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 Related Press

3 Could 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, part of a nationwide push in GOP-led states hopeful that the conservative U.S. Supreme Court will uphold new restrictions.

“I would like Oklahoma to be probably the most pro-life state within the nation," 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 excessive court docket that it's considering weakening or overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade resolution that legalized abortion practically 50 years ago.

The bill Stitt signed takes impact immediately together 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 new legislation is in impact, they will immediately stop providing services for women after six weeks of pregnancy.

“Whereas the law 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," said Rabia Muqaddam, a employees legal professional for the New York-based Middle 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 will still grant us aid."

The new law prohibits abortions as soon as cardiac activity could be detected in an embryo, which consultants say is roughly six weeks right into a being pregnant, earlier than many women know they're pregnant. A similar bill accredited in Texas final 12 months led to a dramatic discount within the variety of abortions carried out in that state, with many ladies going to Oklahoma and other surrounding states for the process.

Dr. Iman Alsaden, the medical director of Planned Parenthood Great Plains, said Texas' regulation that took effect in September has given their workers an thought of what a post-Roe country may look like.

“Since that day, my colleagues and I have repeatedly treated sufferers who're fleeing their communities to hunt care," Alsaden mentioned. “They’re taking time off of labor, taking day trip of college and taking time away from their household duties to get the care that till September 2021 they have been capable of get safely and readily in their communities."

The bill authorizes abortions if performed as the results of a medical emergency, however there are no exceptions if the pregnancy is the results of rape or incest.

Just like the Texas regulation, the Oklahoma invoice would allow personal residents to sue abortion suppliers or anyone who helps a woman receive an abortion for up to $10,000. After the U.S. Supreme Court allowed that mechanism to remain in place, different Republican-led states sought to repeat Texas’ ban. Idaho’s governor signed the primary copycat measure in March, although it has been temporarily blocked by the state’s Supreme Courtroom.

Stitt earlier this yr signed a bill to make performing an abortion a felony crime in Oklahoma, but that measure just isn't set to take effect until this summer season, and legal experts say it's likely to be blocked as a result of the Roe v. Wade decision still stays the law of the land.

The number of abortions carried out each year in Oklahoma, which has 4 abortion clinics, has declined steadily over the last twenty years, from greater than 6,200 in 2002 to 3,737 in 2020, the fewest in additional than 20 years, in keeping with data from the Oklahoma State Department of Health. In 2020, before the Texas law was passed, about 9% of the abortions performed in Oklahoma had been ladies from Texas.

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