Oklahoma Abortion Reporting, Compliance Bill Top Priority for Pro-Life Group
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
February 3, 2009
Oklahoma City, OK (LifeNews.com) — The statewide pro-life group in Oklahoma says a bill that would require the state to do a better job of reporting information on abortion and monitoring compliance with state abortion laws is its top priority for the legislative session. Oklahomans for Life is urging support for House Bill 1595.
In a new action alert, Oklahomans for Life urges pro-life advocates to contact their state senator and state representative and urge them to sponsor or vote for the legislation.
"The bill is an abortion-reporting bill that will measure the prevalence of abortion in Oklahoma, the reasons abortions are sought, and the complications that result," organization director Tony Lauinger tells LifeNews.com.
"The bill will also monitor compliance with our existing abortion statutes, and will prohibit abortions performed for purposes of sex-selection," he added.
Representative Dan Sullivan and Senator Todd Lamb are the authors of the legislation that Lauinger says is a key to helping further reduce the number of abortions in the state.
"HB 1595 is the principal pro-life priority for the 2009 legislative session," he says.
The last bill the Oklahoma legislature approved concerning abortion is still involved in a court battle after a Tulsa abortion business challenged it.
Oklahoma County District Judge Vicki Robertson put the temporary injunction in place in November.
The Center for Reproductive Rights, a pro-abortion law firm based in New York, filed a lawsuit against the measure for a Tulsa abortion business.
The law includes protection for the conscience rights of health care professionals to refuse to participate in abortions, puts more limits in place on the dangerous abortion drug RU 486, and makes sure women are not pressured or forced into having an abortion.
The measure also includes an ultrasound provision to allow women to see pictures of their unborn child and hopefully seek alternatives. It disallows so-called wrongful life lawsuits where parents can sue doctors for the birth of a disabled baby instead of suggesting an abortion.
Judge Robertson ruled the law can’t take effect until March 27 or until she rules on the request from the abortion business to issue a permanent injunction, whichever comes first.
She is expected to hold a hearing in court in February on the law.
Related web sites:
Oklahomans for Life – https://www.okforlife.org
Oklahoma State Legislature – https://www.lsb.state.ok.us
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