OKLAHOMA CITY – An Oklahoma state senator wants to pass a bill that would classify abortion as a felony homicide.
“It’s gonna be classified as a homicide because, essentially, a fertilized egg is a human life just like a 1-year-old baby is a human life,” Sen. Joseph Silk, R-Broken Bow, told KFOR on Friday. “So, an abortion would be considered intentionally taking a human life.”
When asked what he would say to a woman sentenced to life in prison for abortion, Silk replied, "I don’t know, the exact same thing I would say to a mother who just killed a 1-month-old or a 1-year-old child. It’s a horrific act and there shouldn’t be any tolerance for it.”
His bill, called the “Abolition of Abortion in Oklahoma Act,” calls on the state to ignore federal rulings on abortion.
His proposed legislation says, “The Attorney General shall direct state agencies to enforce those laws regardless of any contrary or conflicting federal statutes, regulations, executive orders, or court decisions."
Silk also pointed to slavery as a reference.
“The Supreme Court also ruled that slavery, you know, that slaves were private property and they were wrong,” said Silk. “And so, the courts do need to be challenged.”
The ACLU of Oklahoma says the bill is outrageous and Silk can’t overturn federal law.
“This isn’t the first time that Senator Silk has demonstrated that he could use a refresher in constitutional law if he’s ever had any at all,” said Allie Shinn, deputy director for ACLU Oklahoma.
Shinn says Silk is attacking Oklahoma women and their reproductive freedom.
“I’m not sure where Joseph Silk got to decide that he’s the morality police, but nobody elected him to do that,” said Shinn. “He was elected to govern the people of Oklahoma, including the women of Oklahoma.”
But what about women who are pregnant from incest or rape?
“The numbers of rape and incest are so tiny, under half a percent. So, it’s almost not even an arguable question,” said Silk. “It is a human life, regardless of how it came to be.”
