Posted on 10/08/2009 8:17:52 AM PDT by Mr. Blonde
A lawsuit challenging a controversial abortion bill was filed Tuesday in Oklahoma County District Court.
The lawsuit alleges that House Bill 1595 by Sen. Todd Lamb, R-Edmond, and Rep. Dan Sullivan, R-Tulsa, covers more than one subject and thus violates the Oklahoma Constitution.
The measure requires physicians to provide detailed information to the Oklahoma State Department of Health about the abortions they perform.
Information to be reported includes the age, marital status and education level of the woman; the number of previous pregnancies; a reason for the abortion; the method of the abortion and method of payment; the cost of the abortion; the type of medical health insurance; whether an ultrasound was given; and the nature of the mother's relationship with the father.
The lawsuit alleges that the bill covers four subjects, including redefining a number of abortion-related terms used in state law; banning sex-selective abortion; creating reporting requirements; and creating new duties for the Oklahoma State Department of Health, Oklahoma Board of Medical Licensure and Supervision, and state Board of Osteopathic Examiners.
Charlie Price, a spokesman for Attorney General Drew Edmondson, said, "We will be reviewing the lawsuit over the coming days and will respond to the claims appropriately."
Former state Rep. Wanda Jo Stapleton, D-Oklahoma City, and Shawnee resident Lora Joyce Davis filed the lawsuit, which alleges that implementing the measure will cost $281,285 the first year and $256,285 each subsequent year.
"As taxpayers of this state, we expect our representatives to follow the state Constitution, not pick and choose what measures suit them, then pass unconstitutional legislation that shortchanges their constituents by a quarter of a million dollars," Stapleton said.
Stapleton and Davis are represented by the New York-based Center for Reproductive Rights, which successfully challenged another recent Oklahoma abortion measure, Senate Bill 1878, on behalf of Reproductive Services of Tulsa.
Jennifer Mondino, a staff attorney at the Center for Reproductive Rights, said, "These bundled abortion restrictions have nothing to do with protecting the people of Oklahoma and everything to do with lawmakers who have political agendas trying to make it harder for women to get abortions and harder for doctors to provide them."
HB 1595 is set to take effect Nov. 1. The plaintiffs are seeking to put that on hold, the Center for Reproductive Rights said.
Lamb, who is running for lieutenant governor, said he is confident that the bill will be upheld, calling it "common-sense legislation" that passed with bipartisan support.
The measure was billed as a way to prevent abortions based on the gender of the fetus.
SB 1878 required women seeking an abortion to have an ultrasound within an hour of the procedure and have the findings explained to them.
Last month, Oklahoma County District Judge Vicki Robertson found that that law violated the Oklahoma Constitution because it covered more than one subject.
The state has said it will appeal the ruling on SB 1878.
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