State Lawmakers Seek To Build On Anti-Abortion Laws

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ State lawmakers already have filed several anti-abortion bills to build on restrictions approved by legislators in recent years. <br/><br/>About 7,000 abortions have been performed

Sunday, January 14th 2007, 11:44 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ State lawmakers already have filed several anti-abortion bills to build on restrictions approved by legislators in recent years.

About 7,000 abortions have been performed in Oklahoma each year during the past decade, according to statistics from the federal Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Oklahoma lawmakers passed several anti-abortion measures in 2005 and 2006, including provisions requiring written parental consent for a minor to have an abortion and additional information required to be given to women about the abortion process prior to the procedure.

It has yet to be seen if those changes have led to a reduction in abortions in Oklahoma.

``We would hope that that would be the case. We hope that more babies' lives will be saved and more women will be protected from the negative aftermath of abortion,'' said Tony Lauinger, state chairman of Oklahomans for Life.

The most recent numbers, released in November 2003, show 6,466 abortions were performed in Oklahoma that year. Only three clinics in Oklahoma perform legal abortions one each in Tulsa, Oklahoma City and Norman.

Though recent legislation has had bipartisan support, many Democrats say they think the way to reduce abortions is to encourage contraceptive use until a woman is ready to have a baby.

``If lawmakers really cared about reducing abortion, they would (support) proactive prevention legislation where the ultimate goal is to prevent the need for abortion and allow women to plan when and whether they want to have children,'' said Keri Parks, director of external affairs for Planned Parenthood of Central Oklahoma.

State Sen. Brian Crain, R-Tulsa, has filed a bill to change the legal definition of abortion to include the practice of using drugs to kill a fetus before it is removed. Another measure Crain expects to file next week would prohibit insurance companies from covering state employees for abortion procedures.

State Sen. Andrew Rice, D-Oklahoma City, is carrying two bills this session trying to expand access to contraceptives.

Lawmakers wanting to reduce abortions can find common ground in ``preventing unwanted conception,'' Rice said.