Legislation would outlaw abortion in Oklahoma due to genetic abnormalities
OKLAHOMA CITY — Despite a legal threat and opposition from physicians, Oklahoma lawmakers are forging ahead with a measure that would make it illegal for women to abort a pregnancy because their unborn child has a genetic abnormality like Down syndrome.
On Tuesday, House lawmakers overwhelmingly voted to advance the Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act of 2017, which not only outlaws those abortions, but fines the physicians who knowingly perform them up to $100,000. Doctors could also be stripped of their medical licenses.
Mothers, meanwhile, could be forced to travel out of state to abort pregnancies involving genetic abnormalities.
Julie Burkhart, founder and CEO of Oklahoma City’s South Wind Women’s Center, just one of three abortion clinics in the state, said the measure will certainly face a legal challenge if it becomes law.
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