Sen. Daniels statement on Supreme Court ruling pro-life laws unconstitutional

OKLAHOMA CITY – Sen. Julie Daniels, R-Bartlesville, released the following statement Wednesday after the Supreme Court ruled her Senate Bill 1503 and House Bill 4327 unconstitutional.

“On Wednesday, a rogue Oklahoma Supreme Court, acting as self-appointed legislators, unleashed another attack on Oklahoma’s unborn children. The court also thumbed its nose at the Legislature and showed their contempt for the separation of powers.

“These laws ensuring abortionists faced paying damages and the loss of their medical licenses was already precedent in other states, such as Texas.

“Our court should have dismissed these two lawsuits last year. Instead, they ignored the fact that the government can’t be the defendant under these civil laws. 

“In both decisions, the majority said not one word about a right to life of the unborn child. This is a dangerous game the Supreme Court is playing in terms of judicial activism. It should be a wakeup call to my colleagues that we need to strongly consider legislative intervention to avoid any more erosion to pro-life measures, or any other pieces of legislation that the Oklahoma Supreme Court doesn’t like.

“The Legislature had an opportunity to clarify our pro-life statutes this legislative session. SB 834 would have made language, including definitions and exceptions, consistent throughout our laws that could have thwarted this attack on the right to life in our state. We had a duty to use our legislative authority to act to protect unborn children from unelected pro-abortion justices. I am gravely disappointed and saddened that we stood silent. We still have options. We must work quickly. We must work together.”

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For more information, contact:  Sen. Daniels: (405) 521-5634 or Julie.Daniels@oksenate.gov