Sen. Brogdon Blasts District Court Ruling on Abortion Law

State Sen. Randy Brogdon said he was extremely disappointed by Tuesdays ruling by an Oklahoma County District Court. Judge Vicki Robertson overturned a 2008 state law requiring a woman to undergo an ultrasound before receiving an abortion.

This kind of judicial activism undermines representative form of government. The people of this state elected us to write laws and create public policy on their behalf, said Brogdon, R-Owasso. Despite this lower court decision, I am completely confident that the legislation we approved in 2008 is constitutional.

The bill began as separate pieces of legislation, all of which dealt with abortion. The measures were ultimately combined into Senate Bill 1878, which was approved in both chambers with bi-partisan support. Brogdon first authored similar legislation in 2006. Last October, Nova Health Systems challenged the section of the law requiring a doctor or medical technicians to do an ultrasound before the procedure and describe the image to the woman.

The district court ruling claimed the bill violated the one-subject rule of the constitution, but clearly each of the provisions dealt with the same subject, Brogdon said. I am deeply disappointed with this ruling, and strongly disagree with the judges conclusion.