Oklahoma Senate
Bill On Childbirth Videos Wins Senate Approval
OKLAHOMA CITY - A bill to make sure that the decision of whether to videotape the birth of a child remains between doctor and patient has cleared the State Senate.
Senator Lewis Long of Glenpool is author of Senate Bill 85. He penned the legislation after a major insurance company threatened to raise the rates of hospitals that allow patients to videotape medical procedures such as childbirth.
"This is a once in a lifetime experience for new parents. Its wrong for an insurance company to try and ban videotapes or pictures of a child's first moments," said Senator Long.
"We have a situation where a major insurance company threatened to raise malpractice rates if doctors or hospitals allowed videotaping. They didn't want any evidence that could force them to pay if a mistake was caught on tape," said Long.
"It seems to me a videotape could actually protect medical professionals from frivolous malpractice lawsuits. A video tape simply shows what actually happened. If there is a mistake, then the insurance company should live up to its responsibility," added Long.
The measure now moves to the House for further consideration.
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