Oklahoma Celebrates Classic American Literature

You Are There. A new Oklahoma law will require gathering statistics on every abortion performed in the state — and posting the details online:

1. Date of abortion
2. County in which abortion performed
3. Age of mother
4. Marital status of mother (married, divorced, separated, widowed, or never married)
5. Race of mother
6. Years of education of mother
(specify highest year completed)
7. State or foreign country of residence of mother
8. Total number of previous pregnancies of the mother
Live Births
Miscarriages
Induced Abortions

While the law doesn’t ask for name or address, you could pretty much open a bank account with the information given — especially in a small-town state, where any three of the questions would peg your neighbor.

Implementing the law (which is being challenged by the Center for Reproductive Rights) would cost Oklahoma taxpayers more than $250,000 a year. Apparently legislators overlooked a more efficient method, consisting of distributing cases of scarlet spray paint to county sheriffs.

New Oklahoma law will publicy post details of women’s abortions online [Think Progress]

nojo
7:06 pm • Thursday • October 8, 2009
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15 Comments

Dave H

7:31 pm • Thursday • October 8, 2009

“You’re doin’ fine, Oklahoma!
Oklahoma O.K.”

Rodgers and Hammerstein wrote musical satire.

redmanlaw

8:29 pm • Thursday • October 8, 2009

Breaking: Our friend Megan Carpentier (Jezabel, Wonkette, Air America) will be on Rachel Maddow at 9:20 Eastern to talk about the the online posting of abortion patient information under a new Oklahoma law.

Tommmcatt is hunkered down in the trenches

8:31 pm • Thursday • October 8, 2009

@redmanlaw:

Dang, really? How cool!

JNOV

8:32 pm • Thursday • October 8, 2009

@redmanlaw: Oh, yay!

8:34 pm • Thursday • October 8, 2009

@JNOV: Oh, hell — it overlaps with “Fringe.”

al2o3cr

9:09 pm • Thursday • October 8, 2009

Whatever happened to “keeping government out of healthcare”?