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 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 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 would like Oklahoma to be probably the most pro-life state in 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 docket that it's considering weakening or overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nearly 50 years in the past.

The invoice Stitt signed takes effect instantly together with his signature, and the Oklahoma Supreme Court on Tuesday denied an emergency request to briefly halt the invoice. Abortion suppliers say now that the brand new law is in impact, they are going to instantly cease providing providers for ladies after six weeks of pregnancy.

“While the legislation is in effect, which it now's because the governor signed it, abortion services after six weeks can be largely unavailable," stated Rabia Muqaddam, a staff legal professional for the New York-based Middle 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 Court will nonetheless grant us relief."

The brand new law prohibits abortions once cardiac activity will be detected in an embryo, which specialists say is roughly six weeks into a pregnancy, earlier than many women know they are pregnant. The same invoice authorised in Texas final yr led to a dramatic discount in 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' legislation that took impact in September has given their workers an concept of what a post-Roe country might appear like.

“Since that day, my colleagues and I have often treated sufferers who are fleeing their communities to seek care," Alsaden said. “They’re taking time off of work, taking day out of college and taking time away from their household tasks to get the care that until September 2021 they had been capable of get safely and readily of their communities."

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

Just like the Texas legislation, the Oklahoma invoice would permit personal residents to sue abortion suppliers or anybody who helps a girl obtain 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 repeat Texas’ ban. Idaho’s governor signed the primary copycat measure in March, though it has been temporarily blocked by the state’s Supreme Courtroom.

Stitt earlier this year signed a invoice to make performing an abortion a felony crime in Oklahoma, however that measure is not set to take effect until this summer season, and authorized specialists say it's prone to be blocked because the Roe v. Wade resolution still remains the legislation of the land.

The variety of abortions performed every 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, in accordance with information from the Oklahoma State Division of Well being. In 2020, earlier than the Texas regulation was handed, about 9% of the abortions carried out in Oklahoma were girls from Texas.

Earlier than the Texas ban took effect on Sept. 1, about 40 girls from Texas had abortions performed in Oklahoma each month, the information shows. That quantity jumped to 222 Texas women in September and 243 in October.