Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Todd Lamb, anti-abortion legislator
As of November 1, women in Oklahoma who have an abortion will have to provide detailed information about themselves and their operation which will then be posted on a public website. The Statistical Reporting of Abortions Act is being challenged by two women who have filed a lawsuit arguing the new law violates the state constitution.
Although the 37-questionaire required under the new law does not ask for names, opponents say the amount of personal information will still result in people being able to identify women who have abortions. Details to be posted online by the Oklahoma Department of Health include a person’s age, marital status, education level, number of previous pregnancies, cost and type of abortion, method of payment, reason given for abortion, as well as the mother’s relationship to the father. Examples of questions include: “Was there an infant born alive as a result of the abortion?” and “Was the abortion performed within the use of any public institution?”
“This law asks for so much information, and they are going to put it on the Internet for public scorn,” plaintiff Lora Joyce Davis told ABC News. “Women who have abortions are considered murderers by many people, and you are going to put the name of a town of 200 and the fact that the girl is 17 and it’s her first pregnancy and she’s in the 10th grade. People are going to know who it is.”
The Statistical Reporting of Abortions Act was sponsored by two anti-abortion Republican lawmakers, state Senator Todd Lamb and Representative Dan Sullivan.
“This legislation is essential in protecting the sanctity of life,” said Lamb last April when the bill cleared the legislature. “Too often the life of the unborn is taken for granted, and I applaud my colleagues for their bipartisan support of a pro-life measure, despite attempts on the floor to sabotage this issue important to families across our state.”
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Abortion Law Akin to 'Undressing Women' (by Susan Donaldson James, ABC News)
The Details of Your Abortion Online? (by Lynn Harris, Salon.com)
Statistical Reporting of Abortions Act (see pages 8-17) (Oklahoma Secretary of State) (PDF)
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