More than 50,000 homes have been sold in the past decade in the city to Mexican nationals seeking to shelter the families from the escalating violence, according to Eduardo Bravo, chairman of the San Antonio-based Asociación de Empresarios Mexicanos.

The sales have had a dramatic impact upon the city’s real estate market.

Instead of real estate market collapsing as it did in Arizona, Florida and other parts of the United States, prices in San Antonio are down only about 10 percent compared to prices in 2007 before the crash, according to Amber Lenz, president of First Texan Realty Group.

“You do not know who you are dealing with,” said Lenz of the customers her firm works with.

“They might be dressed like us and might be worth $100 million,” pointed out Rick Guerra, a realtor for the First Texan group.

There are few restrictions for buying property in the U.S. It is legal to purchase a house in the country without a resident visa. As a result wealthy Canadians, Mexicans and Europeans have been buying property throughout the U.S.

In the San Antonio area many high income Mexicans have moved their families into homes they’ve purchased while they continue operating their businesses in Mexico.

However, Lenz pointed out that they have seen all kind of scenarios. From people that just move their families to San Antonio while they are still running businesses in their country to people that decided to invest their money in the United States and settled.

Once comfortable with the city some of them decide to sell their property and purchase a bigger home, or just the opposite: sell it, downsize it, and buy something for their relatives, according to Lenz.

For many Mexicans, San Antonio, with its heavy Spanish influence dating to 1731 and 61 percent Hispanic population, is almost a “home away from home.”

David Blatt, political analyst and director of Oklahoma Policy Institute, said he is concerned higher education funding will not withstand the major budget cuts that would accompany eliminating the income tax.

If lawmakers passed the most radical plan to completely eliminate the income tax in seven years, the higher education would be “devastated,” said Blatt.

“The competition for scarce dollars would become even more fevered and K through 12 and transportation and health care would win out,” Blatt said.

However, four lawmakers outlined $90 million of higher education funding that could be eliminated over two years in order to make room in the budget to eliminate the income tax.

Higher education was just one area of government spending among $853 million in reduced spending suggested by Rep. Leslie Osborn, R-Mustang, Rep. Tom Newell, R-Seminole, Rep. David Brumbaugh, R-Tulsa, and Rep. Charles Ortega, R- Altus.

Government could save at least $90 million by resolving inefficiency in the higher education system, Brubaugh said.

These inefficiencies are created when multiple colleges within the state offer the same services, Brumbaugh said.

He said there are multiple administrators and instructors performing the same services within the state that could be consolidated and in turn cut costs in higher education.

“Higher [education] is a monster. It is out of control,” said Rep. Jason Murphey, R- Guthrie, a proponent of the savings plan.

The number of employees in state higher education institutions is one area Murphey said is out of control.

“There are thousands and thousands of employees in that system that just shouldn’t be there,” Murphey said.

As of 2007 there were 11,149 faculty members of Oklahoma public institutions for higher education, according to data by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education.

Employees of these institutions are the concern of Rep. Emily Virgin, who said the University of Oklahoma is a major employer in her district. Virgin said if eliminating the income tax is intended to attract jobs, it would not make sense to cut jobs in order to eliminate the tax.

Virgin said a more educated state would be better for the Oklahoma job market than eliminating the income tax.

“I really don’t think higher [education] is a waste of money like some of my colleagues do,” Virgin said.

“In no way do we think that everything in higher [education] is perfect but to attack it as a whole is really unfair,” she said.

For reduced spending in Higher Ed to become reality, Murphey said the state first needs to come up with a fair system for evaluating the unique functions of each state higher education institutions.

Once there is an evaluation system there would be a means to measure which universities should be closed or consolidated with other institutions that offer the same services in the same region.

Universities like Rogers State University, Cameron University and Langston University offer similar services and graduate a small percent, which adds to the cost relayed to taxpayers and students, Brumbaugh said.

While these colleges are all in different areas of the state, Murphey said the state could save money if smaller universities were consolidated under either OU or Oklahoma State University.

