Growing Opposition

It’s welcome news some local college students and outside forces are now protesting the draconian abortion-reporting bill passed by the Oklahoma Legislature last session, but where were these people when the bill was first proposed and signed into law?

House Bill 1595 would create a government-run website that would include information about each abortion performed in the state. Personal information about women receiving abortions would be revealed on the Internet, although their names would remain anonymous.

As I wrote in a Oklahoma Gazette commentary titled “Pro-life intimidation” in April before the bill was signed into law, “The reporting form would apparently include the age, marital status, race, education level and total number of pregnancies of the women seeking abortions. It also asks for the name of the county in which the abortion was performed and the reason for the abortion.” I also wrote about the bill in this May post in which I urged Gov. Brad Henry to veto the bill.

The 10-page questionnaire will obviously intimidate some women, though its anti-abortion proponents say the bill is only about studying abortion.

Here are some of the major problems with the bill: There is a possibility women from small rural towns could be identified through their personal information, an obvious violation of medical privacy, and, as I mentioned, it could intimidate women from seeking an abortion in Oklahoma. It also adds an unnecessary burden on physicians. It would cost the taxpayers more than $250,000 annually to run the website, money that could be used elsewhere in this bad economy. What if legislators decide later to publicly identify women on the site?

The bill is just another step in the local anti-abortion crusade to take away reproductive freedom rights from Oklahoma women. Of course, Oklahoma women can easily go to another state to get an abortion, but that can be cost prohibited for those who are poor.

Fortunately, the bill has been put on hold by a court order. The Center for Reproductive Rights, which is based in New York, filed a lawsuit against the bill, arguing it violated the Oklahoma Constitution, which requires legislation have only one subject. (The bill also includes a provision that would outlaw abortions based on the gender of the fetus.) An Oklahoma County judge blocked the bill from becoming law on November 1. A hearing on the law is scheduled for Dec. 4.

Also, a group of college students gathered at the State Capitol Friday to protest the bill, according to NewsOK.com.

The New York Times editorialized against the bill, but it did so in October, months after the bill was passed. Salon.com got interested in the bill about the same time.

As I mentioned earlier, it’s absolutely great there’s growing opposition to this terrible, insensitive bill, but where was everyone when it was debated and passed? The state’s major media outlets did cover the issue. Some of us spoke up against it.

The larger issue is this for state pro-choice proponents: The Republican-dominated legislature here will continue to propose and probably pass more anti-abortion laws, which will be some of the strictest in the nation. Those Oklahomans concerned about reproductive freedom for women can count on it and should speak up when the bills are proposed. Swift, organized responses from activists and progressive media to pending legislation would probably be more effective than after-the-fact action.