Oklahoma House passes new abortion restrictions bill

By Heide Brandes OKLAHOMA CITY (Reuters) - The Oklahoma House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a bill on Thursday to apply new restrictions on abortions that lawmakers said are aimed at protecting women's health but opponents say are designed to shut down clinics. The legislation includes a provision similar to one put in place in neighboring Texas that requires physicians who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at an appropriately equipped hospital within 30 miles of their practice. The Republican lawmaker who wrote the legislation, Mike Ritze, a physician, said his goal was to ensure women who experience complications like hemorrhaging, can have access to hospital care immediately. The bill also requires abortion clinics to meet heightened building standards, bans abortion after 20 weeks, and requires strict adherence to guidelines in prescribing abortion pills.



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