2008 Oklahoma Ultrasound Law Struck

For immediate release:                                        
Tuesday, August 18, 2009  

TECHNICALITY TAKES OUT OKLAHOMA ULTRASOUND LAW

WASHINGTON — Today, in the case of Nova Health Systems v. Henry, the County District Court in Oklahoma struck down SB 1878, a bill providing expectant mothers the opportunity to view the ultrasound image of their unborn child.  The National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) and its affiliate, Oklahomans for Life, supported the measure and urged its passage.

 “The court’s ruling is by no means a condemnation of the commonsense protections provided for in the legislation,” said Mary Spaulding Balch, National Right to Life director of state legislation. “The court’s decision was based solely on a procedural issue and not the substantive matters addressed in the bill.”

 The court determined that the law violated Oklahoma’s single-subject rule which requires legislation only deal with one issue at the time. SB 1878 was an omnibus bill that addressed five abortion-related issues.

 Besides the ultrasound provision the law required that distribution of the abortion pill RU-486 follow federal protocol, a logical standard for administration of a lethal drug. In an attempt to prohibit coercive abortions the law required abortion clinic to display a simple sign stating that no-one can force a woman to have an abortion against her will. Along with protecting the essential right of conscience, the law would have prevented wrongful birth lawsuits that argue a child should have never been born.

 “When all is said and done and the dust has settled from today’s ruling we fully expect that each of these laws will be given full effect in Oklahoma,” Balch said.

 The National Right to Life Committee, the nation’s largest pro-life group is a federation of affiliates in all 50 states and 3,000 local chapters nationwide.  National Right to Life works through legislation and education to protect those threatened by abortion, infanticide, euthanasia and assisted suicide.

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NoDak Heartbeat Law Challenged

For immediate release: Thursday, July 23, 2009

For more information:
Derrick Jones,  (202) 626-8825                                                                                                     mediarelations@nrlc.org 

NRLC RESPONDS TO CHALLENGE OF NORTH DAKOTA HEARTBEAT LAW

 National Right to Life today responded to news that The Center for Reproductive Rights, on behalf of Red River Women’s Clinic in Fargo, North Dakota, is asking for a temporary injunction against the new life-affirming heartbeat law in North Dakota. The law, which was passed this spring, requires that a woman seeking an abortion be offered the opportunity to see an ultrasound of her unborn child and hear the fetal heartbeat, which can begin as early as eighteen days after fertilization. 

 “It’s unclear why a clinic, which claims to care about women, would be afraid to offer their patients all the vital and relevant information before performing a life-changing and intrusive medical procedure,” said Mary Spaulding Balch, J.D., State Legislation Director for the National Right to Life Committee. “Diagnostic ultrasounds and listening to the fetal heartbeat provides mothers accurate information about the development of their unborn child.  Why is the abortion industry afraid of these tools?”

 The North Dakota ultrasound law not only provides the mother the opportunity to see a visual image of her child, but also allows her to hear her baby’s heartbeat, joining six other states with similar provisions. The bill was designed to offer the mother the most information while placing the entirety of the burden upon the abortionist.

 The law was passed by overwhelming margins in both the North Dakota House of Representatives (77-9) and the Senate (44-1).

 “We want women to be informed, and receive all possible information available –  much of which has historically been omitted by those in the abortion industry,” Balch said.  “It is shameful in our society that women cannot rely on abortionists to voluntarily provide them with information that would help them make the best decision for themselves and their unborn children”

 NRLC’s Mary Spaulding Balch is available for interviews regarding the North Dakota heartbeat law and the growing trend to enact similar laws in other states.

 The National Right to Life Committee, the nation’s largest pro-life group is a federation of affiliates in all 50 states and 3,000 local chapters nationwide. 

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