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 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 being pregnant, a 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 probably the most pro-life state in 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 courtroom that it's considering weakening or overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade resolution that legalized abortion almost 50 years in the past.

The invoice Stitt signed takes impact instantly along 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 new legislation is in effect, they will instantly stop providing companies 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 services after six weeks shall be largely unavailable," mentioned Rabia Muqaddam, a staff lawyer 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 docket will nonetheless grant us aid."

The new regulation prohibits abortions as soon as cardiac activity may be detected in an embryo, which consultants say is roughly six weeks right into a being pregnant, earlier than many ladies know they're pregnant. The same bill authorised 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 different surrounding states for the process.

Dr. Iman Alsaden, the medical director of Deliberate Parenthood Nice Plains, mentioned Texas' law that took impact in September has given their employees an concept of what a post-Roe country may appear like.

“Since that day, my colleagues and I've repeatedly handled patients who're fleeing their communities to hunt care," Alsaden said. “They’re taking time without work of labor, taking day out of school and taking time away from their family duties 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 results of a medical emergency, but there are not any exceptions if the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest.

Just like the Texas law, the Oklahoma bill would allow non-public citizens to sue abortion providers or anybody who helps a woman get hold of 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 primary copycat measure in March, although it has been quickly 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, but that measure isn't set to take impact till this summer season, and authorized consultants say it is likely to be blocked because the Roe v. Wade decision nonetheless remains the law of the land.

The variety of abortions carried out each year in Oklahoma, which has 4 abortion clinics, has declined steadily over the last 20 years, from more than 6,200 in 2002 to 3,737 in 2020, the fewest in additional than 20 years, based on data from the Oklahoma State Division of Well being. In 2020, before the Texas law was passed, about 9% of the abortions performed in Oklahoma were girls from Texas.

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