Under this model, a few universities would take a region of the state and have several branches within that region, Murphey said.

“Then you won’t have all of these small little splinter universities competing,” Murphey said.

The number of public higher education institutions in Oklahoma is comparable or below the number in surrounding states.

The state has a total of 29 public colleges and universities, which ranks below the U.S. average of 32 public higher education institutions, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

Kansas and Arkansas, both with lower overall state populations and lower higher education enrollment numbers, have more public higher education institutions than Oklahoma, according to National Center for Education Statistics.

Consolidation of state universities is just one of the bigger ideas put forth for reducing higher education spending.

Lawmakers are also considering eliminating a formula the regents use for distributing funds called the peer factor multiplier and reforming faculty workloads, according to savings plan documents.

Lewis, the CEO and Director of Product Development at privately-held Novatek Labs in Oklahoma City, uses a pre-supplement for exercising that he created in 2011.

“You only need to take a small dosage of pre-workout in order to use the product to its fullest, but people don’t know what exactly enough is, and most of the time take more than they need to, which can cause some serious problems and can be very dangerous,” Lewis said.

Lewis’ supplement, called RISE, and thousands of other pre-supplements are sold and used by many people to enhance the effects of exercising. These pre-supplements give a boost of energy in order for the person to fully utilize their workout.

Pre-supplements work by enlarging the arteries and veins in your body and increasing your heart rate, to increase blood flow throughout the body and give you more energy.

Lewis says that pre-supplements “could be extremely harmful if not used in the proper way.”

There are many different products that go into a pre-supplement like RISE, but most contain the same main ingredients: Caffeine, to sustain energy; citrulline mallate, a cardio efficiency aid; arginine, which aids in muscle protein and creatine; taurine, for mental clarity; Vitamin B6, which helps maintain electrolyte levels and manufactures protein; and grape seed extract, which is an antioxidant.

Lewis also explains that students planning on getting fit for the summer or spring break especially, may take much more than needed because they feel like they need to in order to bulk up.

Jason Henderson is proof that supplements can help gain muscle mass. Henderson is an NPC Oklahoma Lightweight bodybuilder and a distributor of supplements manufactured by the national chain Herbalife International Inc.

“Anyone could get to where I am without taking steroids, steroids just make the process a little bit faster. Really though, it’s not worth the risk. People’s lives can be ruined if they get caught using steroids,” Henderson explained.

Bodybuilding is a sport of growing interest in the United States. Men and women alike who have a passion for fitness and physique have found a niche where they can put that passion to use. National Physique Competition, or NPC, bodybuilding is one type of competition in Oklahoma.

Henderson has chosen the supplement route and regular dieting to get the results he wants.

“Knowing exactly the amount of protein, the amount of carbs I need, or if I need to drop some water or maybe shed a little bit of extra fat, I can look at the labels and know what ingredients target those specific areas. Experience comes along with what I do,” Henderson described.

Henderson said the next time he will be competing is in June. Until then, he’s glad to stay fit year-round so that contest preparation doesn’t mean unnaturally long workouts. “I enjoy working out, I want to keep it that way,” Henderson said. Garrett Coates said supplements have helped change his life.

“It took me 2 and a half years to lose 50 pounds, and then I started trying [supplements]. And in 6 months I lost an additional 50 pounds,” said Coates. “And that’s when I started realizing this was the product to take, this was the most incredible product on the market.”

Coates started working for Herbalife a little over a year ago, and since then has taken his opportunity to work for the company and made more out if it than do most people.

When Coates saw how much the products helped him and other people, he decided to open his own store.

“I started thinking of places where we could take the store and spread the word about it...and Stillwater was perfect. There wasn’t a nutrition shop up there,” said Coates.

Despite the bad name supplements have in some quarters, Lewis said they have a lot to offer.

“These products can be very effective and help you get the results you want, you just have to be careful.”

Delanie Howell and Timmy O’Donnell also contributed to this report.

Some, like broadcast and electronic media senior Daniela McCormick, rely more heavily on the personal computer for communication, whereas others like Bethany Hardzinski, meteorology junior, use the phone for all forms of communication, ranging from text messaging to tweeting to sending a Facebook message.

