Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt signed a law on May 21 that will allow family members to sue a doctor who commits an abortion fraudulently. The Unborn Person Wrongful Death Act seeks to protect a woman from being coerced into abortion, and it also allows the parents, grandparents, or other third parties to seek wrongful death damages against a physician if it is determined that the physician gained consent for the abortion through fraudulent means. The bill also mandates that physicians cannot waive liability before committing an abortion.
Sen. David Bullard sponsored the new law, Senate Bill 1728, after learning that some abortionists receive consent from their abortion patients through deceptive means. A press release issued by Bullard after the bill’s passage cites a statistic from the Justice Foundation that says that 69 percent of all abortions are performed without legal consent. Instances include if a woman is coerced, inebriated, given falsified information, or is misinformed as to the physical or psychological risks associated with abortion. During the bill’s debate, Bullard introduced two women who were illegally coerced into aborting their children, showing that it is a problem within the state.
READ: Though rejected in Slovakia, informed consent laws are needed everywhere
“An overwhelming amount of data indicates these are the tactics used by the abortion industry,” Bullard said in the press release. “Once these fraudulent schemes are exposed and no longer available, thousands of unborn babies will be saved every year. When women and families choose to use this power to make Oklahoma an abortion desert, countless innocent lives will be saved.”
The House version of the bill was sponsored by Rep. Tom Gann, who also spoke of the importance of standing up for women who are coerced into abortions. “We’ve gotten to the point in this country where a woman is only believed if her voice lines up with a specific political ideology,” he said. “This legislation restores the voice of millions of women and gives them the right to fight back against an industry that brutalizes them for profit.”
The new law goes into effect on November 1.
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