Okla. Lawmakers Approve Abortion Bills

Politics International Politics
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[quote]The Associated Press

OKLAHOMA CITY

The Oklahoma Senate approved several bills Monday that opponents say would make it more difficult or uncomfortable for women to get abortions, including one that would require women seeking the procedures early in their pregnancies to undergo an invasive form of ultrasound.

The five bills, some of which will go to Gov. Brad Henry for consideration and others which will return to the House, were overwhelmingly approved by the Republican-controlled Senate. If given final approval, the bills would give Oklahoma some of the most restrictive laws of any state, an abortion rights group says.

One of the laws headed to the governor would require doctors to use a vaginal probe in cases where it would provide a clearer picture of the fetus than a regular ultrasound. Doctors have said this is usually the case early in pregnancies, when most abortions are done.

“You’re going to force someone to undergo an invasive medical procedure,” objected state Sen. Andrew Rice, D-Oklahoma City, who voted against the bill. “You have to invasively put an instrument inside the woman. This could be your 15-year-old daughter who was raped.”

At least three states require ultrasounds before all abortions, but no other states require vaginal ultrasounds or that doctors to describe the image to women.

State Sen. Anthony Sykes, R-Moore, who sponsored the ultrasound bill, said the goal was to provide women seeking an abortion with as much information possible before they had the procedure.

Henry vetoed the ultrasound requirement in larger bill two years ago, arguing it had no exclusions for victims of rape or incest. But his veto was overridden when anti-abortion Democrats joined with Republicans. The bill was later ruled unconstitutional because it dealt with more than one subject. The bill passed Monday also has no exceptions. Henry has not indicated whether he will sign it.

It passed 35-11 Monday with several Democrats voting with Republicans. Of the five women in the Senate, all Democrats, two voted for the bill and three voted against.

The other abortion measures would require women to complete a lengthy questionnaire before receiving an abortion, mandate certain signs be posted in an abortion clinics and prevent so-called “wrongful-life” lawsuits in cases where a parent might argue that a child with birth defects or other problems would have been better off aborted. Another bill would prohibit state insurance exchanges, created under the new federal health care law, from covering abortions.[/quote]
abcnews.go.com/print?id=10420549
That’s pretty harsh. Do the women have to wear a scarlet letter as well?

:s

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update:[quote]
Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry has vetoed two strict abortion bills which he says are unconstitutional attempts to insert governmental control onto the lives of private citizens.

One of the bills would have required woman to have an ultrasound performed and listen to details about their fetus before they could proceed with the procedure.

In response to the first bill Henry said:

“It would be unconscionable to subject rape and incest victims to such treatment,” adding “State policymakers should never mandate that a citizen be forced to undergo any medical procedure against his or her will, especially when such a procedure could cause physical or mental trauma. To do so amounts to an unconstitutional invasion of privacy.”

The other bill would prohibit woman from seeking damages if their physicians withheld important information or provide inaccurate information about their pregnancy. This section of the bill was created according to those involved so women could not discriminate against fetus’ with disabilities.

According to Henry he vetoed the first bill because it does not allow rape and incest victims to be exempted. [Newser][/quote]

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Yet another assault on freedom from the right. And I thought conservatives were supposed to be against government interference into our private lives.

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Assault on freedom? :laughing:

That’s so 1993.

They were vetoed, Chris. Dunno about the other three.

“Assault on freedom.” I’ll be giggling about that for days. Makes you sound like George Bush. :notworthy:

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Assault on freedom? :laughing:

That’s so 1993.

They were vetoed, Chris. Dunno about the other three.

“Assault on freedom.” I’ll be giggling about that for days. Makes you sound like George Bush. :notworthy:[/quote]
How’s that whole ‘walking the walk’ thing working out for you?

It’s lucky Oklahoma has a Democratic governor.

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Assault on freedom? :laughing:

That’s so 1993.

They were vetoed, Chris. Dunno about the other three.

“Assault on freedom.” I’ll be giggling about that for days. Makes you sound like George Bush. :notworthy:[/quote]
You think that attempts to restrict abortion are not an assault on freedom?

Why are you addressing my choice of words, rather than the issue itself?

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Assault on freedom? :laughing:

That’s so 1993.

They were vetoed, Chris. Dunno about the other three.

“Assault on freedom.” I’ll be giggling about that for days. Makes you sound like George Bush. :notworthy:[/quote]
You think that attempts to restrict abortion are not an assault on freedom?

