A new law in Oklahoma is controversial for its disclosure of information which may violate patient privacy, according to critics. See video and find out more about the new law which will go into effect on Nov. 1, 2009. The law in question is the Statistical Reporting of Abortions Act. It will require doctors to disclose information about women who have had abortions; information derived from a questionnaire with 37 items of personal information which will then be posted on a publicly accessible Web site.
The Oklahoma Department of Health will be required to publish data online. Names will not be published, however, the following will be included among those 37 items: race, marital status, financial circumstances, years of education, number of previous pregnancies, and reason for seeking the abortion. Additionally, if a doctor does not provide the information, he or she will be criminally penalized and lose his or her medical license.
“The law itself is contrary to our Constitution,” said Lora Joyce Davis, an Oklahoma resident who, along with former state Rep. Wanda Jo Stapleton, has filed a lawsuit over the measure. [...]
“These are women who are already in a tragic situation, and the law will expose them about a very, very personal matter,” Davis told Foxnews.com on Tuesday. “It’s a violation of patient privacy rights to put that information up there.”
Source: New Oklahoma Abortion Law Violates Patient Privacy, Critics Charge
In a separate interview Davis discussed the impact on women in small towns.
“This law asks for so much information, and they are going to put it on the Internet for public scorn,” said Davis. “Women who have abortions are considered murderers by many people, and you are going to put the name of a town of 200 and the fact that the girl is 17 and it’s her first pregnancy and she in the 10th grade. People are going to know who it is.”
Source: Abortion Law Akin to ‘Undressing Women’
Video is below.
New Oklahoma Abortion Law Violates Patient Privacy (Video)