The Elephant In The Womb: OK Gov. Signs Law Tripling Waiting Period For Abortions (VIDEO)

On Wednesday, Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin signed an anti-choice bill into law that will force women to wait 72 hours before they can have an abortion. The new law takes effect in November, as Oklahoma joins three other states in imposing such a long waiting period for abortions: Missouri, South Dakota and Utah.

According to News OK, Fallin claims House Bill 1409 will ensure that “women get the information they need” before going through with their abortion. Apparently, neither she nor her fellow Republicans believe women are capable of deciding whether they can or want to have a baby or not.

The law also forces women’s health clinics that provide abortions to link to an anti-choice propaganda site.

House Bill 1409 also requires abortion clinics that operate a website to add a link to the state’s website, “A Woman’s Right to Know” — www.awomansright.org. The site has a photo of a tiny fetus and includes information about pregnancy, childbirth, adoption and helplines.

Three days doesn’t seem so long to wait for an abortion until you consider that — as of May 2014 — Oklahoma had only three clinics that provide abortions, and two of them were about to close thanks to yet another anti-abortion law signed by Fallin.  According to the Washington Times:

Planned Parenthood attorney Tamya Cox added that the law had no other purpose than to keep women from having abortions.

“This is kind of a veiled attempt to really close down clinics in the name of women’s health,”

For women who must travel long distances to have an abortion, and stay somewhere for three days, that means missing work, finding childcare if they have children, and paying for lodging and other expenses. That seems like an intolerable burden for those who can’t come up with the wherewithal for ending a pregnancy — especially low income working mothers.

Yet the same so-called “Christian” Republicans who oppose abortion also keep cutting food stamps and other programs that would help women actually feed, clothe and raise the children they’re being forced to have.

Oklahoma’s Anti-Abortion Law Increases Waiting Period To Three Days.

KSWO reports Oklahoma’s house voted to pass the anti-choice bill 75-3. Here’s the video with their news report.