Okla. House passes abortion clinic standards bill


OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - A bill that would impose strict new state regulations and requirements on abortion providers in Oklahoma easily won the approval of the state House on Thursday.

The legislation would require the Oklahoma Board of Health to establish standards regarding equipment and supplies that might be needed in a medical emergency. Abortion clinics would also be required to have a physician with admitting privileges at a nearby hospital present when an abortion is performed.

The measure has already passed the Senate. House members voted 75-15 for it after amending the bill to also ban stem cell research in the state, similar to personhood legislation that House leaders refused to hear two years ago.

The bill now returns to the Senate for consideration of the amendment.

One of two physicians who serve in the chamber said Thursday that the Board of Health, which has nonphysician members, is not an appropriate agency to set medical standards.

The state Board of Health has no business determining medical procedures. The medical profession sets those standards, said Rep. Doug Cox, R-Grove, an emergency room physician. A medical expert could be a physical therapist. Thats a dangerous precedent.

Rep. Cory Williams, D-Stillwater, said the bill could have a devastating effect on the entire practice of medicine, not just abortion access.

Logic and reason really dont have that much of a place around here, Williams said.

The bills author, Rep. Randy Grau, R-Edmond, said it will require abortion clinics to be equipped and staffed to deal with a medical emergency if an abortion occurs.

I dont have a problem holding them to a higher standard, Grau said.

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Okla. House passes abortion clinic standards bill

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