Defense of Oklahoma Anti-Abortion Laws Adds to State Spending

Tulsa World: State's bills stack up in fight over anti-abortion laws, by Barbara Hoberock:

OKLAHOMA CITY — The costs of defending two controversial abortion measures continue to rise.

In August, an Oklahoma County district judge tossed out Senate Bill 1878, which would have required a woman seeking an abortion to have an ultrasound within an hour of the abortion and have the details explained to her.

Oklahoma County District Judge Vicki Robertson said the measure violated a provision of the Oklahoma Constitution that requires a law to deal with a single subject. The bill also covered the posting of signs in clinics, administration of the "abortion pill" RU-486 and lawsuits.

Her ruling has been appealed to the Oklahoma Supreme Court.

The state spent $97,000 to hire an abortion law expert to defend the law, said Charlie Price, a spokesman for Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson.

Adding to the cost is the staff time of an assistant attorney general who worked on the case. His salary is $62,000 a year, but he works on other cases as well, Price said.

"It is our responsibility to defend these statutes," he said.

The state is also defending House Bill 1595 . . . .