OK Gazette: Opponents of House Bill 1595 expect abortion-report legislation to be re-introduced
By Greg Horton
“Oklahoma House Bill 1595, aka the Statistical Reporting of Abortion Act, suffered another setback on Dec. 18 when Oklahoma County District Judge Daniel Owens extended a temporary restraining order until Feb. 19, 2010. The order prevents the state from demanding women who are seeking an abortion fill out a 10-page questionnaire, and prevents the state from establishing a Web site that would publish respondents’ answers. Janet Crepps of the Center for Reproductive Rights, a New York-based advocacy group that filed the lawsuit on behalf of two Oklahoma plaintiffs, called the decision a victory and said she expects the judge to issue a decision at the February hearing. ‘We are concerned that they will revamp the legislation, but we hope that the Legislature will pause and realize this headlong rush to restrict abortion is causing a lot of litigation,’ Crepps said. ‘Based on the actions of the Legislature, it appears there is a strong anti-abortion agenda, but we’re not going to fold our hands and do nothing if they do decide to reintroduce this legislation.’ Crepps said she believes the judge will render a decision in February because ‘this is an issue that can be decided by a judge as a matter of law.’ ‘We’ll have our arguments ready,’ she said. ‘We believe we’ve laid our legal arguments already in the papers we filed, but we’ll come prepared to present our arguments. Our plaintiffs were concerned that there is an attempt in Oklahoma to restrict abortions and to do so through the use of omnibus bills. We’re hopeful that through the filing of lawsuits and the work of pro-choice advocates on the ground, Oklahomans will reach out to us in support of reproductive rights.’”
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