Target: Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin
Goal: Applaud governor for vetoing an anti-abortion bill despite her personal beliefs.
Oklahoma lawmakers recently passed a bill through the state senate that would make it a felony for doctors to perform abortions. It was up to Governor Mary Fallin to either sign or veto the bill. Thanks to activism including petitions on ForceChange, the governor decided to veto the controversial bill.
If passed, the law would have made it so that any doctor performing an abortion would go to prison for three years and have their medical license revoked, except in cases that preserved the life of the mother. This would have been a direct violation of Roe v. Wade, a Supreme Court case that ruled that no state could ban abortions. The new law would have been immediately challenged, wasting a large amount of Oklahoma’s limited budget. The only doctor in the state senate, who happened to be a pro-life Republican, described the bill as “insane.”
The governor also happens to be a Republican who strongly opposes abortion, but even she saw the problems that the bill had the potential to create. In a statement, Governor Fallin said, “The bill is so ambiguous and so vague that doctors cannot be certain what medical circumstances would be considered ‘necessary to preserve the life of the mother.'” She also did not want the state to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for legal fees from challenges to the law that were almost certain to happen.
Even though Governor Fallin personally believes that abortions should not be allowed, she still did the right thing and vetoed the bill that would criminalize abortion procedures. Applaud the governor for doing what was best for the state rather than following her personal beliefs.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Governor Fallin,
It must not have been easy deciding to veto a bill that would criminalize abortion procedures when you yourself are pro-life. It is great that you put aside your personal beliefs for the good of Oklahoma, and we applaud you for that.
This bill would have been destructive to the state if it had been passed into law. First, the law would have almost certainly been challenged, which would have been a huge waste of state funds, something that Oklahoma does not have a lot of to begin with. Second, it would have discouraged doctors from doing business in Oklahoma, for they would not want to risk going to prison and losing their medical licenses.
Thank you for vetoing this bill and preventing it from becoming law. You made the right choice, and we appreciate your effort to do what is best for your state.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo credit: William Murphy
gOOD NEWS. THANK YOU