A bill that would require doctors to tell patients that a medically-induced abortion may be reversed is going before the Oklahoma governor for consideration.
SB 614 would require signs to be posted in facilities where abortions are performed. Doctors would be required to tell women that the abortion can be reversed after they take one of two abortion-inducing pills.
"If you continue to perform the abortion without the signage posted, without the notice, then there are penalties and fines associated," said House bill author Rep. Mark Lepak, R-Claremore. "If it’s a doctor, you could be charged with a felony. If it’s facility, then you could be charged $10,000 a day."
Lepak said the bill would give women one more chance to reconsider their decision for an abortion.
"A number of women have regret after the abortion. They may have a regret during the process but, if they don’t know there may be a way to reverse the process, then they just don’t know," Lepak told News 4. "There are a lot of things in this world that, once you make a decision, you can’t undo. This is perhaps one that you can change your mind and you still have some hope that you could deliver a happy, healthy baby."
Meanwhile, opponents of the bill say there’s no guarantee the abortion can be “reversed.”
"We like to see a sample group of thousands of patients,” said Dr. Melinda Cail with Primary Health Partners. “This study that they based this legislation was a study of seven patients and, so, I think that physicians will find it hard to swallow something that could be a felony that was based on such a small sample.
"In that study of seven people, two went on to stop the procedure and had continuation of the pregnancy. It didn’t say anything about, were they healthy babies? Were they healthy moms? What’s the long-term followup?"
The House passed the bill 74 to 24.
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