The White House on Thursday used its “ultra MAGA” line to slam Oklahoma lawmakers who approved a Texas-style abortion bill said to be the most restrictive in the nation.
In a statement released in response to the bill’s passing earlier in the day, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre warned that the legislation is part of “a growing effort by ultra MAGA officials across the country to roll back the freedoms we should not take for granted in this country.”
“They are starting with reproductive rights, but the American people need to know that other fundamental rights, including the right to contraception and marriage equality, are at risk,” the statement reads.
The measure would prohibit all abortions except in instances where the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest that had been reported or in situations where a pregnancy would save the life of a pregnant woman.
Oklahoma’s legislature passed the bill earlier Thursday in a mostly party-line 73-16 vote. Gov. Kevin Stitt is expected to sign the bill into law.
Ms. Jean-Pierre said the legislation is “the most extreme effort to undo these fundamental rights we have seen to date.”
Earlier this month a draft Supreme Court opinion that would reverse the 1973 Roe V. Wade decision and leave abortion law up to the states was leaked to the press causing outrage among Democrats.
Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday decried in a virtual meeting with abortion providers what she says would be a regression of women’s rights in the U.S. should the Supreme Court reverse Roe.
“The strength of our country has always been that we fight to move forward, that we believe in the expansion of rights, not the restriction of rights,” she said. “So this, when and if it happens, will be an extreme step backward. And it represents a threat not just to women, but to all Americans.”
• Joseph Clark can be reached at jclark@washingtontimes.com.
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