Dennis Rodriguez, Jr. | Sep. 23, 2013 |
P.L 32-217 | Dec. 17, 2014 | See description | Requires abortion providers to include gestational age in abortion reports | Bill No. 412-32 | Sens. Frank Aguon, Jr. and Dennis Rodriguez, Jr. | Oct 14, 2014 |
P.L. 33-132 | Mar. 4, 2016 | Unborn Victims of Violence Act | Criminalized harming or killing the child in the womb in acts of violence against the mother. | Bill No. 231-33 | Sen. Frank Blas, Jr. | Jan. 19, 2016 |
P.L. 33-218 | Dec. 15, 2016 | See description | Increased the penalties of non-compliance of abortion reporting law and added reporting mechanisms to better insure enforcement. | Bill No. 168-33 | Sens. Frank Aguon, Jr. and Dennis Rodriguez, Jr. | Aug. 31, 2015 |
All of the foregoing legislation included language that continued to permit abortion because they had to. Prior to the Dobbs Decision overturning Roe, banning abortion outright was unconstitutional.
Thus the foregoing bills were drafted, argued, passed, and signed into law because they only proscribed abortion within the limits of U.S. Supreme Court precedent allowing certain regulations relative to abortion.
The fact that any of these bills still allowed for abortion generally is a function of what was constitutionally required at the time and they do NOT repeal P.L 20-134 "by implication."
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