OKLAHOMA CITY – An anti-abortion group is asking the Oklahoma Supreme Court to uphold a new law putting more restrictions on the initiative petition process after residents in other states used it to expand abortion access.
Oklahomans for Life is arguing that Senate Bill 1027 should be allowed to stand because the new requirements it adds to the initiative petition process will help expose the powerful national interests working to infiltrate local lawmaking.
Oklahoma has some of the strictest abortion laws in the nation, allowing the procedure only to save the life of the mother.
But since the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling that allowed states to determine abortion access, “abortion-rights groups have increasingly turned to well-financed ballot initiatives to override duly-elected state legislatures and enact constitutional protections for abortion access,” the group wrote in its brief.
“In several states, these campaigns have been pushed by national organizations with virtually unlimited resources and whose messaging is often tailored to appear local, moderate, or non-partisan,” according to the proposed brief.
Critics argue Senate Bill 1027 is unconstitutional and have sued to block it.
The law, which remains in effect, limits the number of signatures that can be gathered in each county, thereby restricting participation in the state’s most populated areas.
It prohibits paying petition circulators based on the number of signatures collected, requires sources of payment to circulators to be disclosed, and bars out-of-state interests from donating.
Those circulating the petition must also be registered voters in Oklahoma.
Voters in five states, including Nevada, Arizona, Montana, Colorado and Missouri, approved citizen-initiated ballot measures in 2024 that protected the right to abortion, while voters in three states — Nebraska, Florida and South Dakota — rejected measures, according to KFF. Nebraska voters that same year approved a citizen-led measure banning abortion after the first trimester.
Sen. Julie Daniels, R-Bartlesville, said an initiative petition seeking to legalize abortion in Oklahoma was a concern when lawmakers crafted Senate Bill 1027.
But it can go beyond just abortion, she said.
Some progressive organizations with deep pockets are using the process to achieve policy goals they could not otherwise attain due to the makeup of the Legislature, she said.
Republicans have supermajorities in both legislative chambers and control all statewide offices.
Oklahomans for Life Chairman Tony Lauinger could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
In 2022, two Tulsa residents and one Bixby resident filed papers with the Oklahoma Secretary of State indicating a desire to circulate an initiative petition seeking to legalize abortion in Oklahoma. A few weeks later, they withdrew it.
Amber England, who has worked on initiative petitions, said she is not aware of any official effort to put an abortion question on the ballot.
“It is my strong belief the Legislature has effectively neutered our constitutional right to the initiative process,” she said.
Republished in partnership with Oklahoma Voice under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Oklahoma Voice is a part of States Newsroom which is a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oklahoma Voice maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Janelle Stecklein for questions: info@oklahomavoice.com. Follow Oklahoma Voice on Facebook and Twitter.
Barbara Hoberock is a senior reporter with Oklahoma Voice. She has covered the statehouse since 1994 and served as Tulsa World Capitol Bureau chief. Hoberock covers statewide elected officials, the legislature, agencies, state issues, appellate courts and elections.
