Lankford Stands for Life as Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments on Texas Heartbeat Law

WASHINGTON, DC – Senator James Lankford (R-OK) today issued a statement after the Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Whole Women’s Health v. Jackson and United States v. Texas:

“The only difference between a child in the womb and a child outside of the womb is time. Since the 1970s, science has progressed and confirmed a baby in the womb has a heartbeat and feels pain, yet, as a nation, we don’t recognize that baby has value and worth. Today, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments on a Texas law that acknowledges a baby in the womb with a beating heart should be protected. In the days ahead, the Court will hear another case that will challenge the deadly precedent of Roe v. Wade. It is time our nation acknowledges that the right to life is the most fundamental right.”

Lankford has been a leading voice for the protection of life in Congress. He pushed back on the Biden Administration’s rule to allow taxpayer funded abortions. He also successfully secured language in the Democrats partisan $3.5 trillion Fiscal Year 2022 budget resolution to save the long-standing Hyde and Weldon Amendments, which prohibit the use of taxpayer dollars to fund abortions and abortion-related discrimination against health care workers, including insurers.

Lankford applauded that the US Supreme Court allowed Texas’ ban on abortion after an unborn baby’s heartbeat can be detected to take effect, which is a promising sign to defending life at all stages. Texas’ heartbeat law prohibits the performance or induction of an abortion if a fetal heartbeat is detected or if the abortionist fails to check for a heartbeat. The law offers an exception for medical emergencies.

Lankford joined an amicus brief signed by more than 220 Members of Congress supporting the state of Mississippi in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which presents the Supreme Court with the opportunity to overturn Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. Oral arguments in Dobbs are scheduled for December 1.

Last week, Lankford introduced a resolution to celebrate the first anniversary of the signing of the Geneva Consensus Declaration by a coalition of now 36 countries, making a shared commitment to defend life, the family, and national sovereignty. He expressed his disappointment in the Biden Administration for withdrawing from the Geneva Consensus Declaration under the guise of unity when 77 percent of Americans oppose taxpayer funded abortions.  

###