Why are you addressing my choice of words, rather than the issue itself?[/quote]
Because you didn’t comment on the Bills, or the vetoes. You knee jerked and sounded like George Bush. It’s really kind of funny, especially coming from you. If you read the bills, and who sponsored them, and who supported them, you might discover some Leftie support too.

have a nice day. do some reading. :thumbsup:

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Assault on freedom? :laughing:

That’s so 1993.

They were vetoed, Chris. Dunno about the other three.

“Assault on freedom.” I’ll be giggling about that for days. Makes you sound like George Bush. :notworthy:[/quote]
How’s that whole ‘walking the walk’ thing working out for you?

It’s lucky Oklahoma has a Democratic governor.[/quote]

err, I don’t get the smarminess, doc. Did you think I supported these nonsense bills? :laughing:

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Assault on freedom? :laughing:

That’s so 1993.

They were vetoed, Chris. Dunno about the other three.

“Assault on freedom.” I’ll be giggling about that for days. Makes you sound like George Bush. :notworthy:[/quote]
How’s that whole ‘walking the walk’ thing working out for you?

It’s lucky Oklahoma has a Democratic governor.[/quote]

err, I don’t get the smarminess, doc. Did you think I supported these nonsense bills? :laughing:[/quote]
Aren’t you the guy that was starting all those threads in feedback about how we can’t have civil discourse in the IP?

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Because you didn’t comment on the Bills, or the vetoes. You knee jerked and sounded like George Bush. It’s really kind of funny, especially coming from you. If you read the bills, and who sponsored them, and who supported them, you might discover some Leftie support too.[/quote]
I did read the article. Where is the so-called “leftie support”? I see that some Dems supported it. Dem does not necessarily mean “left”. Especially in Oklahoma, one of our reddest states.

How was my condemnation of a bill restricting freedom “kneejerk”?

You, my friend, need to stop tossing red herrings into the ring.

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Have I not been civil? I haven’t even used sweary words.

I don’t support these bills. I think they’re stupid and quite horrifying actually. Getting a vaginal ultrasound probe and a nice description of the fetus you’re about to abort…not exactly my cup of tea.

I think IP threads that keep to the facts, and keep out the rantings are best. The immigration thread, I think, is not too bad.

Chris sounding like GW is just GOLD though. :bravo:

“It’s an assault on freedom!!” Except that’s it’s not. The bills were vetoed. Chris probably didn’t even other to read up on the stuff. Me pointing that out is not uncivil…embarrassing for Chris maybe…but not uncivil.

:slight_smile:

I expect Chris to come in any minute now and say that the Dems who supported this shit aren’t really Dems because they supported it.

Fact is, the Bills got vetoed and that is good. :bravo:

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Whatever

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[quote=“hardball”]Chris sounding like GW is just GOLD though. :bravo:

“It’s an assault on freedom!!” Except that’s it’s not. The bills were vetoed.[/quote]
The bills are an assault on freedom; they are being proposed by conservatives who wish to limit freedom.

Thankfully they are being vetoed.

Imagine if the governor were a Republican. These bills would be signed.

Of course, your spurious claim that I sound like GW is ridiculous beyond belief.

Did I claim that you used swear words or were uncivil in this thread? No. I claimed you were using red herrings, and you continue to do so.

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Hmm, was it your belief that when terrorist flew planes in the the WTC, the Pentagon and such that our “Freedoms were being assaulted?”

So, freedoms are being assaulted when the small Congress of one small State passes a couple of Bills that then get vetoed?

How am I using red herrings, Chris? I’m just pointing out how your use of Rovian rhetoric is funny.

What am I diverting attention from?

I agree with you that the Bills are stupid and I’m glad they didn’t pass. I’m sorry that confuses you.

:bravo:

er, OK.

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No, silly. The planes rearranging the NY skyline were the pretext for the crushing of hard won freedoms. Get it straight.

HG

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No, silly. The planes rearranging the NY skyline were the pretext for the crushing of hard won freedoms. Get it straight.

HG[/quote]
Ah…You’re right. Mucho gracias. Chicken. Egg. I keep forgetting. :laughing:

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Oklahoma’s legislature just overrode the governor’s veto.

NY Times article

If any Republican claims that their party opposes government interference in people’s private lives, they are lying. :raspberry:

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I thought this was a joke when I first saw it. Not so much the ultrasound part - as horrible as it is, that seems like a standard anti-choice type line of attack. The second part though, that a doctor is allowed to LIE to his patient about the health of her fetus is completely unconscionable and brings the crazy to a whole new level.