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 Might 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 being pregnant, a part of a nationwide push in GOP-led states hopeful that the conservative U.S. Supreme Courtroom will uphold new restrictions.

“I need Oklahoma to be probably the most pro-life state in the country," 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 court that it is considering weakening or overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade choice that legalized abortion nearly 50 years in the past.

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

“Whereas 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 legal professional for the New York-based Center 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 new law prohibits abortions once cardiac exercise may be detected in an embryo, which consultants say is roughly six weeks right into a being pregnant, before many women know they are pregnant. A similar bill authorized in Texas final 12 months led to a dramatic reduction 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 Deliberate Parenthood Great Plains, stated Texas' law that took impact in September has given their staff an concept of what a post-Roe country might appear like.

“Since that day, my colleagues and I've frequently treated patients who are fleeing their communities to seek care," Alsaden mentioned. “They’re taking break day of labor, taking trip of school and taking time away from their family tasks 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, but there aren't any exceptions if the being pregnant is the result of rape or incest.

Just like the Texas regulation, the Oklahoma bill would enable private citizens to sue abortion suppliers or anybody who helps a woman obtain an abortion for as much as $10,000. After the U.S. Supreme Court allowed that mechanism to remain in place, other Republican-led states sought to repeat Texas’ ban. Idaho’s governor signed the primary copycat measure in March, though it has been quickly blocked by the state’s Supreme Courtroom.

Stitt earlier this 12 months signed a bill to make performing an abortion a felony crime in Oklahoma, however that measure will not be set to take impact until this summer season, and authorized specialists say it's likely to be blocked as a result of the Roe v. Wade resolution nonetheless remains the legislation of the land.

The variety of abortions carried out annually in Oklahoma, which has four abortion clinics, has declined steadily over the past twenty years, from more than 6,200 in 2002 to 3,737 in 2020, the fewest in additional than 20 years, in keeping with information from the Oklahoma State Division of Health. In 2020, earlier than the Texas regulation was passed, about 9% of the abortions performed in Oklahoma had been women from Texas.

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