Perpetuating abortion?

The Senate advanced a slate of pro-life measures

Among the measures approved by the Senate were:

• Senate Bill 584 by Senator Nathan Dahm, R-Broken Arrow, which would prohibit state funding for any health care provider found guilty of trafficking in fetal body parts.
• Senate Bill 612 by Dahm, which would prohibit an abortion in Oklahoma unless it is required to save the life of a pregnant woman in a medical emergency.
• SB 918 by Sen. Greg Treat which would repeal regulations allowing abortions and restore Oklahoma’s prohibition on abortion should Roe v. Wade or Planned Parenthood v. Casey be overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court.
• Senate Bill 778 and Senate Bill 779, both by Senator Julie Daniels, R-Bartlesville, which would provide safeguards surrounding the use of abortion-inducing drugs.

Daniels said chemical abortions now comprise an estimated 41% of all U.S. abortions, a number that’s growing, and the risk of potentially life-threatening complications is four times greater compared to surgical abortion.

According to Daniels, SB 778 would certify the physicians who prescribe abortion inducing drugs to ensure informed consent, proper use, and require physicians to provide data about outcomes. 

State Rep. Andy Fugate, D-Del City, who is pro-abortion, said, “The Constitution has been amended 27 times in its history. In fact, it’s been amended 3 times just within my lifetime. If my Republican colleagues were truly interested in banning abortion, they would call for amending the Constitution. It’s abundantly clear they are only interested in perpetuating abortion so they have an issue they can use to inflame their voters.”

Revoking doctors’ licenses

The House approved HB 1102 by Rep. Jim Olsen, R-Roland, which directs the Board of Medical Licensure and Supervision and the State Board of Osteopathic Examiners to revoke the licenses of physicians who perform abortions for at least one year. The bill provides an exception for abortions performed to save the life of the mother.

HB1102 also directs the Attorney General’s office to calculate costs paid for by the state or local entities in court challenges to the bill and report the amounts for each calendar quarter to the Legislature.

Heartbeat bill

Rep. Todd Russ, R-Cordell, is the author of House Bill 2441, which passed, that would stop abortions from being performed once an unborn child is determined to have a detectable heartbeat.

The bill would require any facility where abortions are performed to post a sign in a conspicuous place stating that it is against the law for anyone to force another person to have an abortion and that abortions induced by medication using a two-step process may be reversible if the second dosage has not been taken within the first 24 hours.

• Senate Bill 723 by Sen. Nathan Dahm would prohibit an abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected.

Burial rights for children

While a law requires healthcare providers to inform parents of their right to request fetal remains for private burial following a stillbirth or fetal death in pregnancies occurring at 12 weeks of gestation or later, families who lose a child in the first trimester are not given the same choice.

Given the number of miscarriages and fetal deaths that occur in the first 12 weeks, Sen. Adam Pugh, R-Edmond, wants to extend the same courtesy to all grieving families who lose a child.   “Losing a child, no matter at what stage of pregnancy, is devastating for expectant parents and their families, but the loss is further magnified when medical facilities dispose of the infant’s remains without consulting with the family to see if they want to bury them,” he said.

The Senate passed Senate Bill 647 which  further clarifies the definition of fetal death and stillbirth in statute. It also subjects birthing centers and medical facilities to the same requirement to maintain a written policy as hospitals.        

The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists estimates that approximately 80% of all pregnancy losses occur within the first trimester or first 12 weeks. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, around 10-20% of known pregnancies end in miscarriage before the 20th week of gestation.

Close to 24,000 babies, or 1 in 160 babies, in the U.S. are stillborn, which can occur after the 20th week up through delivery.