Strict Abortion Measures Enacted in Oklahoma

Two of the anti-abortion laws passed in Oklahoma and challenged in court in 2008, have been rewritten and passed into law by a legislature and senate that overturned the Governor's veto. Challenges have already been filed by the Center for Reproductive Rights.

The Oklahoma Legislature voted Tuesday to override the governor’s vetoes of two abortion measures, one of which requires women to undergo an ultrasound and listen to a detailed description of the fetus before getting an abortion.

Though other states have passed similar measures requiring women to have ultrasounds, Oklahoma’s law goes further, mandating that a doctor or technician set up the monitor so the woman can see it and describe the heart, limbs and organs of the fetus. No exceptions are made for rape and incest victims.

A second measure passed into law on Tuesday prevents women who have had a disabled baby from suing a doctor for withholding information about birth defects while the child was in the womb.

Read more at The New York Times