OKC Standard

Senator James Lankford, a Republican from Oklahoma and Vice Chair of the Republican Conference, held a press conference in Washington, DC to emphasize the importance of protecting newborns who survive abortions. He was joined by Senators Markwayne Mullin, Marsha Blackburn, and Roger Marshall, as well as abortion survivors Melissa Ohden and Josiah Presley.

Lankford has led 46 Senators in introducing the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act. However, the bill faced opposition and was blocked by Senate Democrats.

During the press conference, Lankford stated: "For all the conversation about, that this is not real. Her name is Melissa. His name is Josiah. And there are many, many, many more that are out there, that have survived. But many more were never given the option to be able to survive. So I say to my Democratic colleagues, which one of these people don’t matter? I think they all do, and I think each person is valuable."

The event highlighted personal stories from individuals who have survived abortions and underscored ongoing debates surrounding abortion legislation in the United States.