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The Oklahoma state Senate approved a package of five different pro-life bills limiting abortions, including a measure that would allow women to see an ultrasound before an abortion.

The ultrasound measure now heads to Governor Brad Henry. Henry signed three pro-life bills to limit abortions into law earlier this month after courts struck them down when they were bundled into one bill.

The ultrasound bill also requires the abortion practitioner to describe the unborn child -- with the hope that the information will persuade the mother to keep her baby.

The measure has the strong support of Oklahomans for Life, the state's pro-life group.

"Providing a woman with all available information will allow her to make a truly informed decision and to give truly informed consent to this irrevocable act," its chairman Tony Lauinger told LifeNews.com.

Looking at the other pro-life bills, HB 3284 provides for the reporting of abortions performed in Oklahoma, the reasons abortions are sought, and the complications that result.

Lauinger said: "Knowing why women seek abortions may make it possible to solve underlying problems. The reporting of complications will allow an assessment of the untested claim that abortion is 'safe.'"

HB 2656 fosters respect for babies with disabilities by disallowing wrongful-life lawsuits that claim a baby would have been better off being aborted. And HB 3075 ensures that a mother's consent to an abortion is truly voluntary and safeguards against coerced abortions.

One additional pro-life bill, prompted by passage of the federal health-care law last month, is pending in the state Senate. The federal health-care law allows states to opt out of abortion coverage in the state-based insurance "exchanges" the law creates.

HB 3290 prohibits all health plans offered through the state exchange in Oklahoma from including coverage for elective abortions.

Lauinger said of that measure, "HB 3290 can't fix all the abortion-related problems created by the new federal health-care law, but it will fix this one area in which the states have been given discretion."

The bills were enacted in previous years but were later struck down by state courts for violating the nebulous "single-subject" rule (because they were included in broader abortion legislation).

Three of the ultrasound bills head to the governor while two go back to the state House for approval.

Source: LifeNews.com

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