An Oklahoma House resolution passed on Monday declares that abortion equals murder and criticizes the U.S. Supreme Court for making the procedure legal.
House Resolution 1004 directs "every public official in Oklahoma to exercise their authority to stop murder of unborn children by abortion." The resolution states that "all of human life is protected by God's law and the law of the land" and claims that the Supreme Court "overstepped its authority and jurisdiction" in Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, two landmark Supreme Court cases that protect abortion rights in the U.S.
State Representative Chuck Strohm, author of the bill, said in a Facebook post that the resolution "challenges the notion that the U.S. Supreme Court had the authority under the Constitution to impose the murder of unborn children on the United States."
Related: Republican lawmaker: Women get abortions for a 'free trip to the city'
The resolution, which was passed without debate, has no legal standing. However, it does warn the Oklahoma Supreme Court not to interfere with any future legislation concerning Oklahoma state abortion law. Women in Oklahoma already face steep hurdles when it comes to procuring an abortion. According to the Guttmacher Institute, there are five facilities in Oklahoma that provide abortions, and 96 percent of Oklahoma counties do not have clinics that provide abortions.
Women in the state must wait 72 hours before having an abortion, and that's after being given state-mandated counselling that discourages the procedure. In Oklahoma, abortions are only performed after 20 weeks of pregnancy if the woman's life or health is at risk, and public funding for the procedure is available only in cases of rape, incest or if a woman's life is in danger.
The resolution comes months after the Oklahoma House debated a bill that would have required women to get written permission from "the father of the fetus" in order to have an abortion. The bill was introduced by Oklahoma State Representative Justin Humphrey, who referred to pregnant women as "hosts" for fetuses.
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