Oklahoma fights for its unborn as the Senate passes yet another bill challenging current abortion laws.
On Tuesday, April 19, House Bill 3128 passed in the House with a 78-10 vote. The Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act, authored by Oklahoma City Republican Senator, Greg Treat, would ban abortions based on a diagnosis of a genetic abnormality, such as Down Syndrome. This bill would make Oklahoma the third state in the nation to adopt this law, following in the steps of North Dakota, and more recently, Indiana.
Though this particular act is focused on protecting those with disabilities, it is only one of a list of hard-hitting anti-abortion bills created in defense of all unborn life proposed by the state legislature in the last several months.
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In February of this year, HB 2797 was passed. Authored by Representative Ann Coody (R-Lawton), the Humanity of the Unborn Child Act would create a program taught at public high schools statewide to educate the public about life in the womb.
In March, SB 1118 was authored by Senator Joseph Silk (R-Broken Bow) to make abortions after detection of a heartbeat first-degree murder.
Senator Silk was challenged by members of his own party claiming SB 1118 was extreme, to which he responded, “Don’t say you’re pro-life and you believe life begins at conception if you are willing to allow 6,000 lives being murdered in Oklahoma every year.”
SB 1552, sponsored by Senator Nathan Dahm (R-Broken Arrow), passed earlier this month by a vote of 40-7. This bill would revoke the medical licenses of all doctors who perform abortions, with the only exception being to preserve the health or life of the mother.
As of 2014, the Guttmacher Institute — a pro-abortion, activist organization dedicated to spreading liberal/secularist information on reproductive health — listed Oklahoma as one of 18 states hostile to abortion rights. With senators such as Joseph Silk, and those who would vote in favor of such bold pro-life bills, it is no wonder that this Midwest state made Guttmacher’s list.
Many more states should endeavor to be on that list, as they fight to protect their unborn citizens, agreeing with Senator Silk that “life begins at conception” and that “those human embryos deserve every bit of protection as a one-year-old child.”
Whether an unborn child is perfectly healthy or has been diagnosed with abnormalities, it deserves the right to life. If even one law is passed protecting that right, and only to a select segment of the unborn population, it is a great victory. As these lives were allowed to be dehumanized by gradual steps, in the same way we can reclaim for them their humanity.
