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 Associated 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 pregnancy, 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 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 high court that it's considering weakening or overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade choice that legalized abortion practically 50 years ago.

The bill Stitt signed takes impact instantly along with his signature, and the Oklahoma Supreme Courtroom on Tuesday denied an emergency request to quickly halt the bill. Abortion suppliers say now that the new regulation is in effect, they may instantly stop providing companies for ladies after six weeks of being pregnant.

“Whereas the law is in effect, which it now's because the governor signed it, abortion services after six weeks will probably be largely unavailable," stated Rabia Muqaddam, a staff lawyer for the New York-based Center for Reproductive Rights, which is representing Oklahoma abortion providers in the case. “It’s a short-term loss, however we’re hopeful that the Oklahoma Supreme Courtroom will still grant us aid."

The new regulation prohibits abortions as soon as cardiac activity could be detected in an embryo, which consultants say is roughly six weeks into a pregnancy, earlier than many ladies know they're pregnant. The same bill authorised in Texas last yr led to a dramatic discount in the variety of abortions performed 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 Nice Plains, said Texas' law that took effect in September has given their staff an thought of what a post-Roe country would possibly appear to be.

“Since that day, my colleagues and I've often handled patients who're fleeing their communities to seek care," Alsaden mentioned. “They’re taking time without work of work, taking trip of faculty and taking time away from their family tasks to get the care that till September 2021 they had been capable of get safely and readily of their communities."

The invoice authorizes abortions if performed as the results of a medical emergency, but there are not any exceptions if the pregnancy is the results of rape or incest.

Just like the Texas law, the Oklahoma bill would enable personal residents to sue abortion suppliers or anyone who helps a girl obtain an abortion for as much as $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 briefly blocked by the state’s Supreme Court docket.

Stitt earlier this 12 months signed a bill to make performing an abortion a felony crime in Oklahoma, but that measure will not be set to take impact until this summer season, and legal specialists say it is prone to be blocked because the Roe v. Wade decision nonetheless stays the legislation of the land.

The number of abortions performed every year in Oklahoma, which has four abortion clinics, has declined steadily during the last 20 years, from greater than 6,200 in 2002 to three,737 in 2020, the fewest in more than 20 years, in line with data from the Oklahoma State Division of Health. In 2020, before the Texas law was passed, about 9% of the abortions carried out in Oklahoma have been girls from Texas.

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