OK ... Am I Right?

Usually I have an opinion one way or the other when I hear about stuff like the new abortion law in Oklahoma, but I have to say that I'm not so sure now with this one despite my initial thinking.

I heard about it on the radio this evening, this law in Oklahoma calling for any woman seeking an abortion to first off answer dozens of personal questions about why she would be having it done. That information would then be posted on the state's web site.

Questions like is she having the abortion because she can't afford child care? Would having a baby dramatically change her life (duh) or interfere with her job or education? Is she unemployed, or maybe going through a rough patch with the baby daddy? Is she unmarried and doesn't want to be a single mother? Incest perhaps?

I was kind of floored. First I couldn't imagine how many "dozens" of questions they might come up with, that seems like an awful lot. But mostly, judging from the on-air examples, they seemed pretty intrusive and undue (no pun intended). Not to mention dragging out an already difficult matter by having to answer them all.

A no-brainer. Abortion rights advocates were calling the law intimidating and invasive, and I agreed. Seemed to me the real purpose of the bill would be to shame women from having the procedure and "to scare them" as one lady said.

Plus it seemed par for the Oklahoman course. They tried before to pass a law that would have required doctors to do an ultrasound pre-abortion, to describe and make the mother see the fetus before going through with the procedure. So this new law shouldn't be all that surprising, more OK typicality.

Those who supported the measure said that the law is valid and necessary. "This is not going in and getting a wart removed," said Rep. Dan Sullivan who helped write the bill. Since this is a procedure that ends a human life, he says, it will help them better understand why women are seeking abortions and if there's something they might can do about it.

Surely my knee-jerk reaction is to side with the predominately fellow lefties about this, extending condolences to the ladies of Oklahoma. But I have to confess, after reading the actual law sans left or right bent, I don't know.

By and large those dozens of questions are for the doctor to answer. What is in truth required by this new law is that the massive questionnaire be filled out and submitted for every abortion performed, the biggest chunk of it not mom stuff at all. The method used, how went it, the coin to be pocketed, other need-to-know information to pass on to the higher ups. The questions to the patient aren't that many really. It's only one, in fact. A single question.

"The abortion provider or agent shall ask the pregnant female to provide, orally or in writing, the reason(s) she is seeking the abortion." That's it. All of what is being news reported is extremely misinforming. What are being touted as so many questions asked are really nothing more than multiple choices for the doctor to tic off all that apply, however the patient answers.

What is also not being remarked so much is that the question is voluntary. She doesn't have to answer at all, staying mum (puns are fun) and still getting the procedure done. The last option on the list is for checking that the patient declined to answer.

Don't get me wrong, I do not doubt for one minute that most likely these women will be made to feel that they have no choice but to answer, I know that. But strictly judging the letter of the law, answering the question about the reason why not being made mandatory, I don't have a problem with that really.

Let me make clear that I am pro-choice, which contrary to common wonky spin does not make me a proponent of abortion. It's not like I volunteer curbside at the clinic doling out vouchers to passers by. Choice is a woman's right, yea or nay after all things considered. That's what I'm for, the choosing part. I would prefer the procedure never be necessary, but my druthers don't mean squat, and shit happens.

Believe it or not, pro-choice and pro-life are not mutually exclusive. I fully support whatever efforts taken that might reduce the number of abortions over all. Maybe this Oklahoma law isn't so nefarious after all. Perhaps an aggregate snapshot of the "why"s might point to something that could be done to lessen the count. It could happen.

Generally speaking, I'm inclined as a rule to believe that right is wrong and left is right. Deconstructing the facts of the matter, though, this time might just demonstrate an exception to that rule.