State Senate Passes Anti-Abortion Proposals

Thursday, May 18th 2006, 8:02 pm

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- A Republican-sponsored bill that includes language from several anti-abortion bills that died earlier in a state Senate committee sails to approval in the full Senate Thursday.

The vote was 38-to-8 for the measure. It now goes to Governor Brad Henry to be signed or vetoed.

The bill requires the consent of one parent before a minor can receive an abortion and allows funding to be directed to organizations that help pregnant women with anti-abortion counseling and support services.

Other provisions expand the recognition of an unborn child as a separate victim if a crime is committed against the mother; ensure a woman is informed that an unborn baby 20 weeks or older may feel pain during an abortion and that anesthesia could be administered to relieve that pain, and give a woman the option of viewing her unborn baby by ultrasound before an abortion.