State Senate passes several pro-life bills

The intransigence of the State Senate in their refusal to pass legislation to abolish abortion leads them to pass pro-life legislation that:

1. Enshrines baby murder into Oklahoma law
2. Considers some abortion to be health care and some abortion to be something close to (but not quite?) murder
3. Claims on one hand that life begins at conception while simultaneously treating most aborted babies as subhuman and unworthy of protection
4.  Contradicts other pro-life legislation that they are working on at the same time. For example, one bill prohibits abortion after 30 days, another at detection of a heartbeat, another one at conception. These bills all work against each other.

Abortion abolitionism is the most consistent application of a biblically-minded "pro-life" philosophy. Abortion is murder, plain and simply; period, end of sentence. It's murder at 36 weeks, it's murder at 20 weeks, it's murder at 12 weeks, it's murder at 6 weeks, it's murder at 2 weeks. Drawing an arbitrary line at any point after life begins (conception) at which baby murder is a-okay is injustice. Every pro-life bill that seeks to regulate abortion is, in fact, ultimately perpetuating it.

Here is an analysis by Free The States on five of the six measures passed by the Senate. Below is the press release from Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat's office:

Senate advances important pro-life bills

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma Senate on Thursday approved a slate of pro-life measures to ensure the state values and protects the lives of the unborn.

“Since the grave error of Roe, states like Oklahoma have worked diligently to enact measures to protect the lives of the unborn and the bills passed today by the Senate further that work and will help sustain a culture in our state that values and protects life at all stages. It is my sincere hope federal legal precedents allowing abortion are overturned, restoring Oklahoma’s ability to prohibit abortion once again. Until that welcomed day, I will continue to lead the Oklahoma Senate to enact measures to save the lives of the unborn,” said Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City.

The Senate approved the following pro-life bills:

Pro-abortion Senate Dem accidentally hits on the regulatory flaw of "pro-life"

Here's the sad truth about abortion, and it took time for me to fully understand it: pro-life laws put abortion into statute. Let me say that again: abortion is law today because of pro-life laws.

There's a reason why Democrats tried to pass a bill in the U.S. Senate late last month to codify abortion into federal law (they failed). Roe v. Wade is not law. Roe v. Wade is not statute.

Pro-lifers have been motivated to save the lives of the unborn, but for decades, we've actually been putting into law the means by which the preborn are murdered. We're regulating babies to death.

Once you understand this fact, it really is eye-opening. I believe that most pro-lifers would agree that abortion is murder, that life begins at conception, and that the ultimate goal is to end abortion in all forms it takes. Thus, a truly and fully consistent pro-life position is that of the total and immediate abolition of abortion.

State Sen. Mary Boren (D-Norman) is a liberal, pro-abortion Democrat. She penned an op-ed in The Oklahoman recently, attacking pro-life 'Rose Day', and accidentally stumbling upon a hard truth about pro-life legislation: that pro-life laws are aimed at reduc[ing] abortion rates, instead of making them illegal or move them out of state.

She is accidentally right. If Roe were struck down today, abortion would still be legal in every state, because the when, where, and how of baby-murder is written into state laws by pro-life legislation. 

This is why legislatures everywhere should be advancing pure abolition bills: "An abolition bill does not regulate which preborn human beings are old enough to be protected by law – it outlaws abortion itself."

Here's Boren's column, which seems to have been removed from The Oklahoman last time I checked:

Viewpoint: Anti-abortion legislation should honor dignity, privacy of Oklahoma women

by Sen. Mary Boren, D-Norman

Originally published in The Oklahoman, though now removed for some reason (cached copy)

Surely being an pro-life legislator is more than voting for abortion regulation laws and having your name read off a list on Rose Day each year.

Do I really have to vote for laws like Senate Bill 1167 and SB 1553 that track the menstruation cycles of women to be pro-life?

Last session, I introduced SB 138 to protect the education opportunity of pregnant students in Oklahoma. A large majority of Oklahoma’s private Christian colleges have requested federal waivers from the pregnancy protections contained in Title IX that apply to public colleges. Most “pro-life” colleges are places where an unmarried pregnant woman can lose her scholarships and college credits. SB 138 is a pro-life bill because it reduces the crisis in pregnant college students’ lives. But SB 138 does not aim to overturn Roe v. Wade, so it has not received a hearing.

Voters in my district have encouraged me to vote for laws that honor the life of the unborn, while also honoring the dignity, privacy and moral agency of women. These pro-life voters believe:

1. Pro-life laws humanize and honor the lives of the unborn for their whole lives.
2. Pro-life laws honor the life, privacy, dignity and moral agency of women.
3. Pro-life laws reduce abortion rates, instead of making them illegal or move them out of state.
4. Pro-life laws increase the likelihood that every pregnancy is welcomed and healthy by reducing the crisis in pregnant women’s lives so that they can carry their pregnancy to term.

