Oklahoma organizations respond to Supreme Court overturning Roe v Wade

Organizations around Tulsa and Oklahoma release statements about the Supreme Courts ruling to overturn Roe v Wade.

>>> Oklahoma Attorney General certifies Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade.

Statement from David A. Konderla, Bishop of the Diocese of Tulsa & Eastern Oklahoma:

“Today is a momentous day to thank God for the gift of human life and for helping us to correct the errors that were made in the Roe v. Wade decision almost 50 years ago. Recently I wrote: Abortion “is an intrinsic evil, which is to say there is never a circumstance that could justify it. The laws that protect it are unjust and, therefore, no law at all. Roe was wrongly decided and must be corrected. It offends God and the principles of our founding, just as Dred Scott and its defense of slavery once did. We corrected that error, and now we must correct this one.” Today we can celebrate that, at least at the federal level, the Supreme Court has corrected the error of the earlier decision.

Now our efforts on behalf of babies in the womb will continue but at the state level. To that end, let us commit to the following:

1. Charity is the virtue that helps us to seek out and bring healing to all who have been harmed by abortion. The millions of lives lost each had two parents, many of whom grieve over a decision they wish they could change, over a lost baby they wish they could hold. Through our prayers and our efforts to reconcile them, may they find healing.

2. Our efforts to help mothers with all that they need to care for their babies will continue and must even increase.

3. The law is a teacher. We must continue to change hearts and minds so that the laws of every state will one day protect every life.

God, great giver of life, thank you for helping us bring an end to the errors of the Roe v. Wade decision. As we continue to seek protection for every human life from womb to tomb, may we seek your gift of peace in our land, and may we bring healing and reconciliation to all those who have been harmed by abortion. Amen”

>>> Oklahoma lawmakers, officials react to Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Statement from Emily Wales, president and CEO, Planned Parenthood Great Plains, which is over the Planned Parenthood’s of Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma.

“Two hundred and fifty years ago, our country’s founders said, ‘All men are created equal.’ Today, the Supreme Court took the ‘men’ part literally, stripping rights from every woman in America. State by state, we have seen access to abortion virtually eliminated. Oklahoma recently enacted the first total abortion ban most Americans have seen in their lifetime. Even while reproductive rights were being taken away before our very eyes, many people still doubted Roe could ever fall. Today this creeping march to crush fundamental freedoms has reached its awful conclusion: your body is not your own. Your rights are entirely dependent on where you reside. Yet in this very grim moment in American history, Planned Parenthood Great Plains’ doors are still open and will stay open, to provide sexual and reproductive care today, tomorrow, and for years to come. Our services may be forced to change due to cruel bans on abortion care, but our commitment to our patients remains.”

>>> Planned Parenthood releases information, options for pregnant women in Oklahoma.