Veteran pro-life lobbyist and Oklahomans for Life chairman Tony Lauinger renewed his calls to once again legalize abortion in the state for the cases of rape and incest.
Lauinger wrote an article in a newsletter for National Right to Life contending that the state of Oklahoma will likely see ballot measures to enshrine abortion in the state constitution, an effort that passed in Ohio and which abortion activists are seeking to mimic in other states. He asserted that a “practical need for incrementalism and prudence” supports the notion that Oklahoma laws should more closely reflect “public sentiment” on abortion.
“We have argued for fifty years that there is no logic nor justice in executing a child for the crime of his father. But the pro-life movement’s best efforts have failed to ‘move the needle’ even a little regarding public attitudes toward abortion following rape,” he wrote. “It’s a deeply ingrained emotional issue, and attitudes haven’t changed one bit in fifty years. We need to recognize that reality. If Oklahoma doesn’t modify our life-of-the-mother-only law by adding exceptions for rape and incest, we will likely suffer Ohio’s fate, thus depriving every future unborn child in Oklahoma of the constitutional right to life. We must learn the lesson of Ohio.”
Lauinger pushed for legislation earlier this year which would have made “rape or sexual assault” and “incest of a minor” acceptable circumstances for an abortion, provided that the incidents are first reported to law enforcement. The bill, which was sponsored by Oklahoma Republican State Senator Julie Daniels and Oklahoma Republican State Representative Ryan Martinez, failed to advance beyond the Oklahoma Senate Health and Human Services Committee.
Abolitionists Rising, a nonprofit based in Oklahoma which prefers an immediatist and distinctly Christian approach to outlawing abortion, lobbied against the bill earlier this year. The group said in comments to The Sentinel that established pro-life entities in the state “cede ground to abortion supporters, oppose justice for preborn children, and support bills which God hates.”
“Lauinger is doing what he, National Right to Life, and the pro-life leaders generally have always done,” Abolitionists Rising remarked to The Sentinel. “Their defeatism and compromise serves nobody but the abortion lobby that relishes in us conceding our foundation and the pro-life politicians that want to coast with the easiest possible pro-life bills to pass.”
Lauinger was one of several dozen pro-life lobbyists and officials to sign a letter last year informing all lawmakers in the United States that they should “not support any measure seeking to criminalize or punish women” for abortions. The document was published as elected officials in Louisiana were considering a bill to criminalize abortion for all parties involved.
