Connie Johnson on Abortion

Advocate for women's reproductive freedom in State Senate

While in the state Senate, she was a strong advocate for women's reproductive freedom, debating against bills that put restrictions on abortion. She attempted to amend a bill that said life begins at conception with "any action in which a man ejaculates or otherwise deposits semen anywhere but in a woman's vagina shall be interpreted and construed as an action against an unborn child." The measure, called the personhood bill, and the amendment did not secure approval.

She supports the legalization of marijuana, wants to abolish the death penalty and worked toward criminal justice reform. She is past vice chairwoman of the Oklahoma Democratic Party and serves as chairwoman of the Oklahoma Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty.

Respect life, but support woman's right to choose

A: Strongly support; however, we also respect life and would prefer to minimize the need for abortion through age appropriate sex education and universal access to affordable birth control. Additionally, poverty is at the root of most unintended pregnancies, especially teen pregnancies. Economics and reproduction are intimately intertwined, as most any cultural anthropologist will attest.

Don't incarcerate women for biological functions with ova

Connie's amendment seeks to draw attention to the absurdity, duplicity and lack of balance inherent in the policies of this state surround reproductive health. Oklahoma already incarcerates more women than any other place in the world. Under the Personhood bill, a woman in Oklahoma would face additional criminal charges and potential incarceration for biological functions that produce or, in some cases, destroy eggs or embryos, such as a miscarriage. Connie's amendment sought to draw humorous attention to the hypocrisy and inconsistency of this proposal.