So, pretend you are a woman living in Oklahoma, and you find yourself pregnant. After weighing your options and struggling with the moral and spiritual reprecussions, you decide that the best choice, the best decision, is to terminate the pregnancy. Then what?

First you have to find a provider. Good luck with that. According to a 2005 Guttmacher Institute study, there were only six abortion providers in the entire state. If you're one of the 57% of Oklahoma women of childbearing age who live in the the 74 counties that don't have a single provider, you're going to have to find the time and the money and the transportation to get to the three counties that do.

So you've worked that out and found a doctor who can help you. Great. This nightmare is almost over right? Wrong.

If this happens to be before your 18 birthday, you're going to need to tell your parents and get one of them to sign a waiver agreeing to the procedure. Then you have to wait at least another 48 hours before you can begin the procedure. Parental consent might be waived if your pregnancy is the result of rape or incest, or in the case of a medical emergency, and you can go before a judge to prove that you have what the judge feels is the emotional maturity to make this choice, but if your parents are abusive or just flat-out opposed to abortion, you're pretty much out of luck.

If you happen to be poor, you are equally unfortunate, because unless you can prove you've become pregnant through rape or incest or are about to die from the continuation of the pregancy, state law prohibits public funding for abortion, and public hospitals and state employees are prohibited from performing or assisting in an abortion -- again, unless you're about to die.  State employees and employees of organizations that receive public funding may not "provide, promote, or refer" a client for abortion.

But if you're not poor and you're not young, you're all set, right? Close, but you still have a couple of hoops yet to go.

Your provider, either in person or over the phone, must explain to your the risks of both abortion and carrying a preganacy to term, the estimated gestational age of the fetus, and locations where you can obtain a free ultrasound.  The provider must also deliver a state-mandated lecture on the state's willingness to pay for your pregnancy and the father's liability for child support (note: Oklahoma is currently trying to track down some 142,000 deadbeat dads, some of them with multiple children, others owing between $100,000 and $200,000 in unpaid support).

The provider must also provide access to printed materials or a state-run website, rich in detail on fetal development and fetal pain, not to mention the "possible detrimental psychological effects" of abortion or childbirth. Then, you have to mull that over for another 24 hours before you can finally bring the whole horrible process to an end.

And now, once you've gotten to the end of the horrible process, you get to become part of a publicly-accessible state-run database on abortions. On October 1, the Oklahoma House passed the Statistical Reporting of Abortion Act by a vote of 93-4. House Bill 1595 also criminalized abortion for the purpose of sex selection. The reporting requirement goes into effect on November 1, and the website is to be up and running by May, at a cost of about $280,000 a year.

The act requires providers to fill out and submit a detailed form for each abortion and submit it to the State by the end of the month in which the procedure was performed. Failure to do this will result in a $500 fine per month per missing or incomplete report, and if, after a year, there are still outstanding reports or unpaid fines, the provider's license will not be renewed until the missing information or fines are paid. A provider can be compelled by the court to do the work, or even charged with a misdemanor.

This is the form:

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

7. State or foreign country of residence of mother

8. Total number of previous pregnancies of the mother
Live Births­ _____ Miscarriages­ ______ Induced Abortions­ _______

9. Approximate gestational age in weeks,as measured from the last menstrual period of the mother, of the unborn child subject to abortion­ _______________________________

10. Method of abortion used: Suction Aspiration­ ___ Dilation and Curettage­ ___ RU486­ ___ Methotrexate­ ___Dilation and Evacuation ____ Saline­ ____ Urea­ ____ Prostaglandins­ ____ Partial Birth Abortion­ ____ Hysterotomy­ ___ Other­ (specify) ____

11. Was there an infant born alive as a result of the abortion? _____If yes: Were life-sustaining measures undertaken? _____ How long did the infant survive­? ____

12.  Was anesthesia administered to mother­ _____ If yes, what type? _____

13. Was anesthesia administered to the fetus­? ____ If yes: What type­? _______ How was it administered? _

14. Method of fetal tissue disposal________

15. Reason for abortion ( check all applicable­):
Mother cannot afford the child­ ______
Emotional health of the mother is at risk­ ______
Mother suffered from a medical emergency as defined in Section1-738.1 of Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes­ ______
Mother wanted a child of a different sex­ ______
Abortion necessary to avert the death of the mother­ ______
Pregnancy was a result of forcible rape­ ______
Pregnancy was a result of incest­ ______
Other (specify­) ______
Patient was asked why she is seeking an abortion,but she declined to give a reason­ _________________________

16. Method of payment (check one­): Private insurance­ _______Public health plan_______Medicaid­ _______
Private pay­ _______Other (specify) _________________

17. Type of medical health insurance coverage, if any­ (check one):Fee-for-service insurance company­ ______
Managed care company­ ______Other(specify­)

18.  Sum of fee collected­ ___________

19. Specialty area of medicine of the physician­ ___________

20. Was ultrasound equipment used before, during, or after the performance of this abortion:
Before­? _____    Vaginal, abdominal, or both? _____
During? _____    Vaginal, abdominal, or both? _____
After? _____      Vaginal, abdominal, or both? _____

