Oklahoma Senate Passes Bill to Make Performing an Abortion a Felony
The Oklahoma Senate passed a bill Thursday that would make it a felony to perform abortions in the state and revoke the medical licenses of physicians found guilty of the act.
The Tulsa World reported that Senate Bill 1552 authored by state Sen. Nathan Dahm, R-Broken Arrow, and passed by a vote of 33-12 with no debate, would be the most protective legislation for unborn life in the nation, if it is enacted. It provides an exemption to save the life of a mother.
Oklahoma's Republican Gov. Mary Fallin, now has five days to sign, veto or allow the legislation to take effect without her signature, according to The New York Times.
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Legal experts warn however that if the bill becomes law, it will quickly be challenged in state or federal court due to the landmark Supreme Court Roe v. Wade decision in 1973 that gave women to right to obtain abortions until the fetus is viable outside the womb.
Dahm told reporters however that he welcomed the challenge because he is hoping that the case would lead the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade.
"Most people know I am for defending rights," Dahm told The Oklahoman. "Those rights begin at conception. I believe it's a core function of state government to defend that life from the beginning of
conception."
While the Oklahoma attorney general's office is in charge of defending the state from lawsuits, Dahm explained that a pro-life legal group has agreed to defend the legislation from any lawsuit at no cost to the state.
Gov. Fallin, who has signed a number of pro-life bills that were later blocked by the courts, told the Times through Michael McNutt, her communications director, that she would not comment on the bill "until she and her staff have had a chance to review it."
Pro-life activists such as Live Action President Lila Rose lauded the legislation.
"Science has proven unarguably that human life begins at conception," she said in a statement while agreeing that physicians who perform abortions "should have their medical licenses taken away."
"States clearly have the authority to set the standards for those performing medicine within their borders, and the Oklahoma Legislature should be commended for codifying what is obvious — that abortion is 'unprofessional conduct' for physicians," Rose added. "Beyond being unprofessional, performing abortions is also unjust and barbaric."
Sen. Ervin Yen, R-Oklahoma City, who is the only medical doctor in the senate, voted against the bill calling it "insane," according to The Oklahoman.
"It will be declared null and void," he said.
Jennifer Miller, of the Center for Reproductive Rights, told The Oklahoman that the bill was unconstitutional and called on Fallin to veto it.
"Since Gov. Fallin took office in 2011, she has signed 18 bills restricting access to reproductive health care services, including a Texas-style clinic shutdown law, a ban on the most common method of second trimester abortion, unconstitutional restrictions on medication abortion, and a law that forces abortion providers to perform an ultrasound and display and describe the image," Miller said. "Each of these laws have been blocked by courts; in fact, the Center for Reproductive Rights has challenged unconstitutional restrictions on reproductive health care in Oklahoma eight times in five years."
