Online posting of women's abortion information challenged in Oklahoma

[ensho]

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/12/18/oklahoma.abortion/


A judge in Oklahoma extended on Friday a temporary restraining order on a law that would post information online about women who get abortions in the state.

In extending the restraining order, Oklahoma County District Judge Daniel Owens denied the state's motion to dismiss the case, putting the measure on hold until a February 19 hearing.

"We are very pleased with today's ruling. This law is a profound intrusion on women's privacy and a waste of taxpayers' money," attorney Jennifer Mondino of the Center for Reproductive Rights said in a written statement. The New York-based center had filed a suit on behalf of former state Rep. Wanda Jo Stapleton and another Oklahoma resident.

"Women in Oklahoma should not have to jump through hoops to access legal medical care and the government has no business violating the state constitution to impose those obstacles," Mondino said.

The law, passed in May, requires doctors to fill out a 10-page questionnaire for every abortion performed, including asking the woman about her age, marital status, race and years of education. In all, there are 37 questions the women are to answer.

Critics say the act would be harassment and an invasion of privacy.

-long snip-

"They're trying to do away with abortions completely," she said. "They can't because of Roe v. Wade. But they're finding ways around Roe v Wade."

If the law does go forward, the state Department of Health is to have the Web site up and running by March 1, 2011. Doctors are to begin submitting completed questionnaires 30 days later.
-------------------------------


thank goodness Judge Owens is sane!

[Beacho]

1. Why not use a scarlet letter while you're at it?

It's such a disgustingly obvious maneuver

[Captain Hilts]

2. Unbelievable. nt

[Warpy]

3. You don't have to use a patient's name or photo to violate HIPAA

All you have to do is post enough information to identify her, especially in a small town.

This idiocy won't stand.

There is no compelling reason to put this information online.

Hell, if somebody insisted I fill out one of those things, I'd feel compelled to lie on most of it.

[enlightenment]

4. That's good - but there are other troubling things in the law,

including a provision that stipulates that if one section is found unlawful (the disclosure section) that only that provision would be affected - everything else would stand. Someone (sorry, I don't recall who and I apologize to them for my faulty memory) said that it was standard language in a law and that well may be - but it certainly leaves the door wide open for them to have slipped in stuff that apparently hasn't hit anyone's radar (or maybe I'm just paranoid - that's entirely possible).

There is a very troubling line in the definitions section of the law that I think has the potential to create a lot more issues down the road. It essentially defines an 'unborn child' as a person from the moment of conception.

"Unborn child" means the unborn offspring of human beings
from the moment of conception, through pregnancy, and until live
birth including the human conceptus, zygote, morula, blastocyst,
embryo and fetus;

http://www.npr.org/documents/2009/dec/oklahomaabortionbill.pdf
page 3

I'm delighted that they are challenging the clearly unconstitutional aspects of this law - I just wish they would scuttle the whole nasty mess.

[haele]

5. Human conceptus? Does that mean that women need to collect their menstrual pads/tampons

and send them to their nearest OB/GYN for evaluation if they had unprotected sex within a week of their period?
And how much are doctors and labs going to charge the state to provide this service "under the law"?

Are Tom Coburn's born-again fundy-warrior buddies "practicing" OB/GYN medicine need that much money that they need to be subsidized by the state to provide "monthly unborn baby checks" to every Oklahoman woman of childbearing age that might (or even might not) have sex and could possibly had human conceptus flushing out during her period? Will that be considered "an Abortion" that can be used to further shame and punish women for the sin of Eve that got mankind kicked out of the Paradise?

I hear a big ol' "Ca-Ching" for doctors pretending to be OB/GYNs that don't really like practicing the harder medicine involved with Obstetrics, or aren't very good at it in the first place - and would rather just sit in a comfy office doing simple exams and pushing paperwork while getting paid big bucks on a regular basis.

Haele

[yankeeinlouisiana]

6. "...until live birth"?

So, if it's a still born, it's not a child?

Odd law and I would definitely lie on the form.