Tulsa clinic challenges teen abortion notification bill

Thursday, May 19th 2005, 11:45 am

By: News On 6

A legal challenge to state abortion legislation. The Center for Reproductive Rights in New York City filed a lawsuit in Tulsa Tuesday, challenging the state's new teen abortion legislation.

It requires doctors to notify a parent if a woman seeking an abortion is under 18. The bill overwhelmingly passed the state House and Senate and is waiting for Governor Brad Henry's approval to become law.

News on 6 anchor Terry Hood explains why the Center for Reproductive Rights wants to stop that. The Center says the new legislation will do more harm than good. The group filed the suit on behalf of Tulsa's Reproductive Services.

Tulsa attorney Martha Hardwick says most of the women under 18 who come in considering abortions already do so with their parents. She said the bill only stands to harm girls who feel unsafe about disclosing their pregnancy to their parents. State legislators say the law is simply common sense.

Oklahoma House Speaker Representative Todd Hiett: "Before a school can administer aspirin or Tylenol to a teenage student that parents would have to be notified. Certainly a decision of this magnitude, the decision to get an abortion certainly should have the parents involved."

Martha Hardwick: "For the law to go into effect for even a few days, is going to be a big detriment to those young women."

A judge dismissed the group's lawsuit earlier Thursday. Hardwick says the judge thought it was premature to challenge a bill.

The group plans to re-file the suit after the bill is signed into law. That is expected to happen on Friday.