“These days, I think pretty much everybody’s reliant on some sort of technology or social communication tool,” Hardzinski said. “I think phones are really important—you stay connected with family, friends, employers.”

In a 2010 CNN story by Deborah Feyerick, sleep doctor and neuroscientist Michael Seyffert said, “Neuro-imaging studies have shown that those kids who are texting have that area of the brain light up the same as an addict using heroin.” Feverick said that in 2010, 80 percent of teens owned cell phones. She said the rate of text messaging increased 600 percent from 2007 to 2010. Many of the teens sampled in those years are now college-age students.

In addition to its social implications, text messaging has had a physiological impact on the bodies of those teens during their development. Seyffert said the gratification of sending and receiving text messages results in a flood of mood-enhancing dopamine to the brain. Today’s university students are among the first generation to have significantly experienced these effects (combined with the social) of texting over a long period of time.

However, when it comes to the college generation specifically, communication via computers seems to have caused more problems than communication via phone. “I think it’s definitely a change that our generation is becoming more web-friendly or web-connected,” said Hardzinski.

Hardzinski insists that modern communication can take place in a healthy manner. Yet sometimes students cross the line, reaching a level of dependence that personifies addiction. Here, negative effects of communication technology begin to outweigh potential benefits.

“It can be really difficult sometimes to pull yourself away from [social media], because I don’t know about you, but for me, if I’m on Facebook too long, it seems like everyone else’s lives are perfect,” McCormick said.

Other experts suggest overusing communication technology is more of a lifestyle choice than a habit created by chemical or physical imbalance.

“Typically, looking for some kind of chemical dependency, we’re looking for sort of actual physiological change in your state based on your use or nonuse of that—so to that, no, I don’t think [social media is] an addiction any more than waking up in the morning,” said Caleb Carr, communication assistant professor.

Whether or not social media and phones fuel addiction, they are still problematic when people become entirely reliant on them. Psychological problems can result from spending too much time surfing social media sites, and “texters” are shielded from the occasionally necessary intimacy of face-to-face conversation.

“I think it’s when you find yourself being kind of stagnant as a person, and you’re starting to become depressed because of it, I think that’s when you need to reevaluate yourself and go ‘okay, maybe I need to limit my time to these social media sites and stay away from it so I can work on myself,” McCormick said.

The greatest impacts of social media on students most often involve productivity and time management.

“A lot of undergraduate students think they can multitask, which the problem is they often can’t,” Carr said. “They can microtask and do one thing at a time and flit between them, but they often have problems of parallel processing two different channels.”

Dependence on social media and cell phones creates danger in times when one must function without them.

Alex Sherman, geography senior, had to organize meet-ups, relying only on social media to communicate when his phone completely broke down. Sherman said he was frustrated at the inconvenience of communicating without his phone. After getting over his initial exasperation, however, Sherman said he did not miss a functioning phone.

“Not having people being able to contact me 24/7, anywhere I was, actually got to be fairly relaxing,” Sherman said.

Once he received a new phone, however, Sherman said he soon reverted to old habits.

“We should walk into theaters, turn off our phones and escape for two hours, but heavens knows I’ve been to the Warren [Movie Theater] enough to know that we don’t,” Carr said.

Most people have either personally experienced or are at least aware of the potential drawbacks of using social media and phones excessively, yet there are also obvious benefits to using such technology.

“Since most college kids probably have a hard time being stressed out, I think being on these sites and just being on the Internet in general perpetuates that,” McCormick said.

The issue of technology is neither good nor bad, Carr said. It’s all a matter of how people choose to use the technology that determines whether or not their habits will cross the line between a habitual practice and an addictive behavior.

Steven Hammock, Josh Burks, Nicole Bryan and Molly Thomson also contributed to this report.

Chemical engineering sophomore Felix Pinto consumed at least 10 of the popular Red Bull energy drinks in the last two weeks, all due to his intensified study routine for finals.

