Will the Oklahoma State Senate re-legalize abortion in an effort to appease the Left?

Last week, Republicans on the Oklahoma Senate Health and Human Services Committee passed a measure that would re-legalize and expand abortion in limited (for now) circumstances, in addition to allow for "the use, prescription, administration, procuring, or selling of any type of contraception [if] administered before the time when a pregnancy could be determined through conventional medical testing." This presumably would allow the permanent reintroduction of abortion-inducing early pregnancy drugs like RU-486/Mifepristone.

This measure (SB 834), bizarrely promoted by Tony Lauinger of Oklahomans for Life, is an effort to counteract perceived future attempts by pro-abortion forces to get a state question on the ballot by initiative petition. The thought process seems to be, "Let's put some exceptions back into law so we don't appear to be too radical on banning abortion."

Excuse me while I vomit at the cowardice of sacrificing innocent, yet-to-be-born lives so that squishy, unprincipled politicians don't feel too much discomfort.

Isn't that what it's always been, though? Heaven forbid we take seriously the responsibility of government to protect the unalienable right to life. 

The great moral crisis of the first ninety years in our nation was the refusal to acknowledge the unalienable right to life possessed by millions of human beings who were stolen, sold, or born into slavery. The great moral crisis of the past fifty-plus years has been the refusal to acknowledge the unalienable right to life possessed by tens of millions of human beings from the moment of their conception in the womb.

Certain elements within the pro-life establishment, and the Oklahoma Legislature, do not take this responsibility seriously, nor do they doggedly hold to the principles they publicly espouse. If they did, SB 834 would never have been proposed.

They protest that several states voted, after initiative petition, to enshrine the "right" to abortion in their state constitutions in the 2022 election. Let's look at this and see if it holds water.

What states did this?

• California (to which absolutely no one is surprised)
• Vermont (arguably more liberal than California)
• Michigan (a 57%-43% vote in a state that leans liberal)

Two other states, Kansas and Kentucky, rejected (narrowly in the case of the latter) poorly worded constitutional amendments that attempted to state a negative, that the state constitution did not secure/protect the right to abortion.

First, don't write poor state questions. That's the biggest lesson from Kansas and Kentucky. 

Second, the right to life is an unalienable, God-given, fundamental right. We should never shrink from fighting to defend it. Suck it up, buckle your armor on, and go to war against the forces of death if/when it comes to a ballot question battle.

Third, Republican politicians have, for fifty years, relied on pro-life voters and pro-life volunteers to staff their campaigns, knock doors, make phone calls, donate money, and cast votes to keep them in office -- all under the promise that they would fight to overturn Roe v. Wade and end abortion. Well, Roe has been overturned (demonstrating that it never was constitutional to begin with), and the abortion fight has merely gone to another inning. 

Now, when push comes to shove, these same politicians are showing their true colors, and attempting to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory - not even eight months removed from the overturning of Roe! The bill has come due; we did our part, now you do yours.

Abortion clinics in Oklahoma have been force to close. Opening the door now with measures like SB 834 will allow them to re-open and continue carrying out their bloody work.

Listen, no legalization of abortion "exceptions" or time limits will appease the abortion fanatics. All it will end up accomplishing is more dead babies on the altars of convenience and cowardice. Abortion is the chief religious sacrament of the godless, secular Left in this country. Don't even crack the door open to their demands for infanticide.

Ought we, who have been gifted life and freedom in this free land, to seek to deny that same right to the most innocent of beings, the least of these, our pre-born neighbors? God forbid.

If legislators are that concerned about initiative petitions, rather than griping about it as they have for years, do something to reform the process. From Ballotpedia: "In the 26 states that feature the powers of initiative, veto referendum, or both, 16 have laws imposing distribution requirements, while 10 of them do not." Some states require initiative signature thresholds in by county, or by legislative district, or by congressional district. Oklahoma does not have that requirement, so currently, initiative petitions could be placed onto the ballot by simply gathering enough signatures in Oklahoma City alone. Maybe that's something to look into.

Life is a precious gift from God. We will be held accountable for what we do with it -- and if we deny that gift to others, who are made in the image of God Himself.

Contact your state senator today and call on him or her to oppose this ghastly effort to bring abortion back to Oklahoma. Here are the emails for the Republican state senators (all ostensibly pro-life); I've broken them into batches of ten as that may help to avoid getting caught in spam filters.  

jerry.alvord@oksenate.gov, micheal.bergstrom@oksenate.gov,  david.bullard@oksenate.gov, george.burns@oksenate.gov, bill.coleman@oksenate.gov, nathan.dahm@oksenate.gov, julie.daniels@oksenate.gov, tom.dugger@oksenate.gov, jessica.garvin@oksenate.gov, todd.gollihare@oksenate.gov, 

grant.green@oksenate.gov, chuck.hall@oksenate.gov, warren.hamilton@oksenate.gov, john.haste@oksenate.gov, brent.howard@oksenate.gov, darcy.jech@oksenate.gov, shane.jett@oksenate.gov, chris.kidd@oksenate.gov, greg.mccortney@oksenate.gov, john.montgomery@oksenate.gov, 

casey.murdock@oksenate.gov, joe.newhouse@oksenate.gov, lonnie.paxton@oksenate.gov, roland.pederson@oksenate.gov, dewayne.pemberton@oksenate.gov, dana.prieto@oksenate.gov, adam.pugh@oksenate.gov, dave.rader@oksenate.gov, cody.rogers@oksenate.gov, paul.rosino@oksenate.gov, 

ally.seifried@oksenate.gov, rob.standridge@oksenate.gov, brenda.stanley@oksenate.gov, blake.stephens@oksenate.gov, jack.stewart@oksenate.gov, kristen.thompson@oksenate.gov, roger.thompson@oksenate.gov, greg.treat@oksenate.gov, darrell.weaver@oksenate.gov, tom.woods@oksenate.gov,