Okla. may require right to hear heartbeat of unborn

OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma Senate passed in a 34–8 vote March 6 legislation that would require a physician to inform a woman that she has the right to hear her unborn child’s heartbeat before an abortion.

The House of Representatives is expected to approve the Heartbeat Informed Consent Act as well.

Sen. Dan Newberry, a Republican from Tulsa and the bill’s sponsor, said a heartbeat is the only way for an unborn baby to communicate his desire to live. “It can’t say, ‘Please don’t kill me;’ it can’t say, ‘I want to live.’ It can’t say anything,” Newberry said.