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from Medscape, a med-pro service I use:
Inviting a constitutional battle with the federal government, Oklahoma lawmakers today passed a bill that would revoke the license of a physician who performs an abortion and send him or her to prison.
The bill now awaits the signature of Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin, a staunch abortion foe and Republican who may add a political consideration to her decision. Fallin is reportedly on the short list of possible vice presidential choices of Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee this year.
The state Senate easily passed the measure today in a 33 to 12 vote. It sailed through the state House on April 21 by an even bigger margin — 59 to 9.
The Oklahoma State Medical Association (OSMA) opposes the bill, and is urging Fallin to exercise her veto pen.
"It is simply unconscionable that, at a time when our state already faces a severe physician shortage, the Senate would waste its time on a bill that is patently unconstitutional and whose only purposes are to score political points and intimidate physicians across this state," said OSMA President Sherri Baker, MD, in a news release.
The OSMA does not take a position on the legality of abortion, but as long as the procedure is legal, it opposes any legislation that would override a physician's judgment or interfere with the physician-patient relationship, said Wes Glinsmann, the association's director of legislative and state political affairs, in an interview with Medscape Medical News.
"Oklahoma is a pro-life state," said Glinsmann. "We understand the dynamic. But we think this is a bridge too far. We see it as overstepping what the Supreme Court said [in Roe v Wade]."
Oklahoma law currently prohibits any person except a physician from performing or inducing an abortion. Violators are guilty of a felony punishable by up to 3 years in prison.
Lawmakers removed the physician exception in the current bill, and added a provision that would prohibit a physician who participates in an abortion from obtaining or renewing a medical license in the state. State boards regulating allopathic and osteopathic physicians would also have to revoke the license of any physician who performs an abortion. However, physicians would not face the threat of license denial or revocation if the abortion is necessary to save the life of the mother.
The bill passed by the state legislature also adds performing an abortion to a list of behaviors constituting unprofessional conduct. It includes drug addiction, incompetence, and sexual relations with a patient.
The Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR), a pro-choice organization, is calling on Fallin to veto the bill, which it calls "blatantly unconstitutional."
"This bill will almost certainly lead to expensive court challenges that the state of Oklahoma simply cannot defend in light of longstanding Supreme Court precedent," Amanda Allen, a legislative counsel for CRR, stated in a letter to Fallin. Allen reminded Fallin that her group has sued Oklahoma eight times over the last 6 years over its antiabortion laws.
Fallin has signed 18 bills restricting access to reproductive healthcare services since she took office 5 years ago, according to the CRR.
She has 5 days to sign or veto the latest antiabortion legislation before it automatically becomes law.
Follow me on Twitter @LowesRobert
Inviting a constitutional battle with the federal government, Oklahoma lawmakers today passed a bill that would revoke the license of a physician who performs an abortion and send him or her to prison.
The bill now awaits the signature of Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin, a staunch abortion foe and Republican who may add a political consideration to her decision. Fallin is reportedly on the short list of possible vice presidential choices of Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee this year.
The state Senate easily passed the measure today in a 33 to 12 vote. It sailed through the state House on April 21 by an even bigger margin — 59 to 9.
The Oklahoma State Medical Association (OSMA) opposes the bill, and is urging Fallin to exercise her veto pen.
"It is simply unconscionable that, at a time when our state already faces a severe physician shortage, the Senate would waste its time on a bill that is patently unconstitutional and whose only purposes are to score political points and intimidate physicians across this state," said OSMA President Sherri Baker, MD, in a news release.
The OSMA does not take a position on the legality of abortion, but as long as the procedure is legal, it opposes any legislation that would override a physician's judgment or interfere with the physician-patient relationship, said Wes Glinsmann, the association's director of legislative and state political affairs, in an interview with Medscape Medical News.
"Oklahoma is a pro-life state," said Glinsmann. "We understand the dynamic. But we think this is a bridge too far. We see it as overstepping what the Supreme Court said [in Roe v Wade]."
Oklahoma law currently prohibits any person except a physician from performing or inducing an abortion. Violators are guilty of a felony punishable by up to 3 years in prison.
Lawmakers removed the physician exception in the current bill, and added a provision that would prohibit a physician who participates in an abortion from obtaining or renewing a medical license in the state. State boards regulating allopathic and osteopathic physicians would also have to revoke the license of any physician who performs an abortion. However, physicians would not face the threat of license denial or revocation if the abortion is necessary to save the life of the mother.
The bill passed by the state legislature also adds performing an abortion to a list of behaviors constituting unprofessional conduct. It includes drug addiction, incompetence, and sexual relations with a patient.
The Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR), a pro-choice organization, is calling on Fallin to veto the bill, which it calls "blatantly unconstitutional."
"This bill will almost certainly lead to expensive court challenges that the state of Oklahoma simply cannot defend in light of longstanding Supreme Court precedent," Amanda Allen, a legislative counsel for CRR, stated in a letter to Fallin. Allen reminded Fallin that her group has sued Oklahoma eight times over the last 6 years over its antiabortion laws.
Fallin has signed 18 bills restricting access to reproductive healthcare services since she took office 5 years ago, according to the CRR.
She has 5 days to sign or veto the latest antiabortion legislation before it automatically becomes law.
Follow me on Twitter @LowesRobert
