Oklahoma governor indicators 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 May 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 pregnancy, part of a nationwide push in GOP-led states hopeful that the conservative U.S. Supreme Court will uphold new restrictions.

“I need Oklahoma to be 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 courtroom that it is contemplating weakening or overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade determination that legalized abortion almost 50 years ago.

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

“Whereas the law is in effect, which it now is because the governor signed it, abortion services after six weeks will likely 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 in the case. “It’s a short-term loss, however we’re hopeful that the Oklahoma Supreme Courtroom will still grant us relief."

The new legislation prohibits abortions as soon as cardiac exercise may be detected in an embryo, which specialists say is roughly six weeks into a being pregnant, earlier than many women know they are pregnant. An identical invoice approved in Texas last 12 months led to a dramatic discount in the variety of abortions performed in that state, with many women going to Oklahoma and other surrounding states for the procedure.

Dr. Iman Alsaden, the medical director of Planned Parenthood Great Plains, mentioned Texas' legislation that took effect in September has given their employees an thought of what a post-Roe country would possibly appear like.

“Since that day, my colleagues and I've usually handled sufferers who are fleeing their communities to hunt care," Alsaden stated. “They’re taking break day of labor, taking time out of faculty and taking time away from their family responsibilities to get the care that till September 2021 they were capable of 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 pregnancy is the results of rape or incest.

Just like the Texas legislation, the Oklahoma bill would allow personal residents to sue abortion providers or anybody who helps a lady obtain an abortion for up to $10,000. After the U.S. Supreme Court allowed that mechanism to remain in place, different Republican-led states sought to repeat Texas’ ban. Idaho’s governor signed the primary copycat measure in March, though it has been briefly blocked by the state’s Supreme Court.

Stitt earlier this yr signed a invoice to make performing an abortion a felony crime in Oklahoma, but that measure is not set to take effect until this summer season, and authorized experts say it is more likely to be blocked as a result of 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 two decades, from more than 6,200 in 2002 to three,737 in 2020, the fewest in more than 20 years, according to data from the Oklahoma State Division of Well being. In 2020, before the Texas legislation was passed, about 9% of the abortions performed in Oklahoma had been girls from Texas.

Earlier than the Texas ban took impact on Sept. 1, about 40 girls from Texas had abortions performed in Oklahoma every month, the data reveals. That number jumped to 222 Texas women in September and 243 in October.