Bill To Abolish Abortion Expected To Draw Large Crowd at Capitol

Large crowds are expected Tuesday at the state Capitol to support and oppose a bill that would outlaw abortion in Oklahoma.

Senate Bill 13 would abolish abortion in the state. There would be no exceptions for rape, incest or saving the life of the mother.

“In case of life of the mother, that doesn’t exist. That’s just been a lie we’ve been told for the past 43 years. Tubal pregnancies, all of those circumstances, which are very rare, the medical (staff) still has processes that can treat the mother's life and the baby’s life equal,” said Sen. Joseph Silk, R-Broken Bow.

The group “Free the States” will be holding a rally in support of the bill.  Protesters are also expected. Opponents say Silk is just wasting the state’s time, and that the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled abortion constitutional  

“You have to ask yourself, why do you keep running unconstitutional legislation, when you know it’s unconstitutional.  There’s not much we can do about it from a state perspective. It’s a federal issue,” said Rep. Jason Dunnington, D-Oklahoma City.

“Roe v. Wade, that opinion, was unconstitutional in itself. So the states should have stood up and said, 'No, I’m sorry, U.S. Supreme Court, you can’t do that,' and 'we will not kill children.' It’s not the bill that’s unconstitutional, it’s the act of abortion that’s unconstitutional,” Silk said. 

Silk said he’s hoping for a big crowd, to send a message.

“I hope it shows the legislature a big, a very quickly growing movement towards abolition. People are fed up with the typical, do-nothing, pro-life bills and they understand it’s a horrible act,” Silk said.