Things are Not OK for Reproductive Rights in Oklahoma

In Puritan New England, Hester Prynne was forced to wear an "A" exposing her as an adulteress in the classic novel The Scarlet Letter. In modern day Oklahoma, women may be forced to answer 37 intrusive questions about themselves -- and see those answers posted on a public website -- if they want to have an abortion.

Crazy? Cruel? A violation of an individual's right to privacy? You're not the only woman to realize this. Two women filed a lawsuit against the Oklahoma law, and last week a judge ruled that a decision on the law (which was to have gone into effect November 1) would be postponed until February 19, 2010. According to one of the plaintiffs, the law is akin to "undressing women in public, exposing their most personal issues on the Internet."

As reported by ABC News, the questions could easily out a woman in her hometown, denying her most basic right to privacy:

Called the Statistical Reporting of Abortions Act, the law requires all doctors to file information on a woman's age, marital status, education level, number of previous pregnancies, cost and type of abortion, as well as the mother's relationship to the father, with the Oklahoma Department of Health.

Though it does not ask for names, the form poses 37 questions detailing a woman's personal situation. Critics say the first eight questions alone could easily lead to the identification of a woman who lives in one of the state's many small communities.

"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."

This isn't the only attempt by the state of Oklahoma to interfere with and discourage reproductive choice. According to the Christian Science Monitor:

The Oklahoma courts are also considering a law that would require all women having an abortion to submit to an ultrasound in which the doctor would discuss in detail the development of the fetus. A district court overturned that law, but the state is appealing to the state supreme court.

Many states have passed laws in recent years that seek to make ultrasounds more available to women considering abortions. "Ultrasound laws are part of a larger 'pro-life' movement aimed at requiring more pre-abortion counseling and longer waiting periods designed to convince women not to end their pregnancies," according to an article last year by Stateline.org, the daily online publication of the Pew Center on the States.