Oklahoma has attempted to restrict women’s access to essential health care services time after time but its latest bill is outrageous and wrongful. Oklahoma’s Senate Bill 1552 was recently passed by a 59-9 vote in the highly Republican legislature and awaits the governor’s signature (Chokshi, 2016). If signed, this bill will make it a felony for physicians to perform abortions in all cases except to save the woman’s life. The bill construes abortion as an “unprofessional conduct” for a physician, meaning that physicians may lose their medical licenses as well (Crockett, 2016). Simply put, this bill is a ban on abortion and severely limits healthcare options for women seeking the procedure, especially poor ones who do not have the financial
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Wade case in 1973 legalized a woman’s right to have an abortion, which has become one of the most significant Supreme Court decisions in American history. Prior to this decision, women often risked their lives and either tried do-it-yourself methods or sought back alley abortions; in the 1950s, approximately a million illegal abortions were performed in the U.S., and a thousand women died per year as a result (Boston Women’s Health Book Collective, 1998). Women who were victims of botched abortions died of abdominal infections or were diagnosed with life-threatening diseases (Boston Women’s Health Book Collective, 1998). Although the Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade is the supreme law of the land, following court decisions have weakened it. For instance, Planned Parenthood v. Casey set the precedent that states can regulate abortion but cannot impose “undue burden” on women (Currin-Percival, 2016); what constitutes as an “undue burden”? It is left to the states legislatures to interpret what is and is not an “undue burden” (Currin-Percival, 2016). However, a state cannot place a total ban on abortion and criminalize doctors who perform them, like Oklahoma is attempting to …show more content…
By revoking medical licenses and imprisoning physicians that perform abortions, Oklahoma will further restrict women’s choices regarding their bodies, leading them to take drastic measures, such as seeking cheap abortions using improper methods and unsanitary conditions, to terminate their pregnancies like millions of women before 1973. Women may have to travel long distances to other states where the procedure is still available, costing great money and time, a luxury many do not
Wade case in 1973 legalized a woman’s right to have an abortion, which has become one of the most significant Supreme Court decisions in American history. Prior to this decision, women often risked their lives and either tried do-it-yourself methods or sought back alley abortions; in the 1950s, approximately a million illegal abortions were performed in the U.S., and a thousand women died per year as a result (Boston Women’s Health Book Collective, 1998). Women who were victims of botched abortions died of abdominal infections or were diagnosed with life-threatening diseases (Boston Women’s Health Book Collective, 1998). Although the Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade is the supreme law of the land, following court decisions have weakened it. For instance, Planned Parenthood v. Casey set the precedent that states can regulate abortion but cannot impose “undue burden” on women (Currin-Percival, 2016); what constitutes as an “undue burden”? It is left to the states legislatures to interpret what is and is not an “undue burden” (Currin-Percival, 2016). However, a state cannot place a total ban on abortion and criminalize doctors who perform them, like Oklahoma is attempting to …show more content…
By revoking medical licenses and imprisoning physicians that perform abortions, Oklahoma will further restrict women’s choices regarding their bodies, leading them to take drastic measures, such as seeking cheap abortions using improper methods and unsanitary conditions, to terminate their pregnancies like millions of women before 1973. Women may have to travel long distances to other states where the procedure is still available, costing great money and time, a luxury many do not