by Brandi Bunch
Contributing writer
The ongoing debate over abortion rights versus the right to life has recently gained a new dimension for Oklahomans.
According to the website for the Oklahoma State Legislature, http://www.oklegislature.gov, Feb. 15, 2012 saw the approval of Senate Bill 1433, also known as the Personhood Act, in the Oklahoma Senate.
SB 1433, if passed, would establish that human life begins at conception and officially define human zygotes as people. It was referred to the House with a recommendation of “do pass” by the Committee on Health and Human Services and was first read in the house on Feb. 22, 2012.
Authored by Senator Brian Crain, R-Okla., the text of SB 1433 states, “The Oklahoma Legislature finds that: The life of each human being begins at conception; Unborn children have protectable interests in life, health, and well-being; and the natural parents of unborn children have protectable interests in the life, health, and well-being of their unborn child.”
It goes on to say that the term “unborn children” refers to “all unborn children or the offspring of human beings from the moment of conception until birth at every stage of biological development.”
The bill defines a human zygote as a “person” at the exact moment that the egg is fertilized, and extends to that fertilized egg all of the rights of personhood with the statement “the laws of this state shall be interpreted and construed to acknowledge on behalf of the unborn child at every stage of development all the rights, privileges, and immunities available to other persons, citizens, and residents of this state.”
In other words, the moment a human egg becomes fertilized, it is bestowed with the exact same rights as any other Oklahoma resident of any age.
As a protective measure, the bill also includes the statement, “Nothing in this section shall be interpreted as creating a cause of action against a woman for indirectly harming her unborn child by failing to properly care for herself or by failing to follow any particular program of prenatal care.”
SB 1433 is poised to be an incredibly powerful piece of anti-abortion legislation.
The bill has incurred opposition by pro-abortion rights groups, but there are also other groups that are concerned by the extensive implications of a bill establishing that life begins at conception.
One protest of the bill came in the form of Sen. Constance Johnson, D-Okla., introducing a “Spilled Semen” amendment, which proposed that “any action in which a man ejaculates or otherwise deposits semen anywhere but in a woman’s vagina shall be interpreted and construed as an action against an unborn child.”
Johnson wrote a column for “The Guardian” explaining her amendment, which she has since withdrawn, by saying she wanted to highlight the sexism of the government intruding in families’ lives by “policing what happens to a woman’s eggs without any similar thought to what happens to a man’s sperm.”
The Oklahoma Coalition for Reproductive Justice was present to support a “Barefoot and Pregnant” rally at the Capitol on Feb. 28. The rally was organized by the grassroots coalition Oklahomans Against the Personhood Act and filled with shoeless protestors bearing signs.
Some of the photos taken for NewsOk, http://www.newsok.com, featured the phrases on the protest signs. These phrases included “If I wanted the government in my womb, I’d f— a Senator” and “Keep your rosaries out of my ovaries.”
According to OCRJ’s website, http://www.ocrj.org, the rally was also attended by Executive Director of Oklahoma’s Mainstream Baptists Bruce Prescott, who presented Biblical texts opposing the idea of personhood beginning at conception, and fertility specialist Dr. Eli Reshef, who expressed concerns over personhood legislation’s effect on in vitro fertilization.
For IVF treatment to be effective, multiple eggs must be fertilized because achieving pregnancy sometimes takes numerous attempts for couples who have difficulty conceiving. At the present, there is nothing in SB 1433 pertaining to IVF, causing trepidations for doctors who would be, according to the bill, producing numerous persons in the course of performing the treatment.
However, one local organization expects the bill to have a more positive impact.
The director of the Pregnancy Center of Bryan County, Brenda Williams, believes that the act is very much in accordance with the center’s goals, which she stated are geared toward education. Williams stated that the center has a very anti-abortion stance and offers parenting classes and support or advocates adoption services to young women seeking help with their pregnancies.
According to Williams, the act “is going to change the thinking of a lot of young men and women. So many of these young parents have been educated to think it’s not a baby, it’s just a blob of cells.”
However, Williams explained that the Personhood Act will likely not change the way the center is run, saying, “We mostly educate the girls here. We don’t have a lot of girls who come in asking for abortions.”
Williams added that the primary reason the Pregnancy Center is a necessity is the lack of education in schools, specifically with regard to abstinence. She said that, until this changes, “We’re still going to need to be here.”
The center is planning to institute its educational program, “Choosing the Best,” in area schools by September, where it would be given to students in 6-11th grades.
Should SB 1433 make it through the House, it may be signed into law. According to ok.gov, Okla. Gov. Mary Fallin recently signed two other pro-life bills: HB 1888, which bans abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, and SB 547, which ensures standard health insurance policies in Oklahoma do not include elective abortion coverage.
Political archival website On the Issues, http://www.issues2000.org, reports that Fallin has a history of approving anti-abortion bills and quotes her as saying, “I have always been pro-life.”