Weekly Opinion Editorial
CRISIS POINT!
by Steve Fair
Last week, the Oklahoma state Senate approved several
pro-life bills. Senate Bill #1503(SB#1503)
is a Texas style six-week abortion ban that would take effect immediately after
it is signed by the governor. Senate Bill #1555(SB#1555) modifies the state’s
trigger ban allowing pre-Roe v. Wade statutes to take effective if and when the
U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade.
SB#1552(SB#1552) would allow the State Department of Health to enter
into contracts with private organizations for providing alternatives to
abortion. Oklahoma is the second state-
after Idaho- to vote a six-week abortion ban modeled after Texas.
There were also two Joint Resolutions passed
by the Senate. Joint Resolutions, if
passed by both chambers, send the resolution to a vote of the people. SJR#37 would place a constitutional amendment
in the state constitution eliminating a right to any abortion in Oklahoma. SJR#17 would place a constitutional amendment
in the state constitution conferring full personhood- and the rights that come
with it- from conception. All the bills
now move to the state House for consideration.
The American Civil Liberties Union(ACLU) chapter
says these bills would ‘decimate abortion access in the region.’ According
to the ACLU, Oklahoma has been a ‘lifeline’(interesting description) for Texans
seeking abortion after Texas passed their six-week abortion ban. The ACLU claims half of all Texans who went
out of state for an abortion in the last six months came to the Sooner state.
“Since the grave error of Roe v. Wade, states
like Oklahoma have worked diligently to enact measures to protect the lives of
the unborn. These bills passed by the
Senate will further that work and will help sustain a culture in our state that
values and protects life at all stages. I
hope federal legal precedents allowing abortion are overturned, restoring
Oklahoma’s ability to prohibit abortion once again,” Senate President Pro
Tempore Greg Treat, (R-OKC)
“Oklahomans
deserve access to abortion, without obstacles, stigma, or harassment, but local
politicians are emboldened after witnessing the ongoing attacks across the
country to time-sensitive, compassionate health care. Make no mistake, our
state is at a crisis point in the fight to protect abortion. Forcing people to
continue a pregnancy by taking away their ability to get an abortion is
dangerous and a violation of their rights. It is an attack on human dignity. At
every point in a pregnancy, a person’s health, not politics, should drive their
medical decisions," Tamya Cox-Touré, executive director, ACLU of
Oklahoma, said in regard the pro-life bills.
Two observations:
First, abortion is a violation of the unborn baby’s right to live. The U.S. Constitution guarantees the right to
LIFE, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
You can’t have liberty and the pursuit of happiness without life. No one has the right to take an innocent life.
The true attack on human dignity and decency
is when a culture has reached the level that killing life in the womb is celebrated
as a basic right.
Second, there is no way to deny abortion is a form of killing. Science confirms what the Bible says- life
begins at conception. An embryo is not merely
a cell with potential, but a distinct
human organism. It fulfills the four
criteria needed to establish biological life: metabolism, growth, reaction to
stimuli, and reproduction. Pro-abortion
advocates claim the organism is ‘not a person.’
That is a completely unscientific argument based on their own moral or
political philosophy. Medicine confirms
the existence of a child before birth as a distinct human being. Fetal surgery has become a medical specialty
and includes the separate provision of anesthesia to the baby.
Oklahoma is at a crisis point on the issue of abortion. Either the Sooner state becomes a safe haven for the unborn or it continues allowing children in the womb to be killed. Contact your state Representative and ask them to support the pro-life legislation listed above.
Well, Steve, you certainly left no questions unanswered in regards to your thoughts on abortion. I am humbled that I, a man, can read the words written by you, another man, and respond with my own opinion on the right to abortion, which traditionally has been a topic of women's rights.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to your first point, I'll keep it brief. The founding fathers were not referencing abortion in the preamble to the US Constitution. It doesn't take a scholar to come to that conclusion. The very notion, I find it, is absurd, but in the context of your post, it does connect to your overall point.
You agree that women should have no right whatsoever to an abortion under any circumstances. That is a hardline position to take, but your post makes that firmly clear.
Let's say that Oklahoma goes through with that. You know as well as I do that there are cases, such as ectopic pregnancies, where the life of the woman can be in fatal jeopardy if the pregnancy continues. Forcing a woman to continue a pregnancy that is doomed to fail and results in the death of the unborn child as well as the mother does not sound synonymous with "pro-life" to me.
You also must know that not all conceptions are consensual. In other words, rape can result in an unwanted pregnancy. Under the joint resolution, rape victims in our state would have no choice but to bear the consequences of the crime they are the victim of. How does that fit into the other parts of the preamble, the liberty and pursuit of happiness? Does that also mean the rapist father could get parental rights?
Let's keep it real here, Steve. These bills are controversial by design. Neither you nor I will ever experience pregnancy firsthand as a mother, so why in the blue hell are you standing so high on your pedestal telling women you don't even know how they should act with their own bodies?
I look forward to your response.