FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 19, 2016
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Law Would Effectively Ban Abortion in a State with Only Two Remaining Providers
NARAL Pro-Choice America today called out the Oklahoma legislature for passing a bill to make performing an abortion a felony. NARAL president Ilyse Hogue condemned the plan which would effectively ban abortion across the state, and called on the governor to veto the bill.
“Against a backdrop of a Presidential nominee threatening to punish women for accessing abortion, Oklahoma’s new bill criminalizing this vital reproductive service is reckless and dangerous,” said Ilyse Hogue, President of NARAL Pro-Choice America. “This bill puts doctors in the cross hairs for providing women with the option of exercising our fundamental right to decide how and when to start a family. And it creates penalties for doctors doing their jobs: performing a safe and legal medical procedure.”
“This obviously unconstitutional bill will never withstand legal scrutiny and is designed to scare doctors and shame women. It is a shameful new low for the anti-choice movement,” continued Hogue. “This bill is not about protecting women. It is about advancing a far-right wing agenda that is out of step with the 7 in 10 Americans who support legal access to abortion. Governor Fallin should veto this bill immediately.”
To see NARAL’s letter to the Oklahoma governor, click here.
This bill follows a trend in legislation attempting to target providers of abortion care to restrict or eliminate access to abortion. Dating as far back as 2007, a bill sponsored by then-Colorado State Senator Cory Gardner would have made performing an abortion as a class 3 felony with a sentence of up to 12 years in prison, potentially sending doctors to prison with sentences longer than some convicted rapists. The movement of anti-choice legislators like Gardner to Federal legislative office is a key indicator of the growing crisis in abortion access in this country.
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