OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – While hundreds of anti-abortion activists descended on the Oklahoma Capitol for a rally on Wednesday, a GOP-led House committee failed to pass an anti-abortion bill in a move that could signal a shift in priorities for Republican lawmakers in a deep-red state.
Three freshman Republicans on the House Public Health Committee joined with a Democrat voting against a bill to prohibit abortions based on the diagnosis of a fetal abnormality or Down syndrome. The 4-4 vote, which only temporarily stalls the bill, is a signal that at least some GOP lawmakers are growing weary of anti-abortion bills getting tied up in court.
Oklahoma’s Republican-led Legislature has passed some of the country’s most far-reaching anti-abortion legislation, but many of the proposals have either been tossed by the courts or remain temporarily halted while lawsuits are pending.
“For the record, I’m a pro-life candidate, but I also believe in fiscal responsibility,” said Rep. Marcus McEntire, R-Duncan, who voted against the measure. “We don’t have the money to defend this bill, so that’s why I stood against it.
“I think we have business to do here, and the business is to get our financial ship righted again.”