Also, the lottery system is built on the necessity of most people losing. The lottery is just another form of gambling without the glamour and glitz of Las Vegas -- the "house" controls the action and the players all will eventually lose, Piper wrote.

JUDGE STRIKES DOWN ULTRASOUND LAW -- An Oklahoma judge nullified a state law that requires an abortion provider to make available to a mother an ultrasound of her unborn child before she undergoes the procedure.

The 2010 law, which has been blocked from enforcement during the legal process, also mandates an abortion provider describe the sonogram image to the woman considering abortion, according to the Tulsa World.

Oklahoma County District Judge Bryan Dixon issued a summary judgment in declaring the law unconstitutional March 28. It is likely the state will appeal the ruling.

Mary Spaulding Balch, director of state legislation for the National Right to Life Committee, said the law's foes want the public to believe abortion is like all other procedures. "But ultrasound -- the window to the mother's womb -- puts a bright light on that lie," she told National Right to Life News. "It is a light they desperately want turned off."

GA. LEGISLATURE BANS PAIN-CAPABLE ABORTIONS -- Both houses of the Georgia legislature have approved a ban on abortions at 20 weeks or more into pregnancy based on evidence a baby in the womb experiences pain by that point.

The Georgia Senate and House of Representatives both passed the legislation March 30, and Republican Gov. Nathan Deal is expected to sign it into law.

Georgia will become the sixth state to enact a ban on pain-capable abortions, but its version falls short of what pro-life organizations sought. It was amended to include an exception for a "medically futile" pregnancy, giving a doctor the opportunity to abort a child if he decides a baby may have a condition that would cause his death after birth, according to Georgia Right to Life.

"While this bill will save well over 1,000 babies a year, it still is far short of our goal of protecting all human life," Dan Becker, president of Georgia Right to Life, said. "The final outcome was heavily affected by intense pressure from those who resorted to half-truths, misinformation and in some cases outright intimidation.

"The futile pregnancy exception leaves the door open to destroy a whole class of babies a doctor decides may be less than perfect -- that's not who we should be as a society."

In other recent developments in the states:

-- Utah Gov. Gary Herbert signed into law March 20 legislation requiring a woman seeking an abortion to wait 72 hours after receiving information on fetal development and abortion alternatives, United Press International reported.

-- The New Hampshire House voted March 29 for a bill that would prohibit pain-capable abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy and had previously approved proposals banning partial-birth abortions and establishing a 24-hour waiting period before an abortion, according to the Associated Press.

-- The Arizona Senate also passed a ban on pain-capable abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy in a 20-10 vote March 28.

Compiled by Baptist Press Washington bureau chief Tom Strode and assistant editor Erin Roach. Get Baptist Press headlines and breaking news on Twitter (@BaptistPress), Facebook (Facebook.com/BaptistPress) and in your email (baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp).

Copyright (c) 2012 Southern Baptist Convention, Baptist Press www.BPNews.net