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OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — Women seeking abortions in Oklahoma must now be shown an ultrasound and told about the fetal developments of the child, including the heart beat, organs and limbs, before undergoing the procedure.
The tightened restrictions became law after that state’s Senate voted 36-12 to override a veto by Governor Brad Henry.
The laws was quickly challenged in a lawsuit filed by New York-based Center for Reproductive Rights, which is calling the new law the most stringent in the nation.
Pro-life advocates said such information is vital to helping women make an informed choice about terminating a pregnancy. The law does not require women to view the ultrasound, but they must hear their health care provider describe in detail how far the child has developed.
“This is a victory for the women of Oklahoma and their unborn children,” said Mary Spaulding Balch, J.D. director of state legislation for National Right to Life. “Abortion is a business: the less time spent with a woman, the less information given to her, the more sales made. This ultrasound law protects a mother’s right to know something about her developing unborn child.
“Ultrasound gives a mother a window to her womb. It helps to prevent her from making a decision she may regret for the rest of her life and it empowers her with the most accurate information about her pregnancy so that she can make a truly informed ‘choice.’”
Stephanie Toti, a staff attorney in the U.S. legal program of the Center for Reproductive Rights, disagreed, however, calling the override disappointing, “clearly unconstitutional and so detrimental to women in the state.”
She called it a waste of taxpayer money since a similar law has been challenged.
“Another round in the courts won’t change our strong constitutional claims against the law,” she said, adding that the she believes the law intrudes upon patient privacy and forces a woman to hear information that she may not want to hear and that may not be relevant to her medical care.
“Politicians have no business making medical decisions,” Toti said. “When they do, it seriously undermines doctors’ ability to give patients the best medical care and does absolutely nothing to improve the health of patients.”
Critics, including the governor, say the law goes too far because it does not include language exempting victims of rape or incest.
Tony Lauinger, chairman of Oklahomans for Life, told The Oklahoman online that in addition to protecting the unborn child, the new law also benefits the mental health of pregnant patients.
“Many women suffer severe emotional trauma as a result of having had an abortion,” Lauinger said. “With this, women will have the full benefit of having all the information. We believe the effort not only saves the lives of unborn children, but it spares women from emotional or psychological distress that follows an abortion.”
Violations of the law could bring fines as much as $100,000 and legal action to prevent the ability to perform abortions.
A second related bill that protects doctors from lawsuits if an omission from the health care provider about a fetal disability “contributed to the mother not having obtained an abortion” was also successful in a veto override.
State Sen. Steve Russell, R-Oklahoma City, scoffed at criticism that the ultrasound procedure was too invasive.
“An unborn child is forced to have an instrument forced into its body, killing it,” Russell said, according to Tulsa World. “We speak of the poor. We speak of the underprivileged. No one is more vulnerable than a child in the womb. They have no voice, except ours.”
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