In what would mark a major victory for pro-life proponents, the Oklahoma House of Representatives is expected to pass a bill declaring that human life begins at conception.
The landmark bill would extend the full protection of the law to all human beings from the moment of conception.
The Senate passed an earlier version of the Personhood Act in February and has promised to approve the House version. Gov. Mary Fallin is expected to sign it.
“This would make our state the battleground for Roe v. Wade,” Tulsa World quoted Rep. Jeannie McDaniel, D-Tulsa, as saying. Sen. Brian Crain, R-Tulsa, is the Senate author of the bill.
Even as the House vote awaits, the Center for Reproductive Rights and the ACLU are fighting in court to prevent a people’s vote on a similar constitutional initiative.
Liberty Counsel is defending Personhood Oklahoma to protect the right of all Oklahomans to vote on the proposed constitutional amendment. Oklahoma is the first state to consider both a state statute and a constitutional amendment addressing the rights of the unborn simultaneously.
“The right to life is the right of all rights,” says Mat Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel. “Without the right to life, there are no other rights. The Personhood bill specifically instructs that all state laws are to be interpreted in a manner acknowledging the legal rights of the unborn as equal to the rights of other citizens. It thus extends equal protection to all classes of citizens.”
