Late last month, the Oklahoma House of Representatives passed a bill 59-9 that would completely ban abortions in the mostly Republican state.
The bill now sits on the Governor Mary Fallin’s desk, who has yet to make a statement about whether or not she would sign the bill. Her pro-life stance indicates that she might be willing to pass the bill, but it would lead to a tough federal battle that the state may not want to fight.
SB 1552 would revoke the medical licenses of all doctors caught performing abortions for any other reason than miscarriage or severe physical trauma to either the fetus or the mother. The doctors found performing the operation outside of this domain would also face felony charges.
Though an abortion is allowed if the continued pregnancy would harm the mother, inducing an early birth to save the fetus is also legal.
As for the concern that the bill is unconstitutional and would be overturned by federal courts, Representative David Brumbaugh said,
“Do we make laws because they’re moral and right, or do we make them based on what an unelected judicial occupant might question or overturn?”
However, Yamani Hernandez, executive director of the National Network of Abortion Funds, had this to say about the possible passing of this bill:
“SB 1552 violates the constitutional rights of people needing an abortion. It’s playing politics with the most vulnerable people and families.”
To further this claim, Amanda Allen from the Center for Reproductive Rights said,
“When abortion is illegal, women and their health, futures, and families suffer.”
So is it truly moral to ban abortion when many will suffer as a result?
The pro-life and pro-choice debate is a huge one within the nation, but many states have been consistently fighting to restrict and eliminate abortion ever since it was deemed federally legal because women have the right to make their own choices for their body. Oklahoma is one of these states, and only time will tell whether Fallin approves this bill to enact it into law.
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