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 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 Courtroom will uphold new restrictions.

“I would like 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 high courtroom that it's considering weakening or overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade determination that legalized abortion practically 50 years ago.

The bill Stitt signed takes effect instantly together with his signature, and the Oklahoma Supreme Court docket on Tuesday denied an emergency request to quickly halt the bill. Abortion suppliers say now that the new law is in impact, they'll immediately stop offering companies for girls after six weeks of being pregnant.

“Whereas the legislation is in impact, which it now is as a result of the governor signed it, abortion services after six weeks can be largely unavailable," mentioned Rabia Muqaddam, a staff legal professional for the New York-based Heart for Reproductive Rights, which is representing Oklahoma abortion suppliers within the case. “It’s a short-term loss, but we’re hopeful that the Oklahoma Supreme Court will still grant us aid."

The new regulation prohibits abortions as soon as cardiac activity can be detected in an embryo, which consultants say is roughly six weeks into a being pregnant, before many ladies know they're pregnant. The same invoice permitted in Texas final yr led to a dramatic reduction within the variety of abortions carried out in that state, with many ladies going to Oklahoma and other surrounding states for the procedure.

Dr. Iman Alsaden, the medical director of Planned Parenthood Great Plains, said Texas' law that took impact in September has given their staff an concept of what a post-Roe country might seem like.

“Since that day, my colleagues and I have often handled sufferers who're fleeing their communities to seek care," Alsaden said. “They’re taking day without work of labor, taking time out of school and taking time away from their household obligations to get the care that until September 2021 they were in a position to get safely and readily in their communities."

The invoice authorizes abortions if carried out as the results of a medical emergency, however there aren't any exceptions if the being pregnant is the results of rape or incest.

Just like the Texas legislation, the Oklahoma invoice would enable personal citizens to sue abortion suppliers or anybody who helps a woman get hold of an abortion for as much as $10,000. After the U.S. Supreme Court allowed that mechanism to stay in place, different 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 Courtroom.

Stitt earlier this yr signed a invoice to make performing an abortion a felony crime in Oklahoma, however that measure shouldn't be set to take impact until this summer, and authorized experts say it's more likely to be blocked as a result of the Roe v. Wade determination still remains the regulation 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 more than 6,200 in 2002 to 3,737 in 2020, the fewest in more than 20 years, based on information from the Oklahoma State Division of Health. In 2020, before the Texas legislation was handed, about 9% of the abortions carried out in Oklahoma have 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 data reveals. That quantity jumped to 222 Texas girls in September and 243 in October.