Radio Recap – Major Victory for Life & the ACLJ in Oklahoma

Breaking news for life: We had a major victory in Oklahoma on coerced abortions.

On today’s Jay Sekulow Live, we discussed the major victory for life and the ACLJ in Oklahoma. The State of Oklahoma passed a bill into law that the ACLJ assisted with. It allows families to file “wrongful death” lawsuits against abortionists for coerced or fraudulent abortions.

We talk a lot about fighting for life at the federal level, whether it’s federal courts or legislation. One aspect of our work at the ACLJ that I think doesn’t get enough attention nationally is all the work we are doing in the states, working with state legislators and governors, sending out the same ACLJ legal professionals who focus in on this issue.

Our attorneys work at the federal level but also work at the state level in crafting good laws which will almost certainly be challenged in court every time. So we get brought in to help assist those state legislators and governors in crafting the best laws possible to survive legal scrutiny. Of course, fighting for life is always worth the battle, even if that battle means fighting all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Oklahoma passed a new law, signed by Governor Kevin Stitt. It passed the State Senate 37-9. Their State House voted 76-18 in favor of Senate Bill 1728, the Unborn Person Wrongful Death Act. It actually gives a private cause of action when a coercive abortion, an abortion based off fraudulent information, has been performed. This law allows parents and grandparents to file lawsuits against abortionists who perform coerced abortions.

For instance, they did studies in Oklahoma and found out how many women were not even getting the basic informed consent that is required under Oklahoma law. They also found that a number were not getting the ultrasounds under Oklahoma law.

So what happened? Well, the ACLJ team led by Senior Counsel Walter Weber, one of our most experience senior attorneys focusing on the life issue, and ACLJ Senior Counsel Ben Sisney worked with Oklahoma state legislators and the Oklahoma Governor’s office to get this law written and passed.

House Majority Floor Leader Rep. Jon Echols, who helped draft and advance the bill, said this about the ACLJ:

Without the support of the ACLJ, this bill would not have become law. Their team worked diligently with both myself and other legislators to make sure we were able to pass this law to protect Oklahoma’s unborn.

The ACLJ is much broader than just a federally based organization. We are fighting for life at every level.

The full broadcast is complete with more discussion and analysis by our team about the major victory for life that we had in Oklahoma. We also spoke with House Majority Floor Leader Rep. Jon Echols, who helped lead the charge in the Oklahoma legislature, along with ACLJ attorneys Walter Weber and Ben Sisney.

Watch the full broadcast below.