ACLU speaks against Lamb’s bill

James Coburn
The Edmond Sun

EDMOND November 25, 2008 11:28 pm

— A bipartisan pro-life bill supported by both Houses of the state Legislature continues to face obstacles after lawmakers were able to override Gov. Brad Henry’s veto in April.
The Freedom of Conscience Act, Senate Bill 1878, was designed to go into effect on Nov. 1. New York-based Center for Reproductive Rights filed suit in the Oklahoma County District Court earlier this month on behalf of Nova Health Systems, a reproductive health clinic in Tulsa.
The American Civil Liberties Union contends that Senate Bill 1878, the Freedom of Conscience Act, “restricts a woman’s right to choose and promotes cruelty.”
“This is not medically necessary, nor will it stop abortions from happening,” said Tamya Cox, ACLU of Oklahoma program director. “SB 1878 is unjust.”
The ACLU supports the lawsuit but is not involved in the case as of yet, Cox said.
State Sen. Todd Lamb, R-Edmond, said the most divisive point of SB 1878 for opponents is that it requires females to be in the presence of an ultrasound at least one hour prior to their scheduled abortion.
Henry vetoed the bill in April, saying that the legislation fails to provide “essential exemption for victims of rape and incest.
“By forcing the victims of such horrific acts to undergo and view ultrasounds after they have made such a difficult a heartbreaking decision, the state victimizes the victim for a second time.”
According to SB 1878, the female preparing for an abortion may choose to avert her eyes from the ultrasound images required in the provision, said Lamb, who co-authored the bill with Rep. Pam Peterson, R-Tulsa.
“Neither the physician nor the pregnant woman shall be subject to any penalty if she refuses to look at the presented ultrasound images,” the bill states.
The medical professional conducting the ultrasound would be required to describe to the expectant mother what the ultrasound depicts, Lamb said. She would hear about the dimensions and cardiac activity of the embryo or fetus, information that Lamb said is necessary to make an informed decision.
Physicians typically will give their patients all the information available to make an informed decision for surgery, he added.
“It’s been routine with me,” Lamb said. “That’s what this bill does. It gives additional information to the mother of what’s going on inside her body with the baby’s body.”
Women may view the results of a mammogram before surgery, but mammograms are medically necessary procedures, Cox argued. Requiring the ultrasound before an abortion would be evasive and not medically necessary, she said.
“She may have the choice of averting her eyes but it’s the actual ultrasound procedure itself that we have definite reservations on,” Cox said.
Another fear of the reproduction service in Tulsa is they would have to let go part of their staff to accommodate SB 1817, Cox said.
“This would create burdensome money issues,” she said. “Someone would have to read the ultrasound. It causes more work they didn’t have to do before.”
SB 1878 also regulates RU486 (the morning after pill) to mirror federal standards. It also protects health care professionals from being fired from a medical facility for refusing to participate in abortions if the activity contradicts their religious beliefs or moral convictions, Lamb said.
Federal law already protects health-care workers from being discriminated against if the refusing to participate in abortions on the grounds of their religious or moral codes, Cox said.
Signs also would have to be posted in abortion facilities to alert minors that they can’t be forced to have an abortion, Lamb said. An example would be a boyfriend threatening to breakup with his teenage girlfriend if she refused to undergo an abortion. A parent might say, “If you don’t get an abortion, we’ll kick you out of the house,” Lamb explained.
“That’s a lot of pressure for a young lady with everything she’s going through,” Lamb said.
Lawmakers will revisit some of the issues of SB 1878 if needed, Lamb said. And the Senate will take steps this next legislative session to advance additional pro-life issues.
jcoburn@edmondsun.com | 341-2121, ext. 114