The Oklahoma House Public Health Committee on Tuesday advanced a bill that requires women to obtain written consent from their sexual partners before they can get an abortion—a measure that picked up widespread notoriety after its author, state Rep. Justin Humphrey, referred to pregnant women as “hosts” and said their bodies don’t belong to them.
HB 1441 will now go to the full House for a vote. The committee approved it 5-2.
Humphrey told The Intercept on Monday, “what I call them is, is you’re a ‘host.’ And you know when you enter into a relationship you’re going to be that host and so, you know, if you pre-know that then take all precautions and don’t get pregnant. So that’s where I’m at. I’m like, hey, your body is your body and be responsible with it. But after you’re irresponsible then don’t claim, well, I can just go and do this with another body, when you’re the host and you invited that in.”
Opponents slammed the bill as unconstitutional, saying it violates the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1992 decision in Planned Parenthood v. Casey that a woman does not have to notify her spouse before getting an abortion.
SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT