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Vol. 79/No. 26      July 27, 2015

 
Oklahoma suit challenges anti-abortion law
 
BY NAOMI CRAINE  
Supporters of women’s right to choose abortion in Oklahoma are demanding the overturn of a state law requiring abortion clinics to have a doctor on site with admitting privileges at a local hospital. This is one of the numerous, increasingly draconian laws on the books in many states that target abortion providers by setting standards beyond what is necessary to ensure patient safety and granting hospitals effective veto power over the provider’s ability to practice.

A dozen members of the Oklahoma Coalition for Reproductive Justice joined Dr. Larry Burns in court July 9 for a hearing on his lawsuit challenging the 2014 law. Burns, who provides nearly half of the abortions performed in the state, has sought admitting privileges at 16 hospitals without success. Last November the Oklahoma Supreme Court temporarily blocked the law from taking effect, allowing Burns’ clinic in Norman to stay open pending the outcome of the suit.

As of July 1, four other states have laws in effect requiring abortion providers to have hospital admitting privileges, and six have similar measures that are temporarily blocked by court orders, according to the Guttmacher Institute.

“These are really sham laws,” Burns’ attorney Genevieve Scott told the Associated Press. “They have nothing to do with a woman’s health and safety,” but rather are designed to force abortion providers to close.

“Abortion care in the U.S. is extremely safe, with fewer than 0.03 percent of patients experiencing complications with hospitalization,” said Karo Chowning, board president of the Oklahoma Coalition for Reproductive Justice. One reason hospitals give for rejecting Burns’ applications is that he can’t commit to admitting at least six patients a year.

At the hearing, District Judge Don Andrews put off making a ruling, instead scheduling a February session to hear more evidence.

In the meantime, another batch of anti-abortion restrictions is scheduled to take effect this November, including a measure that would ban the most common procedure for second trimester abortions, known as dilation and evacuation, or D&E.

“This would effectively be a ban after 15 weeks in Oklahoma, because there’s no provider here that uses a different method after that point,” Chowning told the Militant in a phone interview July 13. This and the numerous other restrictions are “unequal and unfair,” she added. “Those who have the resources can travel to Albuquerque, New Mexico, or Wichita, Kansas.”

The Oklahoma Coalition for Reproductive Justice is a volunteer group that formed in 2010 in response to the growing list of state restrictions on women’s right to choose. “We’ve flooded the lobby galleries at the legislature with supporters wearing pink shirts every session” in protest, Chowning said.  
 
 
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