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Will a new draconian abortion law force some Oklahoma women with problematic pregnancies to leave the state to receive treatment?
According to a recent story by Jennifer Mock in The Daily Oklahoman some local experts believe it could.
The new law, passed last session by the Oklahoma Legislature, prohibits state money from being used to perform abortions unless the mother’s life is at risk or she is a rape or incest victim. Some say the law directly affects lower-income women and OU Health Sciences Center, which in the past has performed abortions to save the mother’s life or because the fetus would not survive out of the womb.
But a Planned Parenthood spokesperson and a state legislator, according to the story, said they are even unsure if any hospital in the state can treat “crisis” pregnancies with the abortion procedure if the mother’s life is not in danger. This argument is based on the fact hospitals accept Medicaid patients, and some Medicaid money is provided by the state.
A crisis pregnancy can be defined this way: It is a medical emergency in which the mother's and/or fetus's life is in jeopardy.
Under the new law, Oklahoma women with crisis pregnancies may well be turned away for full treatment unless their life is in danger. It seems logical that even most affluent women with crisis pregnancies would want to go to a hospital that offered a full-range of treatment options. Also, who would want to get treatment for a crisis pregnancy at an Oklahoma hospital when its staff might be filled with religious extremists not interested in treating the mother? It’s obvious those legislators who pushed for the law and voted for it were elected by at least a percentage of these people.
This is why it is important concerned citizens in our state form and/or support some type of discreet organization or program that will help the state’s women get treatment for their crisis pregnancies in other states if the need arises. This help could be financial for lower income women or just informational for women who do not want to risk their health. The organization could network with regional hospitals.
The fact Oklahoma might have to send its problematic and difficult pregnancy cases to other states can be another one of its dirty little secrets the chamber-of-commerce types never talk about. But, remember this, the Christian fundamentalists and extremists are not going to stop their legislative assault on the abortion procedure with this one law. This is just the beginning, not the ending. What will happen next legislative session? What’s next?
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