Starting Nov. 1, any woman who has an abortion in Oklahoma will have to fill out an extensive questionnaire that will subsequently be posted online. Supporters of the law say that the information will help healthcare officials reduce the number of abortions. They also reason that the answers must be posted online so academic researchers can access the data.
As you can imagine, the logic behind these assumed advantages, along with the entire premise of posting extensive information about individual abortions online, is flawed for various reasons. Here are a few:
- Even though the questionnaire does not ask for name or address, the first eight questions alone most likely would be enough to identify a woman in a town of 200 or less.
- The data will not be suitable for academic research because of the way it is collected. Since a woman could fill out a questionnaire each time she sees a doctor about seeking an abortion, her data could appear to represent more than one patient.
- The questionnaire contains loaded language, such as: "Was there an infant born alive as a result of the abortion?"
Luckily, those opposed to the questionnaire and database have filed a lawsuit that will hopefully prevent the dubious law from going into force. What do you make of all this?
Source: Getty
Oli
I think it fraking horrific! What a naked attempt to intimidate women!
I just can't believe the gall of the patriarchal anti-choicers and their coterie of women enablers.
1Its terrifying. I simply do not and have never understood how it is the governments business what a woman does with her body. This is an outright attempt at simply humiliating and, like spacekatgal said, intimidating women during what is never an easy time to begin with.
2incredibly stupid and outrageous
3Welcome to Jesusland!
4I'm horrified that a state government, or any government for that matter, thinks they can behaved this way. It's ridiculous and a blatant scare tacit to keep women from getting abortions, for religious reasons I'm going to assume. I'm angry that this is what our country is coming to, that the government passes laws and bans with no regard to what the whole population wants.
5I have to agree with all the previous posters.
6OMGWTF! Not only is that a disgusting scare tactic, how is it in any way relevant what race your mother is? Just another reason I am SO THANKFUL to be Canadian!!
7This is so clearly a violation of Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which held that the government cannot place an undue burden on a woman seeking an abortion: "a legal restriction posing an undue burden was defined as one having "the purpose or effect of placing a substantial obstacle in the path of a woman seeking an abortion of a nonviable fetus."
If this doesn't place a "substantial obstacle" in the woman's path - fear of ostracism, her private matters public - I don't know what does.
8What about HIPAA policies and violations?
9Weffie - I second that!
10Just a sad attempt to bully women into not getting abortions
11I find this disgusting - nothing but a scare tactic aimed at shaming these women. How is this going to help healthcare officials reduce the number of abortions? The only way this will reduce abortions is because of the fear of possibly being identified.
12Hear hear Weffie!
13I am too SO GLAD to be Canadian.
Agreed with all above posters...this is disgusting and honestly is our country regressing? Because it seems that way. Starting to wish I lived in another country!
14I wonder of the State Govenment of Oklahoma has taken into consideration how much the welfare rate among young unwed mothers may go up in their state due to this so called law. Are they willing to financially raise these children? It's just another way to force people into the mindset of the religious beliefs of others.
15That's bulls**t! As if its not a horrible experience/procedure to endure in the first place! NOT ok.
16People who want this service will just go to a neighboring state since it's an invasion of privacy. Oklahoma is naive to think this tactic will detour abortion.
17I agree with everyone who has posted. I hope all the Republicans who whine incessantly about taxes are proud of the tax expenditure used to pay for the drafting, passage, and legal defense of this useless piece of moronic legislation.
18This law sounds horribly illegal. It's making a person's private life public information, which, I think goes against quite a bit of medical standards and whatnot.
Ah well, more dead women in Oklahoma thanks to the religious right.
19Wow. If it was heart surgery, transplants, or boob jobs governments would be screaming "foul." But since it's just a "women's" issue, it's no big deal apparently to make people's private lives a public forum.
Despicable.
20These people are so insane. This will also make the young women and their families targets for these anti abortion terrorists that blow up clinics and murder health care professionals that provide these services.
21Agreed - this is outrageous and completely unacceptable. Women and pro-choice agencies are up in arms - and rightly so. But why aren't the doctors outraged as well?
I just read the lawsuit which is based only on the bill/law being a violation of the state constitution in that laws aren't supposed to address more than one "subject" and this addresses four. That should be sufficient to stop it.
Also, on the off chance that the law does take effect, it will cost Oklahomans $280K to implement it and approximately $250K every year.
This is just another way to subjugate and control women.
All that money in order to publicly shame women. Unbelievable.
22how does this have anything to do with the religious right or Jesus????
23justanerd: what do you think is driving this ?
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