Oklahoma Catholic hospitals oppose abortion

While the battle over abortion access is playing out at the Oklahoma State Capitol, it is a debate that has also spilled into the medical community.

The new Oklahoma law means the state will have one of the strictest anti-abortion bills in the country, and there are similar bills in the works. House Bill 4327 and Senate Bill 1503, which are Senate Bill 8 style bills that are making their way through the state chambers.

Right now, some states still offer abortions up to 20 weeks, including Oklahoma, which makes Oklahoma and Kansas places where women can choose to end their pregnancies.

Trust Women Women’s Health Clinic Communications Director Zack Gingrich-Gaylord said they have seen a dramatic increase of patients at their Wichita clinic since SB 8 has been in effect. Since September 1, 2021, they average up to 500 phone calls a day, and over 100 calls an hour, making Trust Women clinics large out-of-state providers for women.

Some Oklahoma hospitals are in strict opposition to abortion. In the U.S., hospitals that advertise themselves as Catholic, like Oklahoma’s Mercy and St. Anthony, must follow a set of medical directives written by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

And on Mercy’s website regarding abortion, it states that contraception and termination of pregnancy are not provided. This can, in turn, lead to an increase in pregnant people traveling out of state to get abortions.

Now awaiting the decision of the potential overturn of Roe v. Wade, which is currently in the hands of the Supreme Court, and could make any new rules up to state legislature.