Serious concerns over abortion arise regarding Biden’s pick for Oklahoma district court judge

Questions are mounting over President Joe Biden’s pick for Oklahoma district court judge.

Sara Hill has been accused of lying during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday and has also been criticized for failing to answer a basic question on the difference between a “stay order” and an “injunction.” This has led to worry that she is not qualified to be a district judge. But another deep concern is growing over the impact she could have on the pro-life state of Oklahoma should she be appointed as a district judge.

As the attorney general of the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma up until August 2023, Hill had the opportunity to recommend that tribal law be updated to match a state law that was enacted in April 2022 and took effect in August 2022, making it a felony to commit an abortion in the state. Without her recommendation, that law was not enacted by the Cherokee Nation Tribal Council. In a video of Hill speaking at a tribal council meeting, she said she had “no intent to update their criminal codes,” essentially ignoring the state’s pro-life law.

Just a week ago, three pro-life bills were returned to the a state district court by the state Supreme Court, which held that the Oklahoma Constitution does protect the so-called “right” to abortion in certain situations and granted a temporary injunction on those three laws as requested by the pro-abortion groups. The lower court has been ordered to rehear the case, according to The Oklahoman.

Each of the three laws focused on safety. SB 778 required an ultrasound be carried out 72 hours before an abortion and SB 779 required that physicians committing abortions have admitting privileges at a hospital in the county in which the abortion is committed. HB 1904 required that persons committing abortions be board-certified OB/GYNs. Regardless, abortion is currently classified as a felony under Oklahoma state law except in medical emergencies.

READ: Oklahoma Supreme Court blocks pro-life laws, but state still protects preborn children

If appointed, Hill would have the power to block laws and could therefore invalidate pro-life laws in the pro-life state that have been enacted and signed by legislators and a governor who have been voted into office. She, however, has been appointed by pro-abortion President Biden, not voted in by the people of the state of Oklahoma.

Additionally, as the attorney general of the Cherokee Nation, Hill gave her support to the Supreme Court decision McGirt v. Oklahoma, which revoked Oklahoma’s ability to prosecute tribal members in the eastern half of the state. The case involved Jimcy McGirt, who was convicted in 1997 by the state for having raped, molested, and sodomized his wife’s four-year-old granddaughter, who was a member of the Seminole tribe, as was he. He received 1,000 years in prison but the Supreme Court ruled that the state did not have jurisdiction to prosecute him because he was a Native American who committed a crime against another Native American. Cases involving tribal members are now under the jurisdiction of the Cherokee Nation and the federal courts, not the state. In 2020, McGirt was convicted again, this time in federal court, though that conviction was overturned in 2023.

Editor’s Note 11/21/23: The article was updated with corrections concerning the Supreme Court ruling to temporarily block three pro-life laws. We regret the error.