Oklahoma Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat introduced Senate Bill 195 as an abortion ban trigger bill. It would ban abortion in Oklahoma, if Roe V. Wade was overturned by the Supreme Court. However, the process has changed Treat’s focus from the U.S. Supreme Court to the Oklahoma Supreme Court.
SB 195 was changed to ask voters to decide whether to restrict the Oklahoma Supreme Court’s ability to declare a right to an abortion within the state constitution. It passed the Senate on a 40 to eight vote.
“The Oklahoma Constitution contains no language that guarantees a right to an abortion, yet the Oklahoma Supreme Court has crept dangerously closer to inventing such a right,” said Treat. “Recently, Planned Parenthood and others have strategically challenged pro-life legislation in state courts in the hope that the Oklahoma Supreme Court will find a right to an abortion in the state constitution. By allowing these cases to advance in state court rather than federal court, the Oklahoma Supreme Court is implicitly showing their willingness to make up out of whole cloth a right to an abortion in the state Constitution where none exists. We cannot allow that to happen as it would be a tremendous setback for the pro-life movement. Senate Bill 195 gives the people of Oklahoma the ability to loudly proclaim their strong desire to protect the sanctity of life.”
Treat said he will pursue the “trigger” bill in the future, but felt this track was much more important.
