May 04, 2010

An Oklahoma state judge temporarily blocked the enforcement of a new abortion law for 45 days. The controversial state law requires pregnant women to get an ultrasound and to hear a detailed description of the fetus before they can get an abortion. The law requires doctors to use a vaginal probe, which provides a clearer picture of the fetus than a regular ultrasound (because the fetus is so small at this point). Then the doctor has to describe the fetus in detail, including its dimensions; whether arms, legs, and internal organs are visible; and whether there is cardiac activity. Doctors are also required to turn the screen with the ultrasound images toward the woman so that she can see them.

Lawmakers in Oklahoma overrode Governor Brad Henry's (D) veto, and the law went into effect last week. The law is being challenged by The Center for Reproductive Rights. The Center, a New York-based abortion rights group, challenged the law on behalf of Nova Health Systems (the operator of Reproductive Services of Tulsa). Officials at Reproductive Services said the law has drawn emotional responses from patients, with some leaving in tears after the ultrasound is performed because of what they had to hear and see. The lawyers for CRR were planning on arguing for a temporary block of the law, but the attorney general agreed to accept the order before the court hearing. The attorney general agreed to the order to give his office more time to prepare a defense of the law and to have more time to retain a law professor, Teresa Collett, who represented the state when a similar law passed in 2008 was challenged by the Center for Reproductive Rights (the law was ruled unconstitutional because it violated requirements that legislative measures deal with only one subject).

The Center for Reproductive Rights sees the law as one of the strictest abortion laws in the nation. They say the law forces women to hear information that may not be relevant to her medical care and could interfere with the doctor-patient relationship by forcing doctors to deliver unwanted speech. Teresa Collett said the new law is consistent with standard medical practice. She said, "It would be remarkable if a woman would undergo a medical procedure and a doctor would not have an obligation to describe the procedure and the results of that procedure to the patient." But that's assuming the patients wants to hear this information. These women against the law do not want to hear this information. They do not want to see an ultrasound image. They do not want to be forced to have a vaginal ultrasound. They simply want to have an abortion performed (which is within their legal rights). They shouldn't have to jump through hoops and be subjected to this. Choosing to get an abortion can be a very difficult and emotional decision, but it's that individual's decision to make. There shouldn't be a law in place to try to emotionally traumatize them or make them feel guilty about getting an abortion in order to scare them out of it. It's not the state's role to scare people out of getting an abortion. I find it terrible all these roadblocks that states set up to hinder a woman's right to receive an abortion (as they cannot outright ban abortions). (Full Story)