By Carl Freiburger
Live Action News
Republican leaders in the Oklahoma State Senate have blocked SB 1118, a bill to classify abortion as first-degree murder punishable by life imprisonment or the death penalty, from coming up for a floor vote.
Last week, Live Action News reported that the bill was introduced by Republican State Senator Joe Silk in response to a 30,000-signature petition drive calling for a more absolute and immediate stand against abortion than incremental pro-life legislation. Tactically, there are differing schools of thought in the pro-life movement regarding whether state legislatures should go as far as total criminalization before overturning Roe v. Wade.
However, Senate leadership’s move to block a vote has denied SB 1118 its required third reading prior to the March 10 deadline, killing it for the remainder of the session.
Tony Lauinger, chairman of Oklahomans for Life chairman Tony Lauinger praised the decision as a necessary end to a wrongheaded strategy, asking, “do we want to make a statement, or do we want to make a difference?”
However, Silk blasted the block as “frustrating,” challenging opponents of SB 1118 if they are “really pro-life.”
Silk stated: “The state of Oklahoma must stop passing ‘pro-life’ laws that say when you can murder your child, and instead pass laws that call abortion murder. The legislature must stand up and force the courts to uphold the Constitution which protects life.”
Exciting times to live in! A few of us from PA societies were out there, helping to collect signatures, and otherwise being disturbers of the status quo. The police stalked us like -crazy-, but we were able to challenge them and the legislature to obey God rather than men. It was a great experience, and a great opportunity; please pray for continued fruit in Oklahoma as things move forward.
ReplyDelete“Do we want to make a statement, or do we want to make a difference?” Sometimes, making a statement is necessary to make a difference. One of the things that legislators don't realize is that the laws we put forward actually send a message that educates the culture in one direction or another. In OK, I was constantly hearing things like, "Abortion can't be murder - I've had an abortion and I'm not in prison!" A person's perception of morality is very often defined by the laws under which s/he lives. Human law sends a message, and our nation's perception of that message will define whether we win or lose this culture war.
This truly was a clash of two schools of thought. One school, incrementalism, believes that it is practical and necessary to deal with sin step by step, regulating it into submission. The other, immediatism, believes that the nature of sin is such that you cannot compromise with it, and still win the battle. I look forward to seeing future clashes that expose the impracticality of delaying justice for the oppressed.
God bless, and thanks for the writeup!
~ Nate