March 21, 2023
When the Life at Conception Act was made law and took effect in Oklahoma late last year, it was nothing short of a major pro-life victory for the preborn — and Students for Life Action (SFLAction) was thrilled to see our own legislation enacted to save lives.
Unfortunately, the Life at Conception Act (SB 612) is now being challenged. Despite its positive impact for the preborn and women across Oklahoma, some legislators and state groups are now seeking to weaken SFLAction’s pro-life legislation by providing an opportunity to discriminate against some preborn babies.
In a backwards step, SB 834 was introduced with provisions that would allow for babies conceived in rape or incest to be aborted, a measure that is unsupported in the current legislation as no children should die as a result of their father’s actions.
In addition, SB 834 leaves an open-ended question of late-term abortions of ‘non-viable’ babies – a definition which is not spelled out in the law and could perhaps be manipulated by the abortion lobby due to such vagueness. It does not remain clear if this legislation would pave the way for late-term abortion or not, but we’ve seen the abortion lobby use intentionally confusing language before.
SFLAction President Kristan Hawkins stands in opposition to discriminating against preborn children conceived in rape, like her friend Ryan Bomberger. Bomberger is the Founder of the Radiance Foundation and was conceived out of rape. He is now an advocate for preborn children and women in similar situations.
Preborn babies like Bomberger are protected under Oklahoma’s current law, but SB 834 looks to push a politically expedient agenda rather than ensure that all babies are worthy of protection under the law. SFLAction has criticized this weak political strategy and rapidly responded by sending emails and personal text messages while also lobbying in person against Senator Julie Daniels’ bill.
With Roe v. Wade thrown into the ash heap of history, the time is now to pass life-saving laws and make our states take the strongest protections for the preborn to ensure abortion isn’t the end to a precious new life. To encourage lawmakers to stay strong and continue to protect future Oklahomans, sign our petition HERE!