“I started drinking energy drinks hardcore about three weeks ago because coffee just wasn’t cutting it,” Pinto said. “It couldn’t keep me up as late as I needed it to.”

Within the engineering college, he said it is not uncommon for students to stay up all night multiple times a week completing homework assignments.

Energy drink consumption has grown since 1997, the debut of Red Bull, not surprisingly due to a rise in popularity with young adults and college students, the companies’ target audience. In a study by Mintel market analysts, 73 percent of 16- to 24-year-olds consume the drinks.

Of everyone surveyed who consumes the drinks, 66 percent say the reason is improved performance at work or while studying, according to the Mintel study.

Pinto said he did his research when choosing an energy drink.

“I drink Red Bull, and only Red Bull, because one of my health-nut friends recommended it to me, and told me that it has the least amount of negative side effects.”

OU health and exercise science professor Krissy Kendall said the caffeine alone isn’t harmful in energy drinks, even though contain about three times the amount of caffeine in cola, according to a Northern Kentucky University study.

The danger comes from the caffeine working with other stimulants and vitamins such as synthetic epinephrine, taurine and ginseng, she said. This can cause effects including nausea, high blood pressure, jitters, dehydration and sleep disruption.

“The combination of epinephrine and caffeine (can) put a lot of stress on the heart and individuals can go into cardiac arrest,” Kendall said.

Even more, energy drinks pose a threat to most students because these side effects aren’t widely known, so students are replacing healthier beverages like water, milk and juices with energy drinks, Kendall said.

Pinto said he does not know of any positives that come along with energy drinks, but that he will use them as necessary.

“I don’t think that the positives of energy drinks outweigh the negatives,” Pinto said. “Whenever I’ve been going at it doing homework all night with the help of energy drinks, I feel like crap afterwards. My heart is racing, I have a headache, and I’m tired from the crash.”

Alexa Youssef, Erin Wilson and Alex Ewald also contributed to this report.

Coffee is the most common pick me up option in the morning. Bu products like Shower Shock Bath Soap and Bath Buzz Caffeinated Lotion are trying to replace coffee by infusing caffeine into your morning routine in different ways.

Shower Shock soap bars contain about 200 milligrams of caffeine per shower. The caffeine is absorbed through your skin after a heavy lather and rinse. You step out of the shower with about the same amount of caffeine as an sixteen-ounce cup of coffee, according to their website.

Bath Buzz lotion is another alternative if caffeinated soap is not something you want in your morning routine. A few drops won’t do the trick on replacing your morning coffee, but a full body rub down will definitely give you a healthy dose of caffeine that could replace coffee and also give your skin a bright glow.

Dorothy Flowers, general manager of Housing and Food Services at the University of Oklahoma, explains that the popularity of caffeine has opened up the market to unique products.

“People usually get their morning coffee or tea… We are all just looking for that boost to get you through the day no matter what it is,” Flowers said.

Providing that boost to people has inspired some food companies to make energy products. Arma Energy Snx and Perky Jerky are two foods that provide energy.

Perky Jerky is one form of alternative energy that claims to give the consumer that extra boost they crave throughout the day. Perky Jerky is a form of beef jerky but is packed full of energy enhancers. Guarana, a common ingredient in energy drinks, is used in the marinade of the beef jerky. This acts as a stimulant to boost energy.

“It tastes like regular beef jerky,” a Perky Jerky representative said.

According to a Perky Jerky, Perky Jerky can be used morning, noon and night for anyone looking for a nutritious snack. This product is sold in over 21,000 stores nationwide and provides the user a needed boost to get going.

Arma Energy Snx offers six different products such as trail mix and potato chips. The products range in flavors, but each are aimed to energize whoever eats them.

“I actually haven’t tried this brand of potato chips, but I have tried another brand of energy potato chips,” said Brooke Baumert, early childhood education major, “I’m really up to try anything that can potentially give me energy. College is tiring and students are constantly trying to find somewhere to get more energy.”

The caffeine craze seems to extend to any product. Aeroshot is a caffeine inhaler that has been self-titled “The energy of the future.”

