Oklahomans For Life Letter Vol. 39, No. 1 www.OkForLife.org June 2014 Candidate Surveys for June 24, 2014 Primary Election State Candidate Survey days), or when the pregnancy resulted from an act of incest committed against a minor (with the In anticipation of the Primary Election on perpetrator reported to law enforcement authorities)? Tuesday, June 24, 2014, Oklahomans For Life asked the twelve questions below of candidates for Yes____ No____ statewide office and for the Oklahoma state Senate and the Oklahoma state House of 3) Recently, there have been attempts in several Representatives. The most important question is states to pass a state Equal Rights Amendment which No. 1, and the candidates’ answers to that would amend the state Constitution to invalidate any question are written in capital letters. (We asked law or government policy that discriminates “on statewide candidates, who cannot literally “vote account of sex.” In some of the states that have for” these measures, to indicate whether they already added this or similar provisions to their state “support” them.) For state House and Senate constitutions, courts have used them to invalidate races, the counties or partial counties (marked by limits on abortion. The New Mexico Supreme Court, an asterisk) in the district are indicated after the e.g., in 1998 unanimously ruled that the New Mexico district number. The initial after a candidate’s ERA required state funding of abortion. We oppose name represents party affiliation (Republican, the ERA unless an “abortion neutralization” Democrat, or Independent). On each question, a amendment is added to ensure that the ERA will not “yes” answer indicates agreement with the change abortion policy in any way. The amendment position of Oklahomans For Life. If no answers would read: “Nothing in this article [the ERA] shall are shown following a candidate’s name, the be construed to grant, secure, or deny any right candidate did not return his or her survey to us. relating to abortion or the funding thereof.” Would Our candidate survey of congressional you vote against any proposed ERA if it does not candidates, sent in cooperation with contain this “abortion neutralization” amendment? National Right to Life, follows the listing of Yes____ No____ statewide and state-legislative candidates. 4) Will you oppose the establishing or funding of school-based “health” clinics, unless they are 1) Upon reversal of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision, will you vote for a law that would explicitly prohibited from doing abortion counseling protect the lives of unborn children and prohibit or making abortion referrals or referring students to any other entity which counsels for, refers for, or abortion except to prevent the death of the mother? performs abortions? Yes____ No____ Yes____ No____ 2) If efforts to enact such a law failed, will you 5) There is currently an aggressive drive underway vote for a law that would prohibit abortion except to legalize euthanasia and assisted suicide across the when necessary to prevent the death of the mother, or United States. Causing the starvation or dehydration when the pregnancy is the result of forcible rape deaths of persons with disabilities and of incompetent (reported to law enforcement authorities within seven patients who are deemed to be a burden on others or to have a diminished “quality of life” is the respirators or surgery, so that choosing to forego life- euthanasia movement’s interim goal while they seek sustaining medical treatment would be assumed to eventual public acceptance of killing by lethal mean the individual wanted to die by starvation and injection or by lethal overdose of controlled dehydration. In order to avoid confusion and protect substances/dangerous drugs. Oklahoma’s Hydration individuals who expect to die from their underlying and Nutrition for Incompetent Patients Act protects illness or injury, not from starvation or dehydration, incompetent persons who have not directed that they will you vote against any bill that would repeal or be deprived of food and water so they will not be weaken the existing requirement for a separately- victims of death by starvation or dehydration. Will initialed provision in an advance directive to indicate you oppose any attempt to repeal or weaken this the rejection of food and water? protective law? Yes____ No____ Yes____ No____ 9) Will you oppose the legalization of lethal 6) Oklahoma’s Nondiscrimination in Treatment prescriptions or lethal injections to intentionally kill Act requires that a health care provider shall not deny an innocent person or to “assist” someone in to a patient a life-preserving health care service the committing suicide (“active euthanasia”)? provider provides to other patients, and the provision Yes____ No____ of which is directed by the patient or a person authorized to make health care decisions for the 10) Oklahoma’s Supreme Court has arbitrarily patient: 1) On the basis of a view that treats