Earlier this year, I wrote about how Democrats in Wisconsin and Oklahoma are fighting for insurance coverage for autism.

In the Oregon House, Democratic Rep. Chris Edwards, a freshman, is also working hard on this issue. Edwards, whose young son has autism, has been chosen to lead an autism project work group in preparation for the 2009 session.

He was also a sponsor of a key health coverage bill during the 2007 session, HB 2918. This legislation prohibits a health plan from denying various therapies to children under 18 solely because of a developmental disorder like autism. The governor signed the bill on July 31, 2007.

The Eugene legislator is a member of the House’s Five Under 35 group which has established an ambitious legislative agenda that includes support for such key bills as the Family and Medical Leave measure (HB 2575) and the Protecting Children from Online Predators bill (HB 3515).

Edwards is a great example of how young Democratic lawmakers are energized and fighting for a strong legislative agenda for working families.

Editor's note: From time to time, we will offer our elected leaders the opportunity to write guest posts about issues in their states.

Simply disappear -- that is what Republican leaders in the Oklahoma House of Representatives want autistic children and those of us fighting for them to do.

Republican House Speaker Chris Benge not only refuses to support a measure to cover these children with health insurance, he wouldn’t even allow representatives to vote on the bill.

“Nick’s Law” -- named for one of the thousands of Oklahoma children suffering from autism -- was very simple. It would have required health insurance policies in Oklahoma to cover the diagnosis and treatment of autism.

Experts tell us such a policy is the best way to give autistic children a chance at a full life when they become adults. It also provides a way to relieve the enormous financial pressures on families who are denied coverage by big insurance.

The Speaker twisted and danced all the way to the adjournment of the 2008 session. He single-handedly prevented a most family friendly policy, hoping that the end of session would be the end of the pressure. That is a serious miscalculation.

Of course, some of the special interest groups have honored those most responsible for killing “Nick’s Law” with awards for courage. There is nothing courageous about turning your back on children who have no voice. Oklahomans know what real courage is -- it is what parents of these children exhibit every day.

Still, despite all the fake awards, the Speaker’s miscalculation about relieving pressure continues to be shown in a stark light. Just last week, a national news program this week highlighted the growing epidemic of children with autism and the push by parents to force health insurance to cover diagnosis and treatment of the disorder.

NBC’s “The Today Show” aired a segment Thursday, June 12 as part of a continuing series of reports on autism. The story featured parents who are encouraging state legislatures across the nation to pass laws requiring coverage of autism diagnosis and treatment.

It is not like the Speaker did not have the chance to do the right thing. “Nick’s Law” passed the Senate on four separate occasions, each time on bipartisan votes. When the proposal arrived in the House of Representatives, it was killed each time when Speaker Benge refused to even allow the bill to be heard.

What the Speaker didn’t count on was the fact that this is a national battle. People are watching, and they expect a fair debate. The “Today Show” segment included a statement on the issue by the special interest group representing insurance companies; the statement is a “slick attempt” by big insurance to have it both ways.

The insurance lobby conceded in the statement that “medically related care should be covered by insurers.” The problem is, once “medically related care” is coded as “autism,” insurance companies refuse to pay claims.

Then the special interest group unveils its real agenda with the following statement: “For those who need assistance, we should be committing public resources to help fund cost--effective programs to care for those who are diagnosed with autism.”

The phrase “public resources” is a fancy way of saying “taxpayer dollars.” Their real agenda is to pass the cost of covering autism on to the taxpayers. That way, insurance companies protect both their robust profits and their ability to fund the political campaigns of politicians who protect them.

The “Today Show” segment gives both sides a chance to make their case, and clearly the momentum to pass bills like Nick’s Law is building. Even in deeply ‘red’ Republican states, lawmakers and governors of both parties are putting aside the special interests for the public interest. It’s too bad Oklahoma’s House leaders could not find it in their hearts or heads to do the same.

Not every House Republican supported their leadership on the issue; four Republican House members signed a “discharge petition” that would have forced a vote on “Nick’s Law.” Then, before they got the required number of signatures, House Republican leaders began enforcing party discipline.

It’s pretty clear Republican leaders dropped the hammer -- preventing members from doing what their conscience told them was the right thing. However, political power in Oklahoma rests with the people not the politicians, and I believe Oklahomans will rise up and force House leadership to get on this train or get run over by it.

They want us to simply disappear. These children will not go away, and their parents will never give up. When the Oklahoma Legislature returns in February, the case to pass Nick’s Law will be greater than ever.

To do nothing -- a course of action with which House leadership is content -- will condemn children who might be saved by diagnosis and treatment. This is just one case where the values of Oklahoma’s Republican House leadership are woefully out of step with the people they were truly elected to serve.

Oklahoma House Republicans may have preserved some campaign contributions, but they will have lost their souls -- and, unless they see the light soon, a good number of the seats they hold in the House of Representatives.

Senator Jay Paul Gumm represents Oklahoma's 6th Senate District