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 being pregnant

By SEAN MURPHY Associated Press

3 Might 2022, 23:03

• 4 min read

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 want Oklahoma to be essentially the most pro-life state within the country," Stitt tweeted after signing the invoice.

Stitt's signing of the invoice comes on the heels of a leaked draft opinion from the nation's excessive court docket that it is considering weakening or overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade resolution that legalized abortion nearly 50 years in the past.

The bill Stitt signed takes impact immediately along 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 new regulation is in effect, they may immediately cease offering companies for ladies after six weeks of pregnancy.

“Whereas the law is in effect, which it now's as a result of the governor signed it, abortion companies after six weeks will probably be largely unavailable," stated Rabia Muqaddam, a staff 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 nonetheless grant us aid."

The new regulation prohibits abortions once cardiac exercise might be detected in an embryo, which experts say is roughly six weeks into a being pregnant, earlier than many ladies know they're pregnant. An analogous bill authorized in Texas last year led to a dramatic discount within the variety of abortions carried out in that state, with many women going to Oklahoma and other surrounding states for the process.

Dr. Iman Alsaden, the medical director of Planned Parenthood Great Plains, stated Texas' legislation that took effect in September has given their employees an idea of what a post-Roe nation would possibly appear to be.

“Since that day, my colleagues and I have recurrently handled sufferers who are fleeing their communities to hunt care," Alsaden stated. “They’re taking time off of work, taking time out of school and taking time away from their family obligations to get the care that till September 2021 they had been able to get safely and readily of their communities."

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

Just like the Texas law, the Oklahoma bill would permit personal residents to sue abortion suppliers or anyone who helps a girl receive 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 copy Texas’ ban. Idaho’s governor signed the first copycat measure in March, although it has been temporarily blocked by the state’s Supreme Court docket.

Stitt earlier this 12 months signed a bill to make performing an abortion a felony crime in Oklahoma, but that measure shouldn't be set to take effect until this summer time, and authorized experts say it's likely to be blocked as a result of the Roe v. Wade decision still remains the regulation of the land.

The number of abortions performed annually in Oklahoma, which has 4 abortion clinics, has declined steadily over the last 20 years, from greater than 6,200 in 2002 to three,737 in 2020, the fewest in more than 20 years, in response to knowledge from the Oklahoma State Department of Health. In 2020, earlier than the Texas law was passed, about 9% of the abortions performed in Oklahoma have been ladies 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 data reveals. That quantity jumped to 222 Texas girls in September and 243 in October.