Dangerous Abortion Restriction Signed by Oklahoma Governor

For Immediate Release: April 14, 2015

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Similar bill was signed into law in Kansas, as part of broader agenda to ban abortion

New York, NY — A bill targeting one of the safest and most common methods of abortion — which could restrict access to abortion for many women after 13 weeks in pregnancy — was signed into law yesterday by Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin. This comes just days after Kansas Governor Sam Brownback signed a similar measure into law and as state legislatures push dangerous laws based on bad medicine, including laws in Arizona and Arkansas that force physicians to tell patients that medication abortions can be reversed — despite widespread opposition from medical experts across the country and a complete lack of medical evidence to back this up.

Oklahoma and Kansas have enacted 47 restrictions on safe, legal abortion since 2011 — 18 in Oklahoma and 29 in Kansas. Together, these two states enacted nearly 20 percent of all restrictions on safe, legal abortion passed in all 50 states during this time period, according to the Guttmacher Institute. 

Statement from Dr. Vanessa Cullins, Vice President for External Medical Affairs at Planned Parenthood Federation of America:

"All of us who provide health care to women are deeply troubled by this legislation. This bill has no basis in medicine, and it is really just part of an extreme agenda by politicians who want to ban abortion completely. This legislation would prevent doctors from providing health care based on what’s best for our patients, which is dangerous and deeply disturbing.  Planned Parenthood will fight to protect our patients’ access to safe medical care, no matter what.”

Additional Background: 

A new poll out last week from Vox shows that 87 percent of Americans want a woman's abortion experience to be informed by medically accurate information.

Since 2011, state legislatures have passed more than 240 restrictions on safe, legal abortion — more restrictions than had passed in the entire previous decade, according to the Guttmacher Institute.

D&E is the most common method of performing abortion in the second trimester and is the safest method for most women. 

A Cochrane Library review of the literature comparing surgical and medical methods of abortion at or after 13 weeks’ gestation found D&E preferable to other procedures and associated with fewer complications and side effects than other procedures. See PA Lohr et al.,”Surgical Versus Medical Methods for Second Trimester Induced Abortion” (Review), 2008:3, The Cochrane Library (2008).

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Planned Parenthood is the nation’s leading provider and advocate of high-quality, affordable health care for women, men, and young people, as well as the nation’s largest provider of sex education. With more than 700 health centers across the country, Planned Parenthood organizations serve all patients with care and compassion, with respect and without judgment. Through health centers, programs in schools and communities, and online resources, Planned Parenthood is a trusted source of reliable health information that allows people to make informed health decisions. We do all this because we care passionately about helping people lead healthier lives.