I could not believe this when I read it in the News Paper this morning. I am so disgusted by the government and the fact that they still after all these years are trying to make laws to repress women and there right to choose. The Oklahoma people should be ashamed of themselves!
Oklahoma enacts law to curb abortions
Before having the procedure, all women must now undergo an ultrasound and listen to a description of the fetus.
The Oklahoma Legislature voted Tuesday to override vetoes of two highly restrictive abortion measures, one making it a law that women undergo an ultrasound and listen to a detailed description of the fetus before having an abortion.
Though other states have passed similar measures forcing women to have ultrasounds, Oklahoma's law goes further. It requires a doctor or technician to set up whatever type of ultrasound would present the clearest image so the woman can see it and describe the heart, limbs and organs of the fetus. No exceptions are made for rape and incest victims.
A second measure passed into law on Tuesday prevents women who have had a disabled baby from suing a doctor for withholding information about birth defects while the child was in the womb. Opponents argue that the law will protect doctors who purposely mislead a woman to keep her from choosing an abortion. The bill's sponsors say it prevents lawsuits by people who wish, in hindsight, that the doctor had counseled them to abort a disabled child.
Gov. Brad Henry, a Democrat, vetoed both bills last week. The ultrasound law, he said, was flawed because it did not exempt rape and incest victims and was an unconstitutional intrusion into a woman's privacy. Of the other measure, he said: "It is unconscionable to grant a physician legal protection to mislead or misinform pregnant women in an effort to impose his or her personal beliefs on a patient."
The Republican majorities in both houses, however, saw things differently. On Monday, the House voted overwhelmingly to override the vetoes, and the Senate followed suit Tuesday, meaning the bills become law immediately. "This is a good day for the cause of life," said State Sen. Glenn Coffee, the Republican majority leader.
Though other states have passed similar measures forcing women to have ultrasounds, Oklahoma's law goes further. It requires a doctor or technician to set up whatever type of ultrasound would present the clearest image so the woman can see it and describe the heart, limbs and organs of the fetus. No exceptions are made for rape and incest victims.
A second measure passed into law on Tuesday prevents women who have had a disabled baby from suing a doctor for withholding information about birth defects while the child was in the womb. Opponents argue that the law will protect doctors who purposely mislead a woman to keep her from choosing an abortion. The bill's sponsors say it prevents lawsuits by people who wish, in hindsight, that the doctor had counseled them to abort a disabled child.
Gov. Brad Henry, a Democrat, vetoed both bills last week. The ultrasound law, he said, was flawed because it did not exempt rape and incest victims and was an unconstitutional intrusion into a woman's privacy. Of the other measure, he said: "It is unconscionable to grant a physician legal protection to mislead or misinform pregnant women in an effort to impose his or her personal beliefs on a patient."
The Republican majorities in both houses, however, saw things differently. On Monday, the House voted overwhelmingly to override the vetoes, and the Senate followed suit Tuesday, meaning the bills become law immediately. "This is a good day for the cause of life," said State Sen. Glenn Coffee, the Republican majority leader.
The ultrasound law drew an immediate suit, filed in state court and backed by the Center for Reproductive Rights, which said it violated abortion providers' free-speech and equal-protection rights. The law was part of a bill that was struck down by the state courts last August because it violated a clause in the Oklahoma Constitution that requires bills to deal with only one subject.
This year, Republican leaders broke the omnibus bill into pieces to satisfy the court's concerns. Henry has signed two into law: a measure requiring clinics to post signs stating a woman cannot be forced to have an abortion, and another making it illegal to have an abortion because of the sex of a child.
Two other bills are working their way through the Legislature. One would force women to fill out a lengthy questionnaire about their reasons for seeking an abortion. Statistics based on the answers would then be posted online. The other restricts insurance coverage for the procedure.
Taken together, the various pieces of legislation would make Oklahoma one of the most prohibitive environments in the United States for women seeking to end a pregnancy, family planning advocates said.
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