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 pregnancy

By SEAN MURPHY Related Press

3 Could 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, 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 essentially the most pro-life state within the nation," 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 that it's considering weakening or overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade resolution that legalized abortion practically 50 years in the past.

The invoice Stitt signed takes impact instantly 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 regulation is in effect, they are going to instantly stop offering providers for ladies after six weeks of pregnancy.

“While the legislation is in effect, which it now's as a result of the governor signed it, abortion companies after six weeks can be largely unavailable," mentioned Rabia Muqaddam, a workers attorney for the New York-based Heart for Reproductive Rights, which is representing Oklahoma abortion providers within the case. “It’s a short-term loss, however we’re hopeful that the Oklahoma Supreme Court docket will still grant us aid."

The new legislation prohibits abortions once cardiac activity could be detected in an embryo, which specialists say is roughly six weeks into a pregnancy, before many ladies know they're pregnant. An identical bill accredited in Texas final yr led to a dramatic reduction in the number of abortions carried out in that state, with many ladies going to Oklahoma and different surrounding states for the procedure.

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 like.

“Since that day, my colleagues and I've usually treated sufferers who're fleeing their communities to seek care," Alsaden mentioned. “They’re taking time without work of labor, taking outing of college and taking time away from their household obligations to get the care that until September 2021 they have been in a position to get safely and readily in their communities."

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

Just like the Texas legislation, the Oklahoma invoice would permit personal citizens to sue abortion suppliers or anybody who helps a lady get hold of an abortion for as much as $10,000. After the U.S. Supreme Courtroom 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 12 months signed a invoice to make performing an abortion a felony crime in Oklahoma, however that measure just isn't set to take effect until this summer season, and legal experts say it is prone to be blocked as a result of the Roe v. Wade choice nonetheless remains the legislation of the land.

The number of abortions performed each year in Oklahoma, which has four abortion clinics, has declined steadily over the past 20 years, from more than 6,200 in 2002 to 3,737 in 2020, the fewest in additional than 20 years, in accordance with information from the Oklahoma State Division of Well being. In 2020, earlier than the Texas regulation was passed, about 9% of the abortions performed in Oklahoma were ladies from Texas.

Before the Texas ban took impact on Sept. 1, about 40 girls from Texas had abortions performed in Oklahoma each month, the data exhibits. That quantity jumped to 222 Texas girls in September and 243 in October.