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Lawmakers are wasting taxpayers’ time and money by pursuing seven anti-abortion measures this legislative session, an attorney for a New York group that successfully challenged anti-abortion laws passed each of the past two years says.
More Info ANTI-ABORTION MEASURESSeven bills are advancing through the legislative session. They are similar to those contained in two bills that were passed earlier by the Legislature but were ruled unconstitutional by the courts because the measures each contained more than one subject. the Senate bills have passed a House committee and are awaiting action by the full House of Representatives and the House bills have passed a Senate committee and are awaiting action by the full Senate. Bills that are similar to measures contained in the 2009 law are:• Senate bill 1890 would forbid an abortion based solely on the sex of the child.• House bill 3284 would require doctors to report detailed information about abortions to the state Health Department, including the age, marital status and education level of patients.Bills that are similar to measures contained in the 2008 law are:• Senate bill 1891 would protect employees who refuse to participate in abortions.• SB 1902 would make it illegal for a person other than a qualified physician who is physically present to administer the chemical abortion pill, RU-486, for the purposes of inducing an abortion.• House bill 2780 would require a woman be given a description of ultrasound images of her unborn child and be offered those images before getting an abortion.• HB 3075 would require certain signs to be displayed in an abortion clinic.• HB 2656 would ban lawsuits that claim a baby would have been better off aborted. There’s a "good chance” the Center for Reproductive Rights would file legal challenges to one or all the measures if they win legislative approval and are allowed to become law, said Jennifer Mondino, a staff attorney for the center."We’ll definitely seriously consider bringing a lawsuit against any or all of them,” she said."It’s a matter of concern to the people of Oklahoma that the Legislature would be spending so much time trying to pass through all of these different anti-abortion bills when it’s very clear that they raise significant constitutional problems,” she said.House Speaker Chris Benge defended the measures, which have won easy approval and appear coasting toward final passage."Our motivation is the respect and sanctity of life in the womb,” said Benge, R-Tulsa. "We’ve been very vocal and out front about how important we think that is."I believe the value of life has been diminished (since abortion was made legal in 1973) and we’re going to try to do everything to restore the value of life,” Benge said. "We think we can do that through these legislative efforts.”Gov. Brad Henry signed the 2009 measure but vetoed the 2008 bill, mostly because it contained a provision that would require women to view an ultrasound of their unborn babies before getting an abortion. Legislators overturned it.It’s not known what Henry will do with this year’s version. the governor has a policy of not commenting on pending legislation until after he has a chance to review it."We obviously have concerns about the bill, but will withhold judgment until we see a final version,” said Paul Sund, a spokesman for Henry.The seven measures earlier were included in two bills, each of which won legislative approval but were knocked out by the courts. some slight modifications have been made in some of the bills, but they basically are the same and have the similar intent as the earlier measures.Five measures were part of a bill that won legislative approval in 2008. the state Supreme Court earlier this month upheld an Oklahoma County judge’s decision who ruled it violated a requirement in the Oklahoma Constitution that legislation deal with a single subject.Two measures were contained in a bill passed last year. An Oklahoma County judge ruled last month it also was unconstitutional because it violated the state constitution’s single-subject rule.The Center for Reproductive Rights filed lawsuits against both bills.Mondino said her group, in addition to questioning the single-subject rule, also raised a number of constitutional claims that the measures would interfere with a woman’s right to an abortion and her privacy. But the courts didn’t address those, she said.The issues were included in court papers so the state "is very well aware of them,” she said. in the lawsuit challenging the 2009 bill, the group also raised the issue of "the incredible expense to Oklahoma taxpayers that was going to be involved in enforcing the law that we were challenging.”"If I was a resident of Oklahoma I would be really upset that my legislators were taking too much time and really in essence wasting taxpayer money trying to push through these anti-abortion laws,” Mondino said.Additional litigation will cost the taxpayers more money, she said.The cost of time spent by staff attorneys with the attorney general’s office is not calculated on individual cases, said Charlie Price, a spokesman for the attorney general’s office.An abortion law expert was paid about $75,000 for work defending the 2008 bill, Price said. the state hasn’t received a final bill for work done on the 2009 law. A $100,000 cap was placed on both contracts, he said.Benge said it was unfortunate that the courts ruled the 2008 and 2009 bills were unconstitutional because of the single-subject rule."I do not understand their rationale for saying that that violated single subject,” Benge said. "Had they not ruled it unconstitutional on that basis, the bill would have been law and we wouldn’t have to run these individual bills.” Leave a CommentView the discussion thread.comments powered by DisqusNews Photo Galleriesview all OKC Thunder vs. LA Lakers: Friday, March 26, 2010
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