The landmark 1973 ruling forced abortion on all 50 states – but the high court's 6-3 ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization now leaves it up to each state to decide how it wishes to deal with abortion. While the pro-life attorneys deserve respect for arguing for Dobbs and the court justices the credit for the ruling, U.S. Senator James Lankford (R-Oklahoma), speaking on the Senate floor, said there's another group that should receive a pat on the back:
"I actually come to be able to thank millions of women and millions of men who for five decades have not written off children, who have marched, who have silently prayed, who have gathered in places and said 'When are we going to recognize what is self-evident – that a child in the womb is a child' …. When are we going to recognize that basic thing?"
Lankford told his fellow senators that since the court's decision, the Left has spread a lot of misinformation about abortion and about those who help women who have decided to birth their child:
"What I have seen are 50 churches that have been attacked. What I have seen are 57 crisis resource centers for pregnancy resources that have been attacked and firebombed. I have seen that. Now, no one seems to discuss that on the floor."
And while the Department of Justice said it would investigate, there have been no arrests.
The Oklahoma lawmaker also commented about proposals in Congress. One gives federal money to abortion interests; but another that deals with pro-life pregnancy centers would fine them $100,000:
"I can't even begin to explain my emotion when I think, if you take the life of a child, there's pressure to say we want federal funding to take the life of a child. If you protect the life of a child, we're going to fine you $100,000. Is that really where we are? Is that really what this debate has become? This administration has quickly become the most pro-abortion administration in American history and has rapidly moved to accelerate abortions across the country."
Lankford concluded his comments Thursday by referring to what he called "the most basic thing – there is a child in this conversation … and maybe this body should pay attention to children as well."
The two proposals about which Lankford was talking passed the Democrat-led House on Friday afternoon. The Women's Health Protection Act, which would restore abortion nationwide, passed 219-210. The House also passed a second bill to prohibit punishment for a woman or child who decides to travel to another state to get an abortion, 223-205.
The Women's Health Protection Act is "particularly egregious," according to Jennifer Popik of the National Right to Life Committee, because it would legalize abortion up to birth with no restrictions. "In fact, it would tell states that they were unable to pass pro-life legislation," she adds.
As with most any abortion-related bill, debate was a tad heated – but Popik not any more heated than she's seen it since the Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade.
"I think Democrats are trying everything within their power to push bills that are unpopular. They can't advance in the Senate," she notes, "and I think this is something we're going to see a lot of in the coming weeks. Hopefully they do not stay in the majority, but we're going to see a lot more of this while they remain in power.'
And as for Democrats' response to the Supreme Court ruling letting states decide abortion policy: "They can criticize the Supreme Court all they want," she tells AFN. "But what the court did here was simply undo a constitutional wrong.
"The Constitution does not say anything about abortion – and this is a good case no matter how much the Democrats wail about it," Popik emphasizes.
Both measures that were passed by Senate Democrats on Friday have little chance of becoming law, with the necessary support lacking in the 50-50 Senate.
Editor's note: Comments from NRLC's Jennifer Popik were added after story was originally posted.