struck down as “unconstitutional” several pro-life extending the life of an elderly, disabled, or laws, including laws which in other states have terminally ill individual as of lower value than survived federal court challenges. The Oklahoma extending the life of an individual who is younger, Supreme Court has become so hostile to the right to nondisabled, or not terminally ill; or 2) On the basis life that, when the abortion industry challenges of disagreement with how the patient or person Oklahoma’s pro-life laws, they no longer file suit in authorized to make health care decisions for the federal court, where they would most likely lose, but patient values the tradeoff between extending the rather in state court, to give the Oklahoma Supreme length of the patient’s life and the risk of disability. Court the opportunity to strike down the laws. A Will you oppose any attempt to repeal or weaken this primary reason that the Oklahoma Supreme Court’s protective law? rulings are so pro-abortion is that the Judicial Nominating Commission, which is responsible for Yes____ No____ nominating Supreme Court justices, is dominated by 7) Oklahoma law protects against the involuntary the Oklahoma Bar Association, the lawyers’ special denial of life-saving medical treatment by requiring interest group, which is a member of the pro-abortion that if a health-care provider’s refusal to comply with American Bar Association. Oklahoma’s State a decision made by or on behalf of a patient to Constitution permits the Legislature, by statute, to receive life-saving medical treatment would, in remove the authority of the Oklahoma Bar reasonable medical judgment, be likely to result in Association to choose members of the Judicial the patient’s death, then the health-care provider must Nominating Commission. Will you support a law provide the life-saving treatment pending transfer of which would remove the authority of the Oklahoma the patient to a willing provider. Will you oppose any Bar Association to choose members of the Judicial attempt to repeal or weaken this protective law? Nominating Commission, and give that authority, Yes____ No____ instead, to the Governor, the Speaker of the State House of Representatives, and/or the President Pro 8) Oklahoma’s advance directive (living will) law Tempore of the State Senate? recognizes the particular importance of food and water. In order to ensure truly informed consent, our Yes____ No____ law requires a separately-initialed paragraph in an 11) Given the background on the courts described in advance directive in order for artificial administration the previous question, and given the fact that the state of food and water to be rejected. Some proposals Constitution authorizes the Legislature to limit, by have been made that would, instead, combine food statute, the tenure of current state Supreme Court and water with “medical treatment” such as justices by enacting a mandatory retirement age, and Oklahomans For Life Letter www.OkForLife.org June 2014, page 2 given the fact that 32 other states impose a mandatory retirement age on their states’ Supreme Court If no answers are shown following a candidate’s name, the candidate did not return his or her survey to us. justices, will you support a law to establish a mandatory retirement age for Oklahoma Supreme Court justices? Oklahoma State Senate Candidates Yes____ No____ (To learn your Senate District number, go to our website www.OkForLife.org and click on “Find Your Legislators,” then enter your 12) Given the background on the courts described in address and scroll down to State Senator. The district number appears just the previous two questions, would you support below “District Info.” Or you could phone your County Election Board and tell them your address.) sending to a vote of the people a state Constitutional referendum to change the procedure by which state Question numbers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Supreme Court justices are chosen, by making that DISTRICT 2 – *Mayes, *Rogers procedure similar to the way U. S. Supreme Court Marty L. Quinn R justices are chosen? (This would mean having the DISTRICT 4 – *Leflore, Sequoyah Governor nominate a state Supreme Court justice, Mark Allen R Ann Weaver D and having the state Senate and/or state House of Representatives vote on whether to confirm the DISTRICT 5 - *Atoka, Choctaw, *LeFlore, McCurtain, Pushmataha Governor’s nominee.) Joseph W. Silk R YES yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yesyes yes Brent E. Shain R Yes____ No____ Curtis McDaniel D DISTRICT 6 – *Atoka, Bryan, Coal, *Johnston, Marshall Josh Brecheen R YES yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yesyes yes Joe B. Hill D Oklahoma Statewide Candidates Vicki J. Gaylor I Question numbers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 DISTRICT 8 – McIntosh, *Muskogee, *Okfuskee, Okmulgee GOVERNOR Roger Thompson R Mary Fallin R YES yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yesyes yes Malcolm H.