We're expecting to hear yet another bill that bans abortion in Oklahoma, but this one is the most extreme. HB 4327 outlaws abortion from the moment of fertilization by defining "unborn child" as a human fetus or embryo in any stage of gestation from fertilization until birth. 1/ I've heard mixed opinions on whether this language would affect in vitro fertilization or IVF. I'm honestly not sure whether it would, but I think it's possible. And because the enforcement mechanism is not up to the government but up to private citizens, this really matters. 2/

Last week, the Republican-controlled Oklahoma House of Representatives decided to completely ignore any semblance of transparency in government. Oklahomans, it's time to demand better.
Here's what happened: (1/) SB 627 passed through the Senate as a bill that dealt with the Red River Boundary Commission. This bill was assigned to the House Gen. Gov't Comm., and the original author of the bill passed the bill on to another member. The new author of the bill then filed an amendment. 2/

I just watched @GovStitt's press conference at our stockpile of PPE and am grateful for his updates on our state's response to COVID. However, I think you all need to know what's going on with the state budget right now, so, here's a thread on that: 1/ Yesterday, in an overwhelming bipartisan fashion, the House and Senate approved a package of 3 bills that would keep core services like healthcare from facing cuts before the new fiscal year starts on June 30. 2/

At the Oklahoma Health Care Authority's community engagement meeting in Norman regarding legislation that passed last session imposing work requirements on Medicaid recipients. Cleveland County will have one of the highest numbers of affected citizens in the state at 285. OK County is highest at 1,155, Tulsa County comes in at 1,094. LeFlore and Comanche Counties round out the top five.