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 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 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 would like Oklahoma to be probably the most pro-life state in 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 high courtroom that it is considering weakening or overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade choice that legalized abortion nearly 50 years ago.

The bill Stitt signed takes effect instantly along with his signature, and the Oklahoma Supreme Court on Tuesday denied an emergency request to quickly halt the bill. Abortion suppliers say now that the brand new legislation is in effect, they are going to immediately cease offering services for girls after six weeks of being pregnant.

“While the regulation is in effect, which it now is because 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 Heart for Reproductive Rights, which is representing Oklahoma abortion providers in the case. “It’s a short-term loss, however we’re hopeful that the Oklahoma Supreme Courtroom will nonetheless grant us relief."

The brand new legislation 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. The same bill accepted in Texas final 12 months led to a dramatic reduction within the number of abortions performed in that state, with many women going to Oklahoma and other surrounding states for the process.

Dr. Iman Alsaden, the medical director of Deliberate Parenthood Nice Plains, mentioned Texas' law that took effect in September has given their workers an thought of what a post-Roe nation might appear like.

“Since that day, my colleagues and I have repeatedly handled sufferers who're fleeing their communities to hunt care," Alsaden stated. “They’re taking time without work of work, taking trip of college and taking time away from their household responsibilities to get the care that till September 2021 they had been in a position to get safely and readily in their communities."

The bill authorizes abortions if performed as the results of a medical emergency, however there aren't any exceptions if the pregnancy is the results of rape or incest.

Just like the Texas law, the Oklahoma invoice would permit non-public residents to sue abortion providers or anyone who helps a lady receive an abortion for up to $10,000. After the U.S. Supreme Court docket allowed that mechanism to stay 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 temporarily blocked by the state’s Supreme Court docket.

Stitt earlier this yr signed a bill to make performing an abortion a felony crime in Oklahoma, however that measure is not set to take impact until this summer time, and authorized consultants say it is likely to be blocked as a result of the Roe v. Wade choice still remains the regulation of the land.

The number of abortions carried out annually in Oklahoma, which has four abortion clinics, has declined steadily over the past twenty years, from greater than 6,200 in 2002 to three,737 in 2020, the fewest in additional than 20 years, based on data from the Oklahoma State Department of Health. In 2020, earlier than the Texas regulation was handed, about 9% of the abortions performed in Oklahoma have been girls from Texas.

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