Aeroshot claims it contains no calories, but as much caffeine as a large cup of coffee and is around the same price as a 5 Hour Energy drink.

CBS News reported that Democratic U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer of New York wants the FDA to review Aeroshot because he fears it will be used as a club drug that young people will take to allow them to drink until they drop. Schumer’s fears derived because of Aeroshot’s easy-to-carry size.

Because it isn’t sold anywhere near Norman, University of Oklahoma students haven’t caught on yet, but Maggie Pool, assistant director of Goddard Health Center, warns about mixing caffeine and alcohol.

“Huge amounts of caffeine with alcohol can dehydrate you. Abnormal heart rhythms and blood pressure can make the effects of alcohol worse,” said Pool.

Aeroshots are not available on campus, but one student says he would not be interested in this product even if it were.

“I had never heard about it, but I’m not sure I would even use that if it were available to me,” OU freshman Haakon Trengereid said.

According to psychologist Sharla Robbins Ph. D., president of Disordered Eating Center of Oklahoma, the age of children developing eating disorders is getting younger and younger.

“I’ve seen the age ranges from nine years old to 70 years old,” Robbins said.

Robbins attributes big transition times such as puberty, early high school, early college, or mental traumas as leading factors that trigger illnesses such as bulimia, anorexia nervosa and other similar disorders.

For one college senior, who preferred to remain anonymous, it was the stress of moving far from home during times of family turmoil that helped create her condition. Running more than five miles each day and constantly counting her calories led her to severe exercise bulimia.

“I’ve always struggled with self-esteem issues and feeling not good enough. Plus, worrying about making my grades and keeping up with class work just made everything worse,” she said.

It was following an afternoon run, when she noticed she felt dizzy. Before she knew it, she was in an ambulance being rushed to the hospital for treatment. The stress she put her body through, led to low blood pressure and the slowing of her heartbeat. She was at extreme risk for a heart attack at age 19.

“I think I was just so far gone that even being in the hospital didn’t phase me. I couldn’t admit that I had a problem,” she said.

Robbins said this is common, and trying to recover from an eating disorder alone can be very difficult.

“There are so many variables that the person cannot see or understand that a professional can help. Family and friends too, may have a difficult time due to the secrecy of the disorders,” Robbins said.

Robbins stresses that the people closest to those suffering are crucial to their recovery.

“Knowing to be loving and not accusatory; knowing to find professionals to assess and determine the best medical, nutritional and psychological treatment: that's what is most helpful,” Robbins said.

Nationally, as many as 10 million females and one million males are fighting a life and death battle with an eating disorder such as anorexia or bulimia. Research shows about 10-12 percent of people with eating disorders are men.

“That statistic is changing. I see more young men in my practice now more than ever,” Robbins said.

Those needing treatment here in Oklahoma have several options. One being the Oklahoma Eating Disorders Association, located in Oklahoma City. OEDA is a non-profit organization dedicated to the treatment and prevention of eating disorders throughout Oklahoma. They refer therapists, dieticians and other specialists who can assist with treatment.

For more information contact OEDA at www.okeatingdisorders.org.

House Bill 2388 passed the House on March 12 by a vote of 82-6 and would apply to those receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). The bill now goes to the Senate.

House author Rep. Guy Liebmann, R-Oklahoma City, said he thinks this legislation could save the state almost $600,000, about 0.0001 percent of the stage budget, based on results in other states with similar laws. Recipients would pay for the $30 to $50 test.

“I think since this is a form of public assistance, it is important it goes to those doing their part to get back on their feet,” said co-author Sen. David Holt, R-Oklahoma City. “We are sending the message that if they are not following the law, those resources are best used elsewhere.”

In Florida, where a similar law passed, the state saw savings of over $900,000 in the first month, and nearly 10 percent of applicants were denied because of positive results, according to a statement from Liebmann’s office.

The Oklahoma bill passed the House with an amendment by Rep. Mike Shelton, D-Oklahoma City, that requires candidates for local and political office to receive testing for illegal drugs and prescription medicines before filing and to pay for testing as well.

