Oklahoma State Senator Joe Silk has introduced a bill that would make performing abortion, a legal procedure, punishable as first-degree murder:

In a move that is unprecedented nationwide, an Oklahoma Senator has introduced a bill that would criminalize abortion as first-degree murder. Sen. Joe Silk, R-Broken Bow, recently introduced S.B. 1118 which adds killing an unborn child to existing murder statutes. “No person shall perform or induce or attempt to perform or induce an abortion after conception,” it reads. “A person commits murder in the first degree when that person performs an abortion as defined by Section 1-745.5 of Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes.”

If Silk has consulted with any of the numerous lawyers the Oklahoma legislator undoubtedly has on the payroll, then he’d know this is a waste of both time and money. Roe v. Wade is the prevailing precedent and any legal challenge would result in a swift and nearly effortless victory for the plaintiff. Performing an abortion is simply no more illegal than ordering a cheeseburger.

Likely Silk is aware that this is both a waste of his time as a lawmaker and his state’s money. This appears to be yet another instance where a politician is happy to let his own tax-payers essentially pay for a campaign ad for him. Sure, the state will lose lots of cash on a foredoomed lawsuit, but it will rally his hyper-conservative voting base — you know, the ones that also claim to hate irresponsible, wasteful spending in government along with dishonest politicians.