OKLAHOMA CITY – Although the controversial Roe v. Wade case has been overturned, one Oklahoma lawmaker believes the work for the pro-life movement is far from over.
State Sen. Jessica Garvin (R-Duncan) praised the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision, but didn’t stop there.
“While this is a tremendous victory, our work to protect life is far from over,” she wrote in an email to constituents. “Oklahoma is well prepared and already has many laws in place to protect life at conception, but we must start thinking about how this federal court ruling will affect Oklahoma families and social services in the future and how we can better support families or the children who are unwanted by their birth parents.”
Garvin anticipates filing bills that would address that issue for the next legislative session in 2023. She said her proposals would also consider impacts on taxpayers.
“We have to make responsible decisions in the process, and find a balance between helping families help themselves, and providing supportive services so that they can get to a point where that’s possible,” she wrote in a text message.
Garvin, a former foster parent, is interested in seeing the impact the Roe reversal will have on Oklahoma’s foster care and adoption systems.
There were nearly 3,900 abortions performed in Oklahoma during 2020, which was a decline from the previous year, according to the Oklahoma State Department of Health.
“We must remember that these individuals are typically in crisis and don’t make the decision to end a pregnancy lightly, but are under extreme duress, facing issues like addiction, poverty, abuse, mental illness, or other difficulties that can make the thought of having a child seem completely overwhelming and impossible,” Garvin wrote in her email. “Parenthood is a blessing, but it’s also extremely challenging emotionally, mentally, and financially even for those in safe, stable, and financially secure households.”
Approximately 500 children are legally ready to be adopted in Oklahoma annually. However, hundreds of children age out of the foster care system during that same time period without a family. Those situations place “them on a bad trajectory in life,” she said.
Nationwide, there are an estimated 400,000 foster children with about 117,000 waiting to be adopted, the lawmaker wrote.
“To truly be a pro-life state, our responsibility to protect life doesn’t end when a child is born but continues as we ensure our citizens are properly educated on pregnancy prevention and parenting expectations or that birth parents have the tools and resources to properly care for their children. We also must have a system in place that ensures all children have access to safe, loving homes,” Garvin wrote.
The lawmaker is an advocate of the foster and adoption systems and encourages more people to consider “opening their hearts and homes” to children who find themselves without parents, she said.
“In Oklahoma, we must be more than pro-birth. We must be pro-life for these children through adulthood,” she wrote in the email.
Garvin encouraged her constituents to contact her with policy ideas about better serving Oklahoma families in crisis and their children, especially those who are placed in foster care. Garvin suggested people visit the Oklahoma Fosters Resource website at www.okfosters.org.