Senate approves bill on statewide abortion vote

Under a bill advanced by Senate Republicans on Thursday, Oklahoma voters would be asked to specify that the state constitution does not protect a right to an abortion.

Senate Bill 195, which advanced along partisan lines and now heads to the House, would call for a statewide election to ask voters to declare that nothing in the Oklahoma Constitution secures or protects the right to perform or receive an abortion, nor does the state constitution prevent statutes being enacted that prohibit abortion, regulate abortion or regulate abortion differently from other acts or procedures.

“All this would do is amend the state constitution to say that the state constitution does not grant a right to abortion,” said Senate President Pro Tem Greg Treat, the author of the bill.

While Democrats voted against the bill, it was a Republican lawmaker with the most vocal opposition.

“Every year we come up here and offer pro-life legislation that essentially has no impact,” said Sen. Joseph Silk, R-Broken Bow, who authored a bill this year that would have classified abortion as murder.

Silk claimed SB 195 did nothing to stop abortion. The bill passed 40 to 8. Sen. Julia Kirt, D-Oklahoma

City, said the bill was a distraction from more important issues.

“I am extremely disappointed that we are discussing and spending time on such a polarizing bill instead of working on policies that actually help Oklahomans,” Kirt said.

Sen. Carrie Hicks, D-Oklahoma City, said a better way to reduce abortion would be to improve education and economic opportunities for Oklahoma women.

“This is in no way addressing the root issue or the root cause,” Hicks said.