Missing In Action: the Oklahoma Legislature and the fight for Life

Legislation on abortion has topped the national news this year. Blue states like New York and Vermont have swung heavily toward expanding infanticide (even to infants post-birth, as voiced by Virginia's governor), while some red states are changing tactics to more intense assaults on Roe v. Wade.

In the last two months, seven states have passed legislation that would dramatically restrict abortion. In recent weeks, movement on these pro-life bills has accelerated.

• May 15th - Alabama: near-total abortion ban signed by Governor
• May 15th - Louisiana: heartbeat bill (6-week) authored by Democrat passes House, Democrat Governor indicated he will sign if passed.
• May 15th - Missouri: heartbeat (8-week) and trigger bill passed Senate. Final House vote expected tomorrow.
• May 7th - Georgia: heartbeat (6-week) bill signed by Governor.
• April 11th - Ohio: heartbeat (6-week) bill signed by Governor.
• March 21st - Mississippi: heartbeat (6-week) bill signed by Governor.
• March 15th - Kentucky: heartbeat (6-week) bill signed by Governor.

Where is Oklahoma in this fight?

We have a Governor on the record pledging to sign any pro-life bill sent to his desk. We have a supermajority of legislators in both houses who claim to be pro-life.

And yet, where is the fruit? The pieces are present, but why haven't they been assembled?

When it comes to significantly advancing the rights of the preborn this year, the Oklahoma Legislature is MIA - Missing In Action.

Rose Day after Rose Day, Oklahoma legislators line up for a group photo, proclaiming their allegiance to the pro-life cause, and touting their dedication (and their 100% rating) to defending Life. Yet, behind the scenes, many in leadership kowtow to corporate and media interests who despise the pro-life cause and claim that such policies would bring economic disaster to Oklahoma.

Earlier this year, a bill was filed to take a lead among the states and abolish abortion in Oklahoma. Senate President Greg Treat and Senate Health Committee Chairman Jason Smalley refused to allow the measure to even get a discussion in committee. Citing quibbles with the wording, they rejected allowing the bill to go through the legislative process whereby differences in legislation are worked out.

Then, to some fanfare, Sen. Treat revealed the "new strategy", his answer to Silk's SB13 that was not going to be allowed to be heard. The new bill, an effort to appease pro-lifers upset by the shelving of SB13, was a "trigger bill", which would only go into effect if Roe v. Wade gets overturned or Congress passes a constitutional amendment returning abortion law to the states.

But wait! There's more!

When Treat's bill hit the Senate floor, he changed it again (this time without the proclamations that accompanied the initial unveiling). Now, his SB195 sends to a vote of the people a constitutional amendment to "clarif[y that] no provision of the [Oklahoma] Constitution secures or protects a right to perform or receive an abortion". Since passing the Senate, that measure has received no action in the House, no public promptings for passage by the authoring Senate President, no attention whatsoever.

This year, legislative leadership has absolutely zero priority for advancing action on behalf of the preborn. However, they did find it important enough to pass a bill designating the ribeye as the state steak. It's a sad day when a steak takes precedence over preventing the death of thousands of babies every year. 

Oklahoma had a chance to lead the nation in advocating for Life this year. Pro-life Republicans control the House of Representatives, the Senate, and a pro-life Republican sits in the office of Governor. Even after SB13 was shelved, it was still possible for another measure of import to be proposed and advanced. If it was truly a priority for legislative leadership, they could have made it happen. Instead, pro-lifers and the pro-life cause are an afterthought, only considered when an election is on the line.

While states like Alabama, Georgia, and Missouri take the forefront in the battle for the preborn, Oklahoma's place in the ranks is empty. The lack of significant action speaks to the lack of priority.

The Oklahoma Legislature is Missing In Action in the fight for Life in 2019.

Treat's abortion "trigger" bill changed to 2020 state question, passes Senate

Senate approves Pro Tem Treat bill to call a legislative referendum on abortion

Bill would let people vote to restrict Oklahoma Supreme Court’s ability to construe right to an abortion in state constitution

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma Senate on Thursday in a bipartisan vote approved a bill from President Pro Tempore Greg Treat that would put a legislative referendum on the 2020 ballot to let voters decide whether to restrict the Oklahoma Supreme Court’s ability to construe a right to an abortion in the state constitution.

Senate Bill 195 passed on a 40-8 vote and now heads to the House for consideration.

