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 Associated Press

3 Could 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 would like Oklahoma to be essentially the most pro-life state within the nation," Stitt tweeted after signing the bill.

Stitt's signing of the invoice comes on the heels of a leaked draft opinion from the nation's excessive court that it is contemplating weakening or overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion almost 50 years ago.

The bill Stitt signed takes effect immediately together with his signature, and the Oklahoma Supreme Courtroom on Tuesday denied an emergency request to briefly halt the invoice. Abortion suppliers say now that the brand new law is in impact, they'll immediately cease offering companies for girls after six weeks of being pregnant.

“While the legislation is in effect, which it now could be because the governor signed it, abortion companies after six weeks will probably be largely unavailable," said Rabia Muqaddam, a employees 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 docket will still grant us relief."

The new regulation prohibits abortions as soon as cardiac activity might be detected in an embryo, which experts say is roughly six weeks into a pregnancy, earlier than many women know they're pregnant. A similar invoice permitted in Texas last yr led to a dramatic reduction in the number of abortions carried out in that state, with many ladies going to Oklahoma and different surrounding states for the process.

Dr. Iman Alsaden, the medical director of Deliberate Parenthood Great Plains, said Texas' legislation that took effect in September has given their workers an concept of what a post-Roe nation might look like.

“Since that day, my colleagues and I've frequently treated sufferers who are fleeing their communities to seek care," Alsaden mentioned. “They’re taking time off of work, taking outing of college and taking time away from their household obligations to get the care that till September 2021 they have been in a position to get safely and readily in their communities."

The invoice authorizes abortions if performed as the result of a medical emergency, but there are not any exceptions if the being pregnant is the result of rape or incest.

Just like the Texas law, the Oklahoma invoice would enable personal citizens to sue abortion providers or anyone who helps a girl obtain an abortion for as much as $10,000. After the U.S. Supreme Court docket allowed that mechanism to remain in place, other Republican-led states sought to copy Texas’ ban. Idaho’s governor signed the first copycat measure in March, although it has been briefly 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 just isn't set to take effect until this summer, and authorized specialists say it is more likely to be blocked because the Roe v. Wade determination nonetheless remains the law of the land.

The number of abortions performed every year in Oklahoma, which has 4 abortion clinics, has declined steadily over the past twenty years, from more than 6,200 in 2002 to three,737 in 2020, the fewest in more than 20 years, in response to data from the Oklahoma State Division of Well being. In 2020, earlier than the Texas legislation was passed, about 9% of the abortions carried out in Oklahoma had been girls from Texas.

Earlier than the Texas ban took effect on Sept. 1, about 40 ladies from Texas had abortions carried out in Oklahoma each month, the information reveals. That quantity jumped to 222 Texas women in September and 243 in October.