Oklahoma plans to force hospitals, nursing homes, restaurants and public schools to post signs inside public restrooms directing pregnant women where to receive services as part of an effort to reduce abortions in the state.
The State Board of Health will consider regulations for the signs on Tuesday. Businesses and other organizations will have to pay an estimated $2.3 million to put up the signs because the Legislature didn't approve any money for them.
The provision for the signs was tucked into a law that the Legislature passed this year that requires the state to develop informational material "for the purpose of achieving an abortion-free society." The signs must be posted by January 2018.
Groups representing hospitals and restaurants are among those complaining that the new requirements are an expensive, unfunded mandate from the Legislature.
"We don't have any concern about the information they're trying to get out to women about their babies and their pregnancy. This is just the wrong way to do it," said Jim Hooper, president of the Oklahoma Restaurant Association. "It's just another mandate on small businesses. It's not just restaurants. It includes hospitals, nursing homes. It just doesn't make sense."
The anti-abortion group Oklahomans for Life requested the bill. The sponsor, Sen. A.J. Griffin, said she may revise the measure in the upcoming legislative session to more narrowly target it to exclude some facilities.
"I do see how it is going to need to be tempered a tad," said Griffin, a Republican from Guthrie. "We need to make sure we have something that's reasonable and still effective."
Under the law, the signs would state: "There are many public and private agencies willing and able to help you carry your child to term and assist you and your child after your child is born, whether you choose to keep your child or to place him or her for adoption. The State of Oklahoma strongly urges you to contact them if you are pregnant." The signs would also include a link to the Health Department's website.
In written comments provided to the Health Department, the Tulsa Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy called the proposed regulations "completely unnecessary and unwanted" and said they would provide a significant financial burden on already stressed state agencies, including the departments of Health and Education.
Don Maisch, an attorney for the State Department of Health who has worked on the rules, said the signage requirements apply to public restrooms of any entity that is regulated by the agency, including hospitals, hotels and motels, nursing homes, residential care facilities and most public schools.
"There is definitely a cost involved in moving forward with this," Maisch said.
The Oklahoma Hospital Association projected it would cost at least $225,000 for signage at the state's 140 licensed hospitals, with the fiscal impact on other licensed industries estimated at about $2.1 million.
Tony Lauinger, executive director of Oklahomans for Life, said the group's intent was for the Health Department to produce the signage, but only if the Legislature appropriated funds to do so.
UPDATE: Sen. Griffin released the following via a press release Tuesday afternoon:
“Half of all pregnancies in Oklahoma are unplanned. The language I authored in House Bill 2797 simply seeks to let people know there are many resources available for those facing this situation and who think the only way to deal with it is abortion. But beyond that, we want to make sure they know where to turn for prenatal care and other services to help improve the health and well-being of their babies.
Without proper prenatal care and other critical services, these children can be a tremendous risk for poor health, neglect, abuse and worse. Although there has been some improvement in the rate of infant deaths, Oklahoma is still among the worst states in the nation for infant mortality. Prenatal healthcare can make all the difference and it is available to those who can’t access it on their own, but many women don’t know where to go. And while our abortion rate is actually relatively low, each year there are still thousands of unborn children whose lives are ended through abortion. I believe many of those women felt like they had no alternative, but they’ll be haunted by the pain and guilt of that decision for the rest of their lives.
As to the logistics of making information available through notifications in public restrooms, the language clearly states that this is contingent on the availability of funds being appropriated by the Legislature specifically for this purpose. Also, it should be pointed out that the bill included no fines or penalties—it really would be on an honor system. Furthermore, the cost I’ve seen reported—an estimated $2.3 million—seems far too high. But in the coming weeks and throughout the legislative session we will be listening to the concerns of our business community and working with them to ensure this effort to protect Oklahoma infants will not be overly burdensome.”
