Web Site Urges Henry To Veto Anti-Abortion Bill

In the squares of the city, in the shadow of a steeple;
By the relief office, I'd seen my people.
As they stood there hungry, I stood there asking,
Is this land made for you and me?—Woody Guthrie’s “The Land Is Your Land”

(Update: Governor Brad Henry vetoed the bill April 18.)

There are many compelling points made by a new Web site urging Governor Brad Henry to veto Senate Bill 714, the draconian anti-abortion bill that would prohibit state funds and facilities from being used in the procedure.

But here’s one that stood out for me:

“This bill will seriously impair our ability to train OB-GYNs, and nurses in a state where a shortage of both already exists. When normal standards of medical care and compassion become prohibited acts, defined as felonies under our laws, it becomes impossible to teach the basic standards of care necessary to ’save the life of a mother.’”

Essentially, if the bill is passed, Oklahoma will once again go backwards in terms of overall health care so religious extremists can enjoy a sanctimonious thrill. Overall care for pregnant women will decline in the state if the bill is passed. As the Web site points out, the bill, which has been passed by the House and Senate, really prevents doctors and nurses from practicing medicine.

The Oklahoma State Medical Association, the Oklahoma Nurses Association, the Oklahoma section of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the Oklahoma Osteopathic Association are against the bill. The bill is sponsored by James Williamson (R-Tulsa).

“This bill is touted as an anti-abortion bill by its proponents,” according to the Web site, “but in reality it amounts to legislative interference in the medical decisions made by doctors and their patients.”

It addition, as the Web site points out, the bill would prevent health insurance companies from funding the procedure and also prevent health care providers from offering Plan B, or the “morning after” pill (this is not the abortion drug RU486) to victims of rape.

The site asks Governor Brad Henry to veto the bill and then asks the Oklahoma Senate to sustain it. The Senate needs only one more vote from the initial vote count to sustain Henry’s veto.

The abortion issue in Oklahoma makes for a tough political decision because of the one-issue, mindless intrusion of the religious right into the political landscape. It’s tempting to throw in the towel and let the religious fanatics have their day because it’s impossible and exhausting trying to argue with close-minded people. But the religious right will not stop here with this particular bill. They want control of our government, and they will not relent.

Progressives need to deliver this specific message to Oklahomans: If you want decent health care in Oklahoma, then listen to what the medical community is saying about this bill. It’s horrendous and backwards. It does nothing to help Oklahoma.

Those women with financial resources can always leave this place and obtain a safe, discreet abortion, and they will leave, and they will not come back.