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 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 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 high court that it's contemplating weakening or overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade resolution that legalized abortion nearly 50 years in the past.

The bill Stitt signed takes impact instantly with his signature, and the Oklahoma Supreme Court docket on Tuesday denied an emergency request to briefly halt the invoice. Abortion providers say now that the new law is in impact, they are going to immediately cease offering services for ladies after six weeks of being pregnant.

“Whereas the legislation is in effect, which it now is because the governor signed it, abortion providers after six weeks will be largely unavailable," said Rabia Muqaddam, a staff legal professional for the New York-based Middle 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 nonetheless grant us reduction."

The new regulation prohibits abortions as soon as cardiac exercise might be detected in an embryo, which consultants say is roughly six weeks into a being pregnant, before many women know they're pregnant. An identical invoice accepted in Texas last year led to a dramatic discount in the number of abortions performed in that state, with many women going to Oklahoma and other surrounding states for the process.

Dr. Iman Alsaden, the medical director of Deliberate Parenthood Great Plains, stated Texas' law that took impact in September has given their employees an thought of what a post-Roe nation may look like.

“Since that day, my colleagues and I've frequently handled patients who are fleeing their communities to seek care," Alsaden mentioned. “They’re taking break day of labor, taking outing of faculty and taking time away from their family responsibilities to get the care that till September 2021 they have been capable of get safely and readily of their communities."

The bill authorizes abortions if carried out as the results of a medical emergency, but there are no exceptions if the being pregnant is the results of rape or incest.

Just like the Texas regulation, the Oklahoma invoice would allow private citizens to sue abortion suppliers or anybody who helps a girl acquire an abortion for up to $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 temporarily blocked by the state’s Supreme Court docket.

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 till this summer time, and legal specialists say it's likely to be blocked as a result of the Roe v. Wade decision still remains the law of the land.

The number of abortions performed annually 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, in keeping with knowledge from the Oklahoma State Department of Well being. In 2020, before the Texas legislation was handed, about 9% of the abortions performed in Oklahoma were women 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 quantity jumped to 222 Texas ladies in September and 243 in October.