Although the bill would prevent welfare recipients from receiving aid for six months until receiving substance abuse treatment and passing another test, candidates could still file.

“It would just be for the public’s information so they could get an idea of where their tax dollars were going,” said House Minority Leader Scott Inman, D-Del City. “Politicians shouldn’t be held to a higher standard because they are receiving state funds too.”

The amendment is more of a political stunt than a valid concern and is irrelevant to the intent of the introduced bill, Holt said.

“The question is always, ‘Why not test everyone?’” Holt said. “We had to start somewhere, and it made sense to test those trying to get back on their feet with state dollars.”

Leaders at the Oklahoma Policy Institute, a think-tank based in Tulsa, said the whole bill is a stunt to target impoverished people based on stereotypes and prejudices, director David Blatt said.

About 9,000 households, or 17,000 people, in Oklahoma receive these benefits, and the average monthly amount is $208, according to the Oklahoma Department of Human Services. Most of the recipients are children, though welfare for children would not be reduced if the parent did not pass, according to the bill.

Recipients are already screened in other ways, and 11 of every 100 families in Oklahoma living in poverty received funding in 2009, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a national organization that researches state and federal policies.

“Only a low rate test positive, but you have to test everyone, so there is a cost involved,” Blatt said. “The state gives all kinds of benefits – tax credits, paid salaries of 25,000 employees. Why single out poor people?”

Holt said there would be no fiscal impact on the state because recipients would pay for their own testing. However, he said he did not know whether the state would need extra manpower to process the tests.

Blatt also questioned whether the state would save as much money as lawmakers have suggested.

The Florida estimate of savings was deemed inaccurate by a judge because the study was not conducted by statistics experts, according to a statement released by the institute. The state counted in its savings those who didn’t receive funding because they declined to be tested, assuming those people would have failed.

The measure also is most likely unconstitutional, Blatt said. The state could save money with testing, but it would be asking for a huge legal battle and bill.

“This is a solution in search of a problem, …and it is mean spirited and is preying on people’s prejudices that poor people are messing with the system,” Blatt said.

Among the visas created by the pilot program is a so-called EB-5 that allows foreign entrepreneurs and their families to obtain green cards for investing commercial enterprise here in the U.S., according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

“The Pilot Program is renewed every so often,” said Andrew Ranson, president of GiANT Capital Fund & Oklahoma Regional Center LLC. “September 2012 is just when it sunsets again.”

The rules require that the investment of up to $1 million must create 10 jobs for at least two years. In return they can receive approval for permanent residence.

“What we’ve been doing is continuing to build those relationships and introduce them to what GiANT’s doing and give them opportunities to invest in the middle of the country,” Ranson said.

He said that the majority of Regional Center activity is in states like Florida, New York, Texas and California.

Ranson and his company are awaiting approval from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to begin one of the first Oklahoma based regional centers. Currently, there are two approved Regional Centers in Oklahoma, South West Biofuel and Southern Star Regional Investment Center, according to Citizenship and Immigration Services.

South West Biofuel is based in California while Southern Star operates out of Texas. Both are Regional Centers that help create jobs in the energy sector.

“When we came across this Regional Center idea, [we] saw that there was no Regional Center operating out of Oklahoma,” Ranson said. “We got behind it and really started pursuing it.”

Regional Centers are defined as economic private or public entities and create jobs, provide for economic growth and increase domestic capital investment, according to Citizenship and Immigration Services. Today, there are 194 approved Regional Centers in 40 states.

Ranson said that there has been a rapid increase in the number of requests for these Regional Centers. But he also added that while the program will most likely receive another extension by Congress, issues are beginning to arise.

“One, it gets on people’s radars [attracting] more attention,” he said. “[This] slows things down.”

Last month, the Association to Invest in the USA reported that 2,045 EB-5 visas have been issued since 2005 according to the report.

Ranson said his company submitted their application in July 5 of last year and were told that they would receive notification in four months with no guarantee of approval. After waiting four months, they still hadn’t received any word on their application and found out that a large number of applications were paused and being reviewed.

