By Lauren Linhard – moxie.lauren@gmail.com

Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin vetoed the new anti-abortion bill recently passed by the Oklahoma state legislature, saying the law was too vague to withstand any legal movement against it.

The bill, passed with a vote of 33-12, would have sentenced any doctor who performed an abortion with up to three years in prison and stripped them of their medical license. The only exclusion to the rule was if the mother’s life was in danger.

“The bill is so ambiguous and so vague that doctors cannot be certain what medical circumstances would be considered ‘necessary to preserve the life of the mother,’” said Fallin, who is anti-abortion rights supporter.

Such issues would have made it difficult and costly for Oklahoma, already in a $1.3 million deficit, to fight the legal battle promised by abortion rights groups, she said.

Sen. Nathan Dahm, the original author of the bill, hoped S.B. 1552 would be a first step in overturning Roe v. Wade, the landmark decision of 1973. But now that the governor, who has signed at least 18 anti-abortion bills, has vetoed it, Dahm’s only choice is to attempt an override.

“Sometimes people, even if they voted for the bill, are hesitant to vote to override the governor’s veto because of their concern about the governor being petty and vindictive and vetoing some of their legislation,” Dahm said.

He plans to make a decision in the coming week to pursue the issue or not.