Oklahoma governor signs Texas-style ban on most abortions

Oklahoma’s Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt has signed a Texas-style abortion ban that prohibits abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy

By SEAN MURPHY Related Press

3 Might 2022, 23:03

• 4 min learn

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Oklahoma’s Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt signed a Texas-style abortion ban on Tuesday that prohibits abortions after about six weeks of being pregnant, a part of a nationwide push in GOP-led states hopeful that the conservative U.S. Supreme Court docket will uphold new restrictions.

“I need Oklahoma to be essentially the most pro-life state in the country," Stitt tweeted after signing the bill.

Stitt's signing of the bill comes on the heels of a leaked draft opinion from the nation's high court docket that it's considering weakening or overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade determination that legalized abortion nearly 50 years ago.

The invoice Stitt signed takes impact immediately together with his signature, and the Oklahoma Supreme Court docket on Tuesday denied an emergency request to quickly halt the bill. Abortion suppliers say now that the brand new law is in effect, they will immediately cease offering services for women after six weeks of being pregnant.

“While the regulation is in effect, which it now is because the governor signed it, abortion providers after six weeks might be largely unavailable," mentioned Rabia Muqaddam, a staff legal professional for the New York-based Center for Reproductive Rights, which is representing Oklahoma abortion suppliers within the case. “It’s a short-term loss, but we’re hopeful that the Oklahoma Supreme Court will still grant us relief."

The brand new law prohibits abortions as soon as cardiac activity may be detected in an embryo, which experts say is roughly six weeks into a being pregnant, earlier than many women know they are pregnant. A similar bill permitted in Texas final yr led to a dramatic reduction in the number of abortions performed in that state, with many women going to Oklahoma and different surrounding states for the process.

Dr. Iman Alsaden, the medical director of Planned Parenthood Nice Plains, stated Texas' regulation that took effect in September has given their staff an thought of what a post-Roe country might look like.

“Since that day, my colleagues and I've usually treated sufferers who're fleeing their communities to hunt care," Alsaden stated. “They’re taking break day of labor, taking time out of school and taking time away from their household responsibilities to get the care that till September 2021 they have been able to get safely and readily in their communities."

The bill authorizes abortions if carried out as the result of a medical emergency, however there aren't any exceptions if the being pregnant is the result of rape or incest.

Like the Texas legislation, the Oklahoma bill would permit personal residents to sue abortion providers or anyone who helps a girl acquire an abortion for up to $10,000. After the U.S. Supreme Court docket allowed that mechanism to remain in place, other Republican-led states sought to repeat Texas’ ban. Idaho’s governor signed the primary copycat measure in March, although it has been temporarily blocked by the state’s Supreme Courtroom.

Stitt earlier this 12 months signed a bill to make performing an abortion a felony crime in Oklahoma, however that measure is not set to take effect till this summer season, and legal specialists say it's prone to be blocked as a result of the Roe v. Wade resolution still stays the legislation of the land.

The variety of abortions performed annually in Oklahoma, which has four abortion clinics, has declined steadily over the past two decades, from more than 6,200 in 2002 to three,737 in 2020, the fewest in additional than 20 years, in line with information from the Oklahoma State Department of Health. In 2020, before the Texas regulation was passed, about 9% of the abortions carried out in Oklahoma have been women from Texas.

Before the Texas ban took impact on Sept. 1, about 40 girls from Texas had abortions carried out in Oklahoma every month, the information exhibits. That number jumped to 222 Texas girls in September and 243 in October.