In February 2020, the Oklahoma House of Representatives passed a bill that would revoke the licenses of physicians who perform abortions.
The House voted 71-21 in favor of HB 1182. The bill mandates physicians who perform abortions in the state have their licenses revoked for a year and be fined $500.
HB 1182 also includes an exception for procedures that will help save the life of the mother. Anyone who is not a physician who tries to perform an abortion in place of a physician will face a felony charge and one to three years in prison. However, even with these measures in place, there are some who still do not think this bill goes far enough to protect the lives of the preborn and end abortion.
While the bill did pass the House, it still needs to go to the Senate.
Republican State Senator Joseph Silk, who has authored the similar bill SB 13 that has recently been stalled, dismisses HB 1182 saying it does not go far enough to help restrict abortion services in Oklahoma.
Jim Olsen, the author of HB 1182, told ABC News that he hopes HB 1182 helps reduce the number of abortions based on his own belief that life begins at conception. Olsen did not want to make it harder in cases where the mother’s life is at stake and wanted to provide the physicians with discretion if these situations were to arise.
Will the bill be successful? We do not know yet. It still has a long journey ahead.
According to Fox 25, if the bill does not become law by at least May 29, it would have to be presented once again in the next legislative session in 2021.
Watch the news story here:
Update: It appears this bill died in the Senate Health and Human Services committee.
Kara is a firm defender of faith, truth & life. She is a contributor for the Rogue Review & maintains a personal blog called "Black Coffee At Midnight" about faith & life’s unpredictable journey.
