By Heather Hall

Posted: February 26, 2012

OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahomans Against the Personhood Act (OATPA) is planning a rally at the Oklahoma State Capitol on Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2012, from 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. This rally is in response to the passage of the State Senate bill, SB 1433, which bestows full personhood rights to unborn, pre-implantation blastocysts thereby threatening the legality of many currently used forms of birth control as well as other reproductive choices.

The demonstration will feature Senator Constance Johnson and several other distinguished speakers from the medical and activist communities. There will be a voter registration table and information from the ACLU, Planned Parenthood, Oklahoma Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, Oklahoma Coalition for Reproductive Justice and other organizations.

Oklahomans Against the Personhood Act (OATPA) is a grassroots coalition of activists and concerned citizens with objections to SB 1433, which was written by District 39 (Tulsa) Senator Brian A. Crain. Crain has said that the bill, which was “modeled off of a 1989 Missouri state law”, would not affect women’s reproductive rights or limit their access to birth control and is simply “symbolic.” Yet its implications are extreme.

OATPA is also focusing its attention on House Joint Resolution 1067. Written by District 91 (Oklahoma City) Representative Mike Reynolds, the resolution would put birth control, IVF and other reproductive rights at risk in the November election. Among the assertions in the resolution: “No innocent child created through rape or incest shall be killed for the crime of his or her father.” This means that rape and incest victims would be forced to bear the child of the predator.

OATPA is opposed to any piece of legislation that aims to curb reproductive freedoms, and especially any piece of legislation that specifically aims to harm victims of rape or incest as Rep. Mike Reynolds’ resolution does.