“The Oklahoma Constitution contains no language that guarantees a right to an abortion, yet the Oklahoma Supreme Court has crept dangerously closer to inventing such a right,” said Treat, R-Oklahoma City. “Recently, Planned Parenthood and others have strategically challenged pro-life legislation in state courts in the hope that the Oklahoma Supreme Court will find a right to an abortion in the state constitution. By allowing these cases to advance in state court rather than federal court, the Oklahoma Supreme Court is implicitly showing their willingness to make up out of whole cloth a right to an abortion in the state Constitution where none exists. We cannot allow that to happen as it would be a tremendous setback for the pro-life movement. Senate Bill 195 gives the people of Oklahoma the ability to loudly proclaim their strong desire to protect the sanctity of life.”

A previous version of SB 195 contained “trigger” language that would have made enforceable Oklahoma’s prohibition on abortion in the event the central holding of Roe v. Wade or Planned Parenthood v. Casey were overturned by the federal courts, or if the U.S. Constitution were amended to protect life. Due to the findings of those two federal court cases, Oklahoma’s prohibition on abortion – which has existed since 1910 – is unenforceable.

“I still hope and pray that one day soon the U.S. Supreme Court will correct the judicial mistake of the past that legalized abortion in Roe versus Wade and Planned Parenthood versus Casey. But it’s far more likely, in the short-term, that the Oklahoma Supreme Court finds an invented right to an abortion in the state constitution than the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe or Casey,” Treat said.

Treat said he expects to pursue the “trigger” language in another bill at some point in the future.

Senate committee passes Roe v. Wade "trigger" bill

Senate Bill 13 by Sen. Joseph Silk has been the strongest measure filed in recent years when it comes to combating and ending abortion in Oklahoma. Silk's Abolition of Abortion in Oklahoma Act aims to return Oklahoma back to pre-Roe v. Wade statutes (that are still on the books) that made abortion illegal.

Silk and SB13 proponents argue that abortion can be attacked in the same way that states across the nation, including Oklahoma, are defying federal law on marijuana and immigration. Senate leadership disagrees, and is unwilling to even consider the possibility of pursuing that avenue -- while at the same time they are creating a regulatory framework for medical marijuana in spite of federal law otherwise.

Senate President Pro Tem Greg Treat and Senate Health & Human Services Committee Chairman Jason Smalley have shelved Silk's bill, and will not allow it to be advanced through the legislative process.

In what feels like an attempt to appease, Senate President Pro Tem Greg Treat authored an alternative bill to Sen. Silk's SB13. Treat's Senate Bill 195 is a "trigger bill", and would only go into effect if Roe v. Wade gets overturned or Congress passes a constitutional amendment returning abortion law to the states.

Treat's measure is a check-the-box move in case some other state makes the first move that leads to the end of Roe v.  Wade, and it certainly seems to be an afterthought. If it was really a priority, why wasn't this authored until Silk's bill started to garner attention?

Treat's bill was brought up in committee yesterday, and passed. Here's is the press release from Sen. Treat's office on the matter:

Pro Tem Treat bill prohibiting abortion passes out of Senate Health committee

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Senate Health and Human Services Committee approved with an 11-4 vote a bill from President Pro Tempore Greg Treat that would prohibit abortion in Oklahoma when the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade or if the U.S. Constitution is amended.

“Oklahoma is a pro-life state and Oklahomans have repeatedly made it clear they want their elected officials to protect the life of the unborn. Senate Bill 195 would prohibit abortion in Oklahoma, with the exception for the life of the mother, when Roe v. Wade is overturned or when the U.S. Constitution is amended. I appreciate the members of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee for advancing this important piece of legislation,” said Treat, R-Oklahoma City.

Treat said there are several lawsuits challenging Roe and other federal cases legalizing abortion currently in the federal court system.

“The U.S. Supreme Court at any time could choose to revisit any one of the current lawsuits challenging Roe v. Wade. Senate Bill 195 is an important step Oklahoma should take immediately to protect the lives of the unborn when that terrible decision of the U.S. Supreme Court is overturned,” Treat said.

Abortion has been a felony in Oklahoma since 1910 but that statute has been unenforceable since 1973 when the U.S. Supreme Court legalized abortion. Since then, Oklahoma has enacted pro-life policies that have successfully saved lives and reduced abortions performed in the state.

Those regulations would be rendered unnecessary when Roe is overturned because the 1910 law then would be enforceable. By removing abortion regulations from Oklahoma statutes, Senate Bill 195 would eliminate any statutory conflicts between.

Five other states have adopted laws similar to Senate Bill 195, and other states are considering similar measures.