OKLAHOMA CITY – A new resolution passed the Oklahoma House of Representatives on a voice vote Monday afternoon. It says that every public official in Oklahoma— including but not limited to sheriffs, district attorneys, judges and justices, the Attorney General, and the Governor — is directed to exercise their authority as appropriate in their respective jurisdictions to stop the murder of innocent unborn children by abortion.
House Resolution 1004 passed with a simple voice vote without any discussion or debate. Afterward, Rep. Chuck Strohm was allowed a few minutes of personal privilege, during which he said the Supreme Court had violated “every act of decency and law” and the nation’s founding documents by “forcing the murder of unborn children on our society” through abortion. “What happens when a court — and not just any court but the highest court in the land — violates the most basic law known to mankind —the right to life?” Strohm asked.
HR 1004 claims that the Supreme Court of the United States overstepped its authority and jurisdiction by offering opinions in Roe v. Wade, Planned Parenthood v. Casey, and other abortion-related cases. In Roe v. Wade (1973) the Court ruled 7–2 that a right to privacy under the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment extended to a woman's decision to have an abortion, but that this right must be balanced against the state's interests in regulating abortions: protecting women's health and protecting the potentiality of human life. The resolution also claims that elective abortion deprives human beings of the protections of these laws.
Oklahoma imposes a 72-hour waiting period for women who want to obtain abortion, during which she must receive “counseling” encouraging her not to go through with it. Insurance for public employees only covers the procedure in life-threatening circumstances, and public funding can only be used for abortions “in cases of life endangerment, rape or incest.”
Despite the fact that HR 1004 is considered a statement of policy and does not carry the weight of law, it shows an official opinion on abortion. It seems that women are condemned if they decide to have an abortion, no matter what led to decision which is already very hard.
Photo Credits: The Daily Signal
