The final piece of legislation championed by Oklahoma’s pro-life lobby, Oklahoma For Life, has now been enacted by the state legislature and is awaiting the governor’s signature. He has indicated his support for the bill.
A two-million-dollar appropriation for the Choosing Childbirth Program, originally included in HB 2592, was transferred to the state budget bill, HB 2765, and approved by the Senate this week following its passage by the House last Friday. The bill will provide much-needed financial resources to pro-life pregnancy resource centres, which offer assistance to vulnerable women throughout their pregnancies and after the birth of their children.
The Choosing Childbirth Program will provide financial assistance for a range of services, including ultrasounds, medical examinations, counselling, parenting classes, maternity care, and so forth. This assistance will be provided without interfering with any privately funded, faith-based activities of the pregnancy centres. Crisis pregnancy centres represent a crucial aspect of the pro-life movement, providing vital assistance to expectant mothers and preventing the termination of their pregnancies.
The other significant pieces of legislation pertaining to the pro-life movement that were passed by the Oklahoma legislature during the current legislative session and subsequently signed into law by Governor Stitt include the following:
SB 614 stipulates that an abortion patient be furnished with information regarding the potentiality of reversing the intended effects of a medication (chemical) abortion. Medical science has developed a method for reversing the effects of a medication abortion and saving the life of an unborn child when only the first drug in the two-step process of a medication abortion has been ingested by the mother. The method has been instrumental in saving the lives of hundreds of babies when a mother has changed her mind about continuing the abortion procedure.
The legislation, HB 2591, prohibits the state from providing Medicaid funding to any healthcare provider who has failed to report statutory rape in accordance with mandatory child abuse reporting laws. Those who sexually abuse minors and impregnate their victims may resort to abortion as a means of concealing the evidence of their crimes. It is not uncommon for abortionists to perform abortions on minor girls without the knowledge of their parents when a statutory rapist brings the girl to an abortion facility and pays for the procedure.
SB 108 safeguards against assisted suicide by guaranteeing the accuracy of the cause of death on death certificates. Those who advocate for the legalisation of assisted suicide, seeking to conceal the growing harm and pressure that such utilitarian laws inflict on the vulnerable, the elderly, the depressed, and persons with disabilities, are encouraging those participating in assisted suicide to cover up what is actually occurring by reporting an underlying illness, instead of suicide, to hide the true cause of death in such cases. The message conveyed to the sick and vulnerable by causing them to feel that their lives are not worthy or that they are a burden is not subtle. As former Colorado Governor Richard Lamm once infamously put it, this message implies that they have a “duty to die and get out of the way.” In order to prevent the lethal practice of assisted suicide from gaining a foothold in Oklahoma, it is essential that the actual cause of death is accurately reported. This will prevent those who have perpetrated the act from concealing their actions.
The enactment of these vital pro-life bills was made possible by the efforts of numerous individuals who contacted legislators to express their support for these measures. We extend our gratitude to you for serving as the voice of the voiceless unborn child and as a defender of the vulnerable against assisted suicide.
Daniel Miller is responsible for nearly all of National Right to Life News' political writing.
With the election of Donald Trump to the U.S. presidency, Daniel Miller developed a deep obsession with U.S. politics that has never let go of the political scientist. Whether it's the election of Joe Biden, the midterm elections in Congress, the abortion rights debate in the Supreme Court or the mudslinging in the primaries - Daniel Miller is happy to stay up late for you.
Daniel was born and raised in New York. After living in China, working for a news agency and another stint at a major news network, he now lives in Arizona with his two daughters.
