Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry Signs Three Pro-Life Bills Limiting Abortions

State   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Apr 5, 2010   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry Signs Three Pro-Life Bills Limiting Abortions

by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
April 5
, 2010

Oklahoma City, OK (LifeNews.com) — Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry today signed three pro-life bills to limit abortions in the state after courts truck them down before when they were combined into one measure. The courts said having them together in one bill violated a state provision saying bills could only focus on one subject.

Henry, a Democrat, signed Senate Bill 1891, which would protect health care professionals’ freedom of conscience by affirming their right to refuse to participate in the taking of a human life.

He also signed SB 1902 regulating the use of the dangerous abortion drug RU 486, which has claimed the lives of more than 13 women worldwide and injured countless others.

And Henry signed SB 1890, which would prohibit abortions that are done for sex-selection reasons. It revokes or suspends the license of any abortion practitioner who violates the law.

The three bills had been in a package of legislation the legislature approved last year, but the court determined the bill violated a constitutional requirement that legislation only address one subject even though the bills were all about stopping abortions.

Sen. Todd Lamb, a Republican from Edmond, was the main sponsor of the bills along with other legislators.

"We are protecting health care professionals who refuse to participate in the taking of an innocent human life," Lamb said of the first measure.

The bills enjoyed the support of Oklahomans for Life, the statewide pro-life group that has been working to stop abortions.

But Tamya Cox,legislative counsel for the Oklahoma chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, told the Oklahoman that the pro-abortion legal group would consult with the New York-based Center for Reproductive Rights to consider filing a lawsuit against the news laws, which take effect immediately.

District Judge Daniel Owens placed a temporary restraining order on the 2009 law, but state legislators are responding to it by passing each of the bills individually.

Related web sites:
Oklahoma Legislature – https://www.lsb.state.ok.us
Oklahomans for Life – https://www.okforlife.org

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