Tulsa World: Abortion bill vetoed for flaws, says governor
By Barbara Hoberock
“Gov. Brad Henry vetoed a controversial abortion bill that would have required women seeking the procedure to report extensive personal information about themselves, his office announced Saturday.
Henry said House Bill 3284 had numerous flaws and would result in another expensive, and possibly futile, legal battle for the state.
The Statistical Abortion Reporting Act would have required women to provide extensive information that would be compiled into a report, which would appear on a state-run Web site without identifying the women. Supporters say the information is necessary to determine why abortions are sought and how to prevent them.”
“This is the third abortion bill that Henry has vetoed this legislative session. The GOP-controlled Legislature has overridden two of the vetoes.
One bill that survived the governor’s veto requires a woman seeking an abortion to undergo an ultrasound within an hour of the procedure and have its findings explained to her.
The Center for Reproductive Rights filed suit on behalf of Reproductive Services in Tulsa, and a Norman physician and an Oklahoma County judge put the law on hold pending the outcome of the legal challenge.
The other law bars lawsuits against physicians based on claims of ‘wrongful life’ or ‘wrongful birth.’
‘”We are pleased that Gov. Henry has vetoed this incredibly onerous and intrusive anti-abortion measure,’ Jennifer Mondino, staff attorney for the Center for Reproductive Rights, said of the action on the latest bill. ‘The government has no business running a grand inquisition into the private lives of Oklahoma women, and we strongly urge the Legislature to let the governor’s veto stand.'”
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