Another Abortion Ban, Transgender Birth Certificate Ban Head To State House

A bill banning transgender birth certificates and a Texas style abortion ban are now one step away from the Governor's desk.  

The House Public Health Committee approved them Wednesday along party lines.  

“When you’re born, you’re either a biological female or your biological male,” Rep. Sheila Dills, R-Tulsa said.  

Last year, Gov. Kevin Stitt signed an executive order barring the Department of Health from changing a person's gender on their birth certificate after the agency had settled a federal lawsuit by allowing the change.  

“We had a federal lawsuit with an individual from Oregon who sued the state of Oklahoma. The Health Department inappropriately settled that lawsuit that doesn’t align with the beliefs of Oklahomans,” Dills said “So, we’re just putting it in law that a person is either a biological female or male at birth.    

“Folks trying to get updated drivers licenses or other forms of ID in other states, they can’t get that amendment and correction made in their birth certificate, sometimes get denied for that reason just because they were born in Oklahoma,” Freedom Oklahoma’s Nicole McAfee said.    

A bill nearly identical to Texas's Heartbeat Act advanced along party lines, allowing anyone to sue someone who performs, aides or an abortion after about 6 weeks.  

“Pretty much the same thing as Texas,” Rep. Todd Russ, R-Cordell, said.  

The Supreme Court has allowed the Texas law to take effect unlike other abortion restrictions tied up in legal battles.  

“The thing that makes this bill unique is the fact that the Supreme Court has actually upheld this language, so we’ve added this language into the Oklahoma heartbeat bill for that purpose,” Russ said.  

“Abortion is still legal in Oklahoma and the ACLU is here to a form any Oklahoman that needs or wants an abortion,” ACLU of Oklahoma’s Cindy Nguyen said. “So, all of these abortion bills continue to be unconstitutional.”  

Both bills have already cleared the Senate and are now eligible to be heard before the full House.