Monday, March 2, 2009

HB 1595...another bad bill

For those of you who are concerned about bills which effect women, this one is a doozie. Last week the Oklahoma House of Representatives passed HB 1595 which creates the statistical reporting for abortion act and a state run website to post this information for all to see.

Does the report list your name? Of course not silly, the list of questions to ask the patient having the abortion are so extensive, a woman could be identified should she live in a rural community. Here is a sample of the questions to be asked should this bill make through the Senate:

1. Date of abortion
2. County in which abortion performed
3. Age of mother
4. Marital status of mother (married, divorced, separated, widowed, or never married)
5. Race of mother
6. Years of education of mother (specify highest year completed)
7. State or foreign country of residence of mother
8. Total number of previous pregnancies of the mother

A woman could be identified with the first eight questions on the form in a town of two hundred. Now why would legislators feel the need to post this information on the internet? To harass women who had an abortion? I wonder if the 93 legislators who voted to pass this bill feel better about themselves? Will Rep. Daniel Sullivan sleep better at night knowing this website is up and running?

You know what would make me sleep better is stopping any anti-choice legislation from passing in the Oklahoma Legislature this year. Call your Senator today and ask them not to support HB 1595. Click here if you want to learn who your senator is for your district.

Give it a rest...really.

8 comments:

Unknown said...

This sounds like a woman's worst nightmare and an invasion of her privacy. Where are the HIPA laws? How can this bill pass, oh that's right...it's Oklahoma.

This is truly sad for the women of Oklahoma and the nation.

Get the word out. I certainly will.

Unknown said...

This is a travesty. Further, the bill requires women to report the reason for the abortion, and prohibits sex-selective abortions. VERY slippery slope!

Is the website actually active somewhere? I thought that it wasn't going to be up until 2011.

Anonymous said...

???A woman could be identified with the first eight questions on the form in a town of two hundred.???
could you break down the math?

Anonymous said...

Hi sorry anymeese again. Say that an Cimmaron County, 18 year old, single, African/American, 9th grade educated, with zero previous pregnancies, aborts an 8 week pregnancy, because she doesn't feel able to handle motherhood. How can she be identified when the data surrounding her abortion is aggregated with the rest (yeah I know but work with me here) of the abortions preformed on residents of Cimmaron County. Did you happen to see this section of the bill? Section 7 of this act, public reports based on the form submitted will not contain the name, address, or any other identifying information of any individual female, that the State Department of Health will take care to ensure that none of the information included in its public reports could reasonably lead to the identification of any individual female about whom information is reported in accordance with the Statistical Reporting of Abortion Act or of any physician providing information in accordance with the Statistical Reporting of Abortion Act, and that such information is not subject to the Oklahoma Open Records Act. Just curious. And also hopeful that some understanding can be achieved.-)

Unknown said...

These laws are completely anti-women. There has not been any need for any "questions" in the years since Roe v. Wade, why now? Because Oklahoma would like to see the law overturned and by asking these questions is just putting one more barrier up for women to jump to pursue their LEGAL right to an abortion.
This information is to be published on the internet. It won't take a brain surgeon to figure out how this now public information could be misused.
Oklahoma lost the battle to REQUIRE women seeking an abortion to have an ultrasound one hour before the abortion so the woman could see the fetus. With the hope, of course, that she would change her mind. That is domestic terrorism against women. So now the "government" of Oklahoma has dreamed up some other fool thing.
Let's see what else Oklahoma is known for: #1 in the US for children killed by abuse; #1 in women who are incarcerated; #2 in kids in state custody; #6 in teen pregnancies.
Great statistics. Oklahoma State legislators? You should be ashamed. I am.

Anonymous said...

I agree with Lesli, this is a bill that would like to intimidate women through the fear that they may be discovered and unfairly judged by their familiy, friends, coworkers, or even their peers at church. Anonymous may be correct in that the State Department of Health with do all in their power to protect the anonymity of the women, but that is not the point. Just as anyone is allowed to seek medical attention for anything under complete discretion, so should women be allowed to terminate an unwanted pregnancy.
Why as a human being should a woman's personal rights be
questioned? When do they question a man to his right to a vasectomy, and then post that data on the internet? They don't, so why do it to us?

Anonymous said...

Wow..."an ultrasound one hour before the abortion so the woman [can] see the fetus....is domestic terrorism against women." Really?

Terrorism: "The use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce, esp for political purposes."

If anyone goes to get a medical procedure--say, they're having a tumor removed (a lifeless piece of flesh, sorta like a fetus!), the doctor's gonna show the x-ray, right? Or even an utlra-sound of it!

Not to terrorize you into (not) having an operation.

In fact, many would say it's the doctor's responsibility in giving the patient all possible information, so the patient can CHOOSE what she/he would like to do.

An ultra-sound, in the abortion situation, could reveal a heartbeat--yes. It's only proof that yep, you have something growing inside you and that's why you want your abortion. To get rid of it.

But is that terrorism?? Or is that education? Isn't that making the woman more informed? After all, it isn't a priest sitting beside her and making her feel guilty.

And I don't think a vasectomy is the same as an abortion. However, getting ones tubes tied would be.

If there's nothing shameful about abortions, why are we trying to hide it like there was? Isn't this only perpetuating the stigma about them?
hmm...

viagra online said...

My cousin told me something that I couldn't believe, but now I see that it was true. Definitely in Oklahoma people is nice and kind, but there is not privacy.

There is power in your voice. Use it!