Sen. Lamb Comments on Lawsuit Targeting Bipartisan Pro-Life Legislation

State Sen. Todd Lamb, R-Edmond/Oklahoma City, issued the following statement regarding a lawsuit by Nova Health Systems against bipartisan pro-life legislation that overwhelmingly passed by the Legislature in 2008. Lamb is the Senate author of the law, Senate Bill 1878.

“This lawsuit was filed by a pro-abortion fringe group that opposes Oklahoma’s sensible regulations on abortions. Their lawsuit seeks to undo important reforms that provide women with information that helps them give informed consent prior to receiving an abortion,” Lamb said.

“Unfortunately, this group is repeating some of the same falsehoods about SB 1878 that were raised during the Legislature’s debate of the bill. For example, claiming that this law forces women to view an ultrasound. Not true. The law requires information from an ultrasound to be provided to a woman prior to an abortion, but it does not require a woman to view the ultrasound,” he said.

“Senate Bill 1878 includes a number of reforms. It protects the rights of healthcare workers to refuse to take part in the destruction of human life; changes Oklahoma’s law to mirror federal regulations on the use of the dangerous abortion pill RU-486; protects women from being coerced into having an abortion; provides for the informed consent for women seeking an abortion by providing a woman with an ultrasound of her unborn child which she may – but is not required to – view; and cultivates a respect for disabled children by banning so-called ‘wrongful-life lawsuits’ that claim a baby would have been better off aborted,” Lamb said.

BACKGROUND: On April 17, 2008, the State Senate voted overwhelmingly to override Gov. Brad Henry’s veto of Senate Bill 1878, a bipartisan pro-life bill, with a vote of 37-11. The House of Representatives voted 81-15 to join the Senate in overriding the veto. It is the first gubernatorial veto overridden by the State Legislature since the administration of former Gov. David Walters.