Mary Fallin, Oklahoma Governor, signed a law prohibiting mothers from undergoing abortion after the 20th week of pregnancy. The law that was signed on Wednesday makes Oklahoma the fourth state banning late term abortions.

Alongside this law, Governor Fallin also signed a law stopping health insurance companies from insuring elective abortions. The Republican governor said that the laws are extremely important to safeguard both the life of the unborn child and the mother.

She said that she believes in the sacredness of human life. She further said that the law has a responsibility to protect the lives of its people. She believes that the two legislations can work hand-in-hand to expand the protection the law offers their citizens. Moreover, it will stop the tax-paying people of Oklahoma from unknowingly paying for a procedure that could be against their will.

However, Barabra Santee of NARAL Pro-Choice America said that the legislations are clear frontal assault to the 1973 Supreme Court decision to legalize abortion. She also said that the laws are slowly taking away women’s right to choose.

Violation of this law is a felony case for those who provided the abortion but will not penalize the mother who sought out the abortion. Laws in Oklahoma permit abortion if the pregnancy poses a direct threat to the life of the mother.

The law that stops mothers from committing abortion after 20 weeks in to the pregnancy is based on assumption that the fetus at this point can already feel pain. Idaho, Kansas, and Nebraska are the three other states that have passed the same legislation months earlier.

The price of the drug that prevents premature birth was slashed by more than 50 percent after the FDA decided to keep its cheap version available in the market.

KV Pharmaceutical Company, the company that was first granted exclusive production and marketing of the same drug, reduced the price to $690, Friday.

Although $690 per weekly dose is still pricey, it is a huge improvement from its original price of $1,500. Moreover, the company said that they will give rebates and discounts to women who cannot afford the drug even at $690.

The price cut was announced only two days after the Food and Drug Administration decided to allow small pharmaceutical companies to continue making generics of the drug priced at $10. This has been the case before KV Pharmaceutical Company gained exclusive rights on selling the drug February this year.

Many doctors supported KV Pharmaceutical Co. because this can assure proper regulation of the drug and its quality. However, they were taken aback when they found out how expensive the drug will be.

FDA already said that they have no control over food and drug prices. However, following public uproar on the massive price increase, FDA announced that they will not stop other pharmaceutical companies from selling the drug.

Gregory J. Divis Jr., chief executive of KV Pharmaceutical Co., said that the price of Makena – the drug’s brand name – is justified as $1,500 is a small price to pay to ensure an unborn child’s health. He further said that they spent millions of dollars on researches conducted for drug development.