21.Was the information required by paragraph1 of subsection B of Section1-738.2 of  Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes provided to the mother­? ___________
a. If yes, was it provided: In person­ ___________ By telephone­ ___________Was it provided by: A referring physician­_______The physician performing the abortion­ _________An agent of a referring physician­ ___________An agent of the physician performing the abortion­ ________

22. Was the information required by paragraph 2 of subsection B of Section 1-738.2 of Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes provided to the mother­? ___________a. If yes, was it provided: In person­ _______ By telephone­ _________b. Was it provided by: A referring physician­ _________An agent of a referring physician­ ________
The physician performing the abortion­ ________ An agent of the physician performing the abortion­ _______

23. Did the mother avail herself of the opportunity to have the printed materials described in Section 1-738.3 of Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes mailed to her­? ______________

24.Were the informed consent requirements of subsection B of Section1-738.2 of Title 63 f the Oklahoma Statutes dispensed with because of a medical emergency necessitating an immediate abortion:
To avert death­ ______To avert substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function arising from continued pregnancy­ _____

25. Was the probable gestational age twenty­ (20­)weeks or more­? _____
a.If yes, was the mother provided the information described in subsection A of Section 1-738.8 of Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes­? _____ If yes, was the information provided: In person­ ______By telephone­ ______If yes, was the information provided: By a referring physician­ _____An agent of a referring physician­ _____
The physician performing the abortion­ _____An agent of the physician performing the abortion­ _____
b. Did the mother choose to be given or mailed the materials described in Section 1-738.10 of Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes? ___________c. To the best of the information and belief of the reporting physician, did the mother go on to obtain the abortion­? ________

26. Was the abortion performed within the scope of employment of an Oklahoma state employee or an employee of an agency or political subdivision of the state­? ________

27.Was the abortion performed with the use of any public institution, public facility, public equipment, or other physical asset owned, leased, or controlled by this state, its agencies, or political subdivisions­?

28. If the answer to question 26 or 27 is yes:
a. Was the abortion necessary to save the life of the mother­? _______
If yes, what was the life-endangering condition­? __________
b. Did the pregnancy result from an act of forcible rape­? _______
If yes, list the law enforcement authority to which the rape was reported­ ___________________
List the date of the report­ ___________
c. Did the pregnancy result from an act of incest committed against a minor?? _________
If yes, list the law enforcement authority to which the perpetrator was reported­ ________________
List the date of the report­ ___________

THIS PORTION TO BE COMPLETED IN CASE OF MINOR

29. Minor’s age­ ___________
30. Was a parent of the minor provided notice prior to the abortion as described in Section 1-740.2 of Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes­? ________.If yes, how was the notice provided?In person _______By mail­ _______ b. If yes, to the best of the reporting physician’s knowledge and belief, did the minor go on to obtain the abortion­? ________

31. Was informed written consent of one parent obtained as described in Section 1-740.2 of Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes­? ______If yes, how was it secured­? In person­ ___________Other­ (specify­) _________

32. If no notice was provided nor consent obtained, please indicate which of the following apply:
Minor was emancipated­ ___________Abortion was necessary to prevent the death of the minor­ _____
Medical emergency, as defined in Section 1-738.1 of Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes, existed___________
Minor received judicial authorization to obtain abortion without parental notice or consent­ ___________

33. If no notice was provided nor consent obtained because a medical emergency existed, please indicate:
Whether parent was subsequently notified (state period of time elapsed before notice was given­) ____________
Whether judicial waiver of notice requirement was obtained­ ________

34.If the minor received judicial authorization to obtain an abortion without parental notice, please indicate which of the following applies: Judge ruled that minor was mature enough to give informed consent on her own­ ___________ Judge ruled that abortion was in the best interest of the minor­ ___________
Filed this­ ____ day of­ __________ _____ by:
­______________________________
(Name of physician­)
_____________________________
(Physician’s license number­)

As a pro-choice American, I agree that women deserve information on all their choices in handling a pregnancy, and make their decisions based on a full understanding of those choices.

But gag rules and mandatory waiting periods and state-mandated lectures and are not designed to inform, but to obstruct, often to shame a woman already facing one of the toughest decisions one can make in this life. Laws that make doctors and health care professionals jump through hoops and pay extra fees and fines and licensing requirement -- or risk criminal charges for not complying with onerous and sometimes immoral rules -- push them out of the field, further restricting access for their patients.    

Like so much anti-choice legislation, HB 1595 and other Oklahoma statutes are deceptive. Many of them don't seem particularly invasive on their face. States collect health statistics all the time, right? Women will not be identified in any way.

But then why make it public? Why make it yet another fine and possible criminal charge against doctors for failure to compy? What purpose will this data collection serve, except to suck another $300,000 a year out of a state with a $900 million budget shortfall?

Needless to say, a lawsuit has already been filed in Oklahoma County District Court, on the basis that HB 1595 violates the State Constitution by covering more than one subject "including redefining a number of abortion-related terms used in state law; banning sex-selective abortion; creating reporting requirements; and creating new duties for the Oklahoma State Department of Health, Oklahoma Board of Medical Licensure and Supervision, and state Board of Osteopathic Examiners," in a single bill. It remains to be seen if the act will go into effect on November 1st, as scheduled.