HB1441: A Flawed Bill, To Say the Least

Earlier this week, Oklahoma State Representative James Humphrey introduced a bill to the House Public Health Committee of Oklahoma that would require women seeking abortions to get consent from the father of the fetus to be approved. Humphrey defended the bill saying that this wasn�t introduced to prevent abortions saying, �This is about making men responsible for their part in the birthing process and in the entire process.�

            Now besides the almost comical misogyny inherent in HB1441, it�s also unconstitutional. The implementation of this bill would directly challenge the Supreme Court ruling of Roe v. Wade by criminalizing abortion. But that doesn�t stop lawmakers from testing the limits of their power. Since the Roe v. Wade decision, multiple state legislatures have attempted and some have succeeded in passing bills that restrict abortions. The most successful being SB5 passed by the Texas State Senate in 2013 that added restrictions on when a woman could have an abortion and added building codes to abortion clinics that were difficult to meet. This caused many abortion clinics in the state to shut down because they could not afford renovations to meet the new codes.

            Luckily, the Supreme Court shut down this bill last June. But it�s not the bill itself that is significant to me, it�s the nature of the bill and how it demonizes abortion and how it seeks to marginalize women who have abortions. The same goes with this bill and how it legally puts a man in the way of a woman seeking an abortion. It�s not only sexist in the way that it would control women, but it creates a society where the biggest decision that a woman will probably make is put in the hands of a man who will not face the consequences of its effects.

            Not to mention the law isn�t practical. While the proposal would excuse victims of rape and incest, it doesn�t excuse teen pregnancies or economic hardships. So in theory, a teenage father could override the family of the mother just by saying, �No.� And seeing how 18% of all abortions are caused by teen pregnancy this theory can become reality since in Oklahoma around 780 teenagers had abortions in 2015

            Besides the ethical, constitutional, and practical controversies surrounding this bill, I�m sure that there is some professional reasoning based on statistics that led to the creation of this proposal. Actually I take that back. There is nothing more to this bill than ethical, constitutional, and practical controversies made by a group of men with power who feel powerless when they see a woman taking control of her life.