Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin has signed a key pro-life bill into law that will help women find abortion alternatives and lower the number of abortions in Oklahoma.
Fallin signed into lawHouse Bill 1409, which would update the current informed consent law as well as increase the 24-hour waiting period prior to abortion to 72-hours. Now signed, Oklahoma joins Missouri, South Dakota and Utah in requiring longer waiting periods prior to an abortion.
The is the second major pro-life bill Fallin has signed into law, after signing a bill to ban dismemberment abortions.
The President of Oklahomans for Life, Tony Lauinger, commented on the legislation.
He told LifeNews, “HB 1409 improves our current abortion-informed-consent law by providing a 72-hour waiting period before an abortion, requiring that abortion facilities, on their websites, link to the state’s Woman’s Right to Know website, and providing that mothers considering abortion be informed that “abortion will terminate the life of a whole, separate, unique, living human being.”
“The purpose of the bill is to provide a better opportunity for adequate reflection — following receipt of informed-consent information about risks, alternatives, and the development of the unborn child — before undertaking the irrevocable step of going through with an abortion,” Lauinger added.
Sen. Greg Treat and Rep. Lisa Billy authored the legislation. Sen. Treat said, “In Oklahoma, we have a waiting period for divorce of 10 days. If there are minor children it is 90 days. We should also take it very seriously when we’re talking about the irrevocable decision of abortion.”
Unsurprisingly, abortion supporters in Oklahoma argue that the legislation places undue burden on a woman’s right to abortion. The states legislative council for the Center for Reproductive Rights, Amanda Allen, said, “Women are more than capable of making their own decisions regarding their health and this bill does nothing more than erect insulting and demeaning hurdles to obtaining a safe and legal abortion. Politicians in Oklahoma need to get their priorities straight and advance bills that truly support the health, rights, and lives of Oklahoma women — not underhanded political games that make health care impossible to obtain.”
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However, the National Right to Life Committee points out that waiting periods and Informing women that “abortion will terminate the life of a whole, separate, unique, living human being” is not new. In fact, it is language that has already been upheld by the Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
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