Sadly, the agenda of Rose Day has narrowed over time to preserve political power by regulating abortions in ways that dehumanize pregnant women instead of removing the crisis in their lives, and this exploitive agenda pushes lawmakers like me out of their fellowship on Rose Day.

Sen. Mary Boren, D-Norman, represents the people living in District 16, which includes Norman, Noble, Lexington and Slaughterville in Cleveland County.

Here's the thing, Boren's definition of "pro-life" is not what most pro-lifers would agree with, but she stumbled on the regulatory nature of the pro-life movement. Instead, abortion must be abolished.

Senate committee continues to ignore abortion abolition, passes weak pro-life bills instead

Rather than hearing legislation that would abolish abortion, the Oklahoma State Senate - at Pro Tem Greg Treat's direction - is instead serving out some weak, bland legislative "dishes" with a haphazardly slapped-on "pro-life" label.

The ugly truth about most of the pro-life legislation passed by pro-life Oklahoma legislatures in the past decade or more is that they have accomplished little or nothing. There are new abortion clinics murder mills in Oklahoma. Every year, four to five thousand babies are still murdered, with full legal consent. Abortive mothers are declining or ignoring the "pro-life" materials that legislators voted to make available (mind you, these measures were touted as saving lives, yet according to the most recent data from the Health Department not one mother who received the material changed her mind about having an abortion).

Abortion abolitionism is the most consistent application of a biblically-minded "pro-life" philosophy. Abortion is murder, plain and simply; period, end of sentence. It's murder at 36 weeks, it's murder at 20 weeks, it's murder at 12 weeks, it's murder at 6 weeks, it's murder at 2 weeks. Drawing an arbitrary line at any point after life begins (conception) at which baby murder is a-okay is injustice. Every pro-life bill that seeks to regulate abortion is, in fact, ultimately perpetuating it. 

Unfortunately, Sen. Greg Treat is at the forefront of fighting the abolition of abortion. The legislature will pass these do-nothing measures right in time to check the pro-life box on their campaign material this fall. Meanwhile, abolition bills will languish in the dark, without so much as an opportunity at a committee hearing.

Anyway, here's Treat's press release:

Pro Tem Treat’s pro-life bills advance to Senate floor

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Health and Human Services Committee on Monday advanced four pro-life bills from Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat.

Senate Bill 1552
Senate Bill 1552 allows the Oklahoma State Department of Health to contract directly with private organizations who provide services related to the Choosing Childbirth Act.

“Allowing the health department to contract directly with private organizations that support women who make the brave choice to carry a child to term rather than seek an abortion makes more life-saving resources available to even more expectant mothers and their children,” said Treat, R-Oklahoma City.

The bill now advances to the Senate floor for consideration.

Senate Bill 1553
Senate Bill 1553 modifies current state statutes and moves to 30-days from conception the prohibition on abortion in Oklahoma.

“Life at every stage is precious and must be valued and protected. The prevalence of abortions is a tragedy for our society. Hopefully, the U.S. Supreme Court will soon take steps that will allow Oklahoma and other states to have laws that accurately reflect our collective desire to protect the unborn,” Treat said.

The bill next goes to the Senate floor for consideration.

Senate Bill 1555
Senate Bill 1555 amends “trigger language” from 2021’s SB 918 so should the central holdings of Roe v. Wade or Planned Parenthood v. Casey be overturned, or should the U.S. Constitution be amended to allow states to set abortion policy, Oklahoma may enforce the existing prohibition of abortion in state statute or enact similar statutes prohibiting an abortion throughout pregnancy.

“Pending at the U.S. Supreme Court is a case that could overturn all or parts of Roe v. Wade and other federal case law that tragically allows abortions to proceed. It is my hope the court overturns precedents that protect abortion in that current case and restores states’ ability to prohibit abortion once again. Senate Bill 1555 is an important measure that prepares Oklahoma to act quickly to end abortion if, and when, the U.S. Supreme Court overturns precedent on abortion law,” Treat said.

The bill next moves to the Senate floor for consideration.

Senate Joint Resolution 37
Senate Joint Resolution 37 provides for a vote of the people on a constitutional amendment to prohibit the Oklahoma Supreme Court from reading into the Oklahoma Constitution a guaranteed right to an abortion.

“The U.S. Supreme Court mistakenly read into the federal constitution a guaranteed right to an abortion. Senate Joint Resolution 37, if approved by voters, keeps the Oklahoma Supreme Court from making that same mistake. This resolution would stop the Oklahoma Supreme Court from inventing out of whole cloth a right to an abortion in the state constitution, and gives Oklahomans the ability to affirm their overwhelming support for protecting the sanctity of life,” Treat said.

The bill next moves to the Senate floor for consideration.