Oklahoma Senate Panel OK’s Fetal Heartbeat Requirement

Doctors who perform abortions in Oklahoma
must first make the sounds of a fetus’ heartbeat available to women
under a bill that has passed a Senate committee.
The Senate Committee on Health and Human Services voted Monday
for the Heartbeat Informed Consent Act by Tulsa Republican Sen. Dan
Newberry. The bill next proceeds to the full Senate, where it is
expected to pass.
If a woman is at least eight weeks into her pregnancy, the bill
requires abortion providers to use a Doppler fetal heart rate
monitor to make the fetal heartbeat of the unborn child audible for
the pregnant woman to hear.
Critics say lawmakers shouldn’t interfere with a woman’s right
to a legal medical procedure.