2019 OK Repro Wrap Up
2019 is almost over- if you can believe it- and this year was a doozy for the repro-rights world. We did, however, walk away with some great accomplishments and things to look forward to when the legislative session arrives in February of 2020! We sincerely hope you will stand with us in the new year by making a gift or learning about volunteer opportunities! Here’s a short list of our most exciting wins this year, all things we have been able to accomplish thanks to a wonderful team of volunteers and donors!
We have also signed on to four amicus briefs this year for both local and national cases. The most exciting of which is for the SCOTUS case, June Medical Services, LLC v. Gee. The disputed law prevents doctors from providing abortion services unless they have secured “admitting privileges” at a hospital within 30 miles. The Center for Reproductive Rights is challenging a law that would make it nearly impossible for most Louisiana residents to obtain abortion care, and set a precedent for anti-choice policy nation-wide.
Recently, OCRJ completed a 5 stop art tour across Oklahoma, and we’re so happy with the outcome! Fifteen different artists (13 local and 2 nationally known artists) created pieces that showed their interpretations of the theme, “fighting for abortion access is an act of love.” Each work was unique, beautiful and empowering. We’re excited to share a little teaser here that there is continued interest in showing the work, so be on the lookout for more OCRJ art events in 2020, in addition to the soon-to-come online gallery!
Here’s a preview of one piece from the collection called “The Space of Others” by Jasmine Jones.
“The Space of Others” by Jasmine Jones
This one is an emotional rollercoaster: the 2019 session did break our three-year streak of fending off all anti-choice legislation. However, the one anti-choice law that passed in 2019 was recently put on hold by an Oklahoma court! A bill that would force doctors to incorrectly tell abortion patients that certain risky hormone treatments can reverse medication abortions (that’s a ridiculous, scientifically unproven and dangerous assuption by our lawmakers, by the way). That was a downer until our friends at the Center for Reproductive Rights took that bogus law to court and got it temporarily blocked! This isn’t over yet, though, so stay tuned.
While we can not yet say what’s in store for the 2020 legislative session, we do know that a ton of bills (both good ones and bad ones) are still alive and kicking in the legislature. Oklahoma technically has a two-year session, which means bills proposed in 2019 still have a shot to pass in 2020 unless they were voted down in a committee or in either chamber of the legislature. A few of our favorites that could still pass next year deal with accommodations for breastfeeding parents, period products for incarcerated people, sex education and paid family leave. Check out our 2019 tracking list under the “status” tab to see which bills are dormant, and thus still up for grabs in 2020.
Speaking of the legislative session, we want to focus on good news, but we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention one tough fight we have coming up. A bill still alive from 2019, SB 195, is trying to put a question about the constitutionality of abortion on the 2020 ballot. That’s awful for a lot of reasons: firstly, abortion access is a constitutional right and core to a person’s freedom and dignity. But worse yet, there is a chance that the bill as it’s written now could also threaten certain types of birth control as well as some fertility treatments, not to mention the impact it could have on Oklahoma’s 2020 election. It’s an all-around disaster, and you better believe you’re going to hear a lot about it from us in the new year--so in the meantime, get some rest and self-care and be ready to take action when SB 195 comes up.
Thanks so much to everyone who has volunteered, used our action alerts to contact lawmakers, and to our donors. If you would like to help support OCRJ’s mission consider making a donation today, or contact us about how to get more involved.
With Gratitude,
The OK Repro Board of Directors
