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 being pregnant

By SEAN MURPHY Related 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, 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 the most pro-life state within the country," 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 high court that it's contemplating weakening or overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade choice 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 invoice. Abortion suppliers say now that the new legislation is in effect, they may instantly cease offering services for girls after six weeks of being pregnant.

“While the regulation is in effect, which it now's as a result of the governor signed it, abortion providers after six weeks will likely be largely unavailable," stated Rabia Muqaddam, a staff lawyer 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 Court docket will nonetheless grant us aid."

The brand new law prohibits abortions as soon as cardiac activity 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. A similar bill accepted in Texas last 12 months led to a dramatic discount in the number of abortions carried out in that state, with many ladies going to Oklahoma and other surrounding states for the procedure.

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

“Since that day, my colleagues and I've repeatedly treated sufferers who're fleeing their communities to hunt care," Alsaden mentioned. “They’re taking break day of work, taking day out of school and taking time away from their household responsibilities to get the care that till September 2021 they were in a position to get safely and readily of their communities."

The bill authorizes abortions if carried out as the results of a medical emergency, however there are no exceptions if the being pregnant is the result of rape or incest.

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

Stitt earlier this year signed a bill to make performing an abortion a felony crime in Oklahoma, however that measure isn't set to take effect until this summer, and authorized consultants say it's prone to be blocked as a result of the Roe v. Wade decision still remains the law of the land.

The variety of abortions performed annually in Oklahoma, which has four abortion clinics, has declined steadily over the last two decades, from more than 6,200 in 2002 to 3,737 in 2020, the fewest in more than 20 years, in line with knowledge from the Oklahoma State Division of Well being. In 2020, before the Texas law was handed, about 9% of the abortions carried out in Oklahoma were ladies from Texas.

Earlier than the Texas ban took impact on Sept. 1, about 40 women 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.