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 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 will uphold new restrictions.

“I want Oklahoma to be essentially the most pro-life state in the nation," Stitt tweeted after signing the invoice.

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 resolution that legalized abortion almost 50 years in the past.

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

“While the regulation is in effect, which it now could be as a result of the governor signed it, abortion services after six weeks might be largely unavailable," stated Rabia Muqaddam, a staff legal professional for the New York-based Middle for Reproductive Rights, which is representing Oklahoma abortion suppliers within the case. “It’s a short-term loss, however we’re hopeful that the Oklahoma Supreme Court will still grant us reduction."

The brand new regulation prohibits abortions once cardiac activity may be detected in an embryo, which specialists say is roughly six weeks into a pregnancy, earlier than many women know they are pregnant. An analogous bill accepted in Texas final 12 months led to a dramatic reduction in the variety of abortions performed in that state, with many ladies going to Oklahoma and other surrounding states for the procedure.

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

“Since that day, my colleagues and I've frequently handled patients who're fleeing their communities to seek care," Alsaden mentioned. “They’re taking time without work of labor, taking trip of college and taking time away from their family responsibilities to get the care that till September 2021 they were able to get safely and readily of their communities."

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

Like the Texas law, the Oklahoma bill would enable personal residents to sue abortion providers or anyone who helps a woman receive an abortion for up to $10,000. After the U.S. Supreme Courtroom allowed that mechanism to stay 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 yr signed a invoice to make performing an abortion a felony crime in Oklahoma, but that measure will not be set to take impact until this summer time, and legal consultants say it's prone to be blocked as a result of the Roe v. Wade decision still stays the legislation of the land.

The number of abortions carried out each year in Oklahoma, which has 4 abortion clinics, has declined steadily over the last 20 years, from greater than 6,200 in 2002 to 3,737 in 2020, the fewest in more than 20 years, in keeping with information from the Oklahoma State Division of Health. In 2020, before the Texas legislation was handed, about 9% of the abortions carried out in Oklahoma were girls from Texas.

Before the Texas ban took effect on Sept. 1, about 40 women from Texas had abortions performed in Oklahoma each month, the info reveals. That number jumped to 222 Texas women in September and 243 in October.