Oklahoma bans abortion in state hospitals

Oklahoma bans abortion in state hospitals
Democrat governor, lacking votes, allows bill to become law without signing

Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry allowed an anti-abortion bill to become law on Wednesday by taking no action on the legislation.

The passage of the measure makes Oklahoma the only state this year to pass legislation that would prohibit certain abortions in state-funded medical facilities, according to a research institute.

If a bill passes the Legislature, it becomes law after five days if the governor does not either sign or veto it during the legislative session. Wednesday marked the fifth day since Henry received the bill.

The bill did address a few issues included in a previous anti-abortion bill Henry vetoed, but “it has not fixed all of the problems in SB 714,” he said in a news release. “Specifically, it still fails to provide exemptions for instances in which a lethal birth defect means there is no possibility of a fetus’ survival. A woman should not be forced to carry a fetus to full term when there is no possibility that the fetus can survive outside the womb.”

The bill, Senate Bill 139, would prohibit abortions in state medical facilities or by state employees unless the life of the mother is threatened, she poses the risk of impairment to major bodily functions or in the case of rape or incest.

Henry recently vetoed Senate Bill 714, which included most of the same language as Senate Bill 139 but did not allow the provision on rape or incest. Democratic senators sustained the vote during two override attempts.

Henry, a Democrat, may not have had the votes this time around to sustain his veto had he made that decision.

“Although I will allow SB 139 to become law without my signature, I would also challenge its proponents to work with the medical community and other interested parties to address the lethal birth defect issue in the next legislative session,” Henry said.

Where to go?

With the restrictions on abortions in state-funded medical centers and by state employees, some legislators wondered where women would go in instances where a child would die shortly after birth. Abortions in state hospitals in the past were sometimes performed in instances of fatal fetal anomalies.

“We don’t even know if there’s a private facility to do these procedures,” said Sen. Jim Wilson, D-Tahlequah, during a Senate debate on the issue last week. “These procedures have been done before Roe v. Wade. These are health procedures.”

Brooke Cayot, spokesperson for INTEGRIS Health, said medical facilities it owns and operates do not perform on-demand abortions but do have an abortion committee that looks at whether to perform therapeutic abortions. She said these committees look at instances of fatal fetal anomalies and determine the best course of action.

“It’s a pretty rare occurrence because so many things have to be in place,” Cayot said.

She said there are few cases of fatal fetal anomalies or where a mother’s life is in danger.

St. John Health System operates in a similar manner.

Cheena Pazzo, director of community relations for St. John Health System, said the medical system follows the Ethical Religious Directives of the U.S. Catholic Bishops Association, which is not in favor of abortion. There is an ethics committee that may review cases in which a woman’s life is in jeopardy or if there are fatal fetal anomalies, but does not support other abortions.

A spokesperson for Saint Francis Health System did not return calls on Wednesday.

Joseph Scheidler, national director for the Pro-life Action League, believes using the risk to the mother or the chance of these fatal anomalies as a reason to allow abortions is an emotional ploy.

“Abortion is not a life-saving surgery,” he said, adding that medicine is sophisticated now and very few women die because of a pregnancy.

As for aborting due to fatal fetal anomalies, he said everyone will die and he does not think it is right to say, “let’s kill this baby because it’s going to die.”

He believes doctors do make mistakes in diagnosis.

What’s been done?

Oklahoma is the 32nd state to prohibit the use of state funds for abortion except in instances where a woman’s life is in danger or in cases of pregnancy due to rape or incest, according to the Guttmacher Institute, which is a not-for-profit organization that focuses on the policy analysis, social science research and public education on issues of sexual and reproductive health.

Abortion has been a federal issue since the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that legalized abortions in the country. The Supreme Court voted in favor of allowing the state of Missouri to prohibit the use of state funds on abortions in the 1989 Webster v. Reproductive Health Services decision.

The Guttmacher Institute’s Web site indicates that federal law allows the prohibition of state funds to be used toward abortions, but states must allow exceptions to save the life of the mother and in instances of rape and incest. The institute’s Web site contends that South Dakota is the only state in violation of the federal law because it does not include the provision on rape and incest. Oklahoma’s previous abortion bill, Senate Bill 714, also did not include a rape and incest exemption, which concerned several lawmakers.

Sen. Nancy Riley, D-Tulsa, previously said Senate Bill 714 was too restrictive when it comes to rape or incest victims.

“When you overlook the consequences of a rape or an incest (case) and (a child) is born into a family who does not want it,” then it becomes a moral test for the Legislature, Riley had said. She voted against Senate Bill 714, but voted in favor of Senate Bill 139, which included the rape and incest provisions.

What’s the Impact?

Several lawmakers and the governor were also concerned about whether restricting abortions in state-funded hospitals would affect the accreditation of the state’s medical schools, which train medical students at state hospitals.

Catherine Bishop, vice president of public affairs at the University of Oklahoma, would not comment on pending legislation, but said the medical schools are accredited through the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.

“No program or resident with a religious or moral objection shall be required to provide training in or to perform induced abortions. Otherwise, access to experience with induced abortion must be part of residency education. This education can be provided outside the institution. Experience with management of complications of abortion must be provided to all residents,” according to the program requirements for the residency education in obstetrics and gynecology through the accreditation council.

Anita Fream, chief executive officer with Planned Parenthood of Central Oklahoma, believes the impact on medical facilities could be felt statewide.

“It appears that the impact of this bill reaches into our community hospitals; and in many rural communities there is only one hospital to use,” she said in a release.

She said that often patients are referred to state medical facilities, like the OU Health Sciences Center, because it is a teaching hospital and that is where the experts are.