“We are really looking at our strategy and trying to evaluate what’s the best way to move this forward and that’s why we are still in the process of building our response,” he said. “We hope by the middle of the summer we’ll have an approval…In the meantime we’re just going to continue working on a consulting basis.”

He said once they receive approval, that GiANT Capital’s Regional Center would primarily focus on the health care industry. Originally, Ranson and his company wanted to be in multiple industries across the state. But in order to expedite their application approval, they moved their focus onto health care.

Ranson said that the majority of EB-5 investments are coming from China. Nearly 70% of EB-5 visas issues in 2011 and 2012 were for Chinese nationals, according to the Association to Invest in the USA report.

South Korea and Great Britain round out the top three. The report also noted that Iran and Venezuela had moved into the list of top investors.

The decision not to hear the proposal on the House floor was made collectively by the caucus, said Oklahoma Speaker Kris Steele, R-Shawnee.

“The fact is this bill sends a statement Oklahoma has already made,” Steele said in a statement released Thursday. “We’re already perhaps the most pro-life state in this country, having passed at least 30 various pro-life measures in the past eight years alone. You will not find a bigger friend of the unborn than this Legislature, but this bill would not have any substantive policy effect.”

Senate Bill 1433, also known as the Oklahoma Personhood Act, states the life of each human being begins at conception.

As a result, the laws of Oklahoma would have been interpreted and construed to acknowledge, on behalf of the unborn child at every stage of development, all the rights, privileges and immunities available to other persons, citizens and residents of this state.

Under the provisions of the measure, the term “unborn child” includes all unborn children from the moment of conception until birth at every stage of biological development.

All the major pro-life organizations support recognizing the rights of the preborn in Oklahoma, said Keith Mason, the president of Personhood USA.

Therefore, Steele’s role in the blockage of the bill is “unforgivable” and demonstrates he does not represent the interests of his constituency, Mason said.

“It seems the Oklahoma GOP leadership is trying to fill the Romney Republican mold—pro-life speech with no action,” Mason said. “Not voting on the Personhood Act with majorities in the House and Senate and GOP Governor begs the question; if they won’t vote pro-life, why should we vote for them?”

Mason said he believes Steele must hear from pro-life citizens that his actions will cost him his reputation and damage the Republican Party in Oklahoma.

A number of the measure’s proponents question the validity of the vote by the Republican House Caucus altogether, particularly Rep. Mike Reynolds, R-Oklahoma City.

“The idea that this was a caucus decision is bogus,” Reynolds said. “It is my understanding that there was no vote in caucus. Even if there had been one, many members were not present.”

Nevertheless, in preparation for the measure’s dismissal, Reynolds helped organize a petition to have a separate measure placed on the November ballot in Oklahoma.

To have that accomplished, the petition needs to be signed by 155,000 registered Oklahoma voters by May 31, which is the day the petition expires.

In late March, a lawsuit was filed against the ballot initiative that would have granted fertilized eggs and embryos the same constitutional rights as people.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of six Oklahoma voters, who were represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, the American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma and the Center for Reproductive Rights.

Ryan Kiesel, executive director of the ACLU of Oklahoma, said the proponents of this ballot initiative aim to strip women and families of their established right to decide whether and when to become pregnant and carry a pregnancy term.

“This initiative insults Oklahoma women’s intelligence and dignity by denying access to basic health services,” Kiesel said.

Opponents, like the ACLU, the ACLU of Oklahoma and the Center for Reproductive Rights, argued the initiative would have outlawed many critical reproductive health services.

These services included all abortion care, commonly used forms of birth control, in vitro fertilization and treatment for ectopic pregnancies and miscarriages.

It has been almost 40 years since the Supreme Court ruled that women have the right to safe, legal abortion services, said Talcott Camp, deputy director of the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project.

“Yet state legislatures continue to attack that right through dangerous, outrageous initiatives such as this one,” Camp said. “This is unacceptable. We must respect a woman’s capacity to make private, personal decisions about her reproductive health with her doctor and her family.”