Okla. District Judge Temporarily Blocks Law Requiring Personal Information About Women Seeking Abortions

Main Category: Abortion
Also Included In: Women's Health / Gynecology;  Litigation / Medical Malpractice
Article Date: 23 Oct 2009 - 3:00 PDT

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Oklahoma District Judge Twyla Mason Gray has issued a temporary restraining order blocking the enforcement of a state law requiring abortion providers to report personal information on women who obtain the procedure, the Tulsa World reports. The law was scheduled to go into effect on Nov. 1 (Hoberock, Tulsa World, 10/21).

The law requires doctors to report to the state a woman's age, marital status, education level and the nature of the relationship with her partner (Women's Health Policy Report, 10/1). It also requires information regarding previous pregnancies, reasons the woman is seeking an abortion, and the cost and method of payment for the procedure. The information would be aggregated and posted on a state-run public Web site, excluding the names of the women (Tulsa World, 10/21). The law also would prohibit abortion based on the gender of the fetus, redefine certain abortion-related terminology and establish new responsibilities for some state agencies.

The lawsuit, filed on Sept. 29 by Oklahoma resident Lora Joyce Davis and former state legislator Wanda Stapleton, alleges that the bill violates a state constitutional requirement that legislative measures deal with a single subject. Stapleton said on Wednesday, "The bill places obstacles in the path of women and is intended to discourage and scare them to death," adding, "It points a public finger at women by forcing them to answer 37 intensely personal questions" (Hines, Associated Press, 10/21). Dionne Scott of the Center for Reproductive Rights, which is representing the plaintiffs, called the law "a profound intrusion" (Abcarian, Los Angeles Times, 10/21).

In August, another Oklahoma judge blocked enforcement of a separate law restricting abortion rights based on the single-subject clause. One of the restrictions, an ultrasound provision, would have prohibited a woman from obtaining an abortion unless she first had an ultrasound and listened to her doctor describe the image in detail, even if she objected.

The new restraining order blocks the enforcement of the law until after Dec. 4, when a hearing on the plaintiffs' motion for a temporary injunction is scheduled. The state Attorney General's Office has filed a motion opposing the restraining order, arguing that the plaintiffs have not proven that irreparable harm would take place if the law took effect a month before the hearing. Charlie Price, a spokesperson for the Attorney General's Office, said, "The judge has indicated she will rule on our request by the 30th" (Associated Press, 10/21).

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