Override Of Abortion Veto Falls Short

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ An ardent anti-abortion state senator lost a second bid on Wednesday to override Gov. Brad Henry's veto of a bill to bar abortions at state hospitals unless they are necessary

Wednesday, May 9th 2007, 3:12 pm

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ An ardent anti-abortion state senator lost a second bid on Wednesday to override Gov. Brad Henry's veto of a bill to bar abortions at state hospitals unless they are necessary to save the life of the mother.

Gov. Brad Henry vetoed the measure on April 18, saying he feared it would add to the suffering of poor women with troubled pregnancies. Henry also was critical of the bill because it did not include exceptions for rape and incest.

The vote on Sen. James Williamson's second override attempt was 31-16. It takes 32 votes, or a two-thirds majority of the 48-member Senate, to override a gubernatorial veto.

The bill was opposed by the Oklahoma State Medical Association and other medical groups, who said it could endanger the future health of some women.

The Legislature's only medical doctor, Rep. Doug Cox, R-Grove, said it drove a wedge in the doctor-patient relationship and would prevent physicians from discussing abortion as an option in troubled pregnancies.

Williamson, R-Tulsa, won Senate passage of the bill on a 32-16 vote, but Sen. Charles Laster, D-Shawnee, changed his mind on the first override attempt, which failed, 31-17. Sen. Jim Wilson, D-Tahlequah, was not present for the second override vote. Wilson has been an outspoken opponent of the measure.

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