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 pregnancy

By SEAN MURPHY Associated Press

3 May 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 Court docket will uphold new restrictions.

“I want Oklahoma to be essentially the most pro-life state within the country," Stitt tweeted after signing the bill.

Stitt's signing of the bill comes on the heels of a leaked draft opinion from the nation's excessive court docket that it is contemplating weakening or overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion almost 50 years ago.

The bill Stitt signed takes effect immediately 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 brand new legislation is in effect, they'll immediately stop providing providers for girls after six weeks of being pregnant.

“Whereas the law is in effect, which it now could be because the governor signed it, abortion services after six weeks will likely be largely unavailable," stated Rabia Muqaddam, a staff attorney for the New York-based Heart for Reproductive Rights, which is representing Oklahoma abortion suppliers in the case. “It’s a short-term loss, however we’re hopeful that the Oklahoma Supreme Court docket will nonetheless grant us reduction."

The brand new legislation prohibits abortions as soon as cardiac exercise might be detected in an embryo, which consultants say is roughly six weeks into a being pregnant, earlier than many women know they are pregnant. The same invoice authorized in Texas last yr led to a dramatic discount within the variety of abortions carried out in that state, with many ladies going to Oklahoma and other surrounding states for the process.

Dr. Iman Alsaden, the medical director of Planned Parenthood Great Plains, stated Texas' legislation that took effect in September has given their workers an idea of what a post-Roe country may appear to be.

“Since that day, my colleagues and I've repeatedly handled sufferers who are fleeing their communities to seek care," Alsaden stated. “They’re taking time without work of work, taking outing of faculty and taking time away from their household responsibilities to get the care that until September 2021 they had been in a position to get safely and readily of their communities."

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

Like the Texas regulation, the Oklahoma bill would enable private residents to sue abortion suppliers or anybody who helps a woman receive an abortion for up to $10,000. After the U.S. Supreme Courtroom allowed that mechanism to remain in place, other Republican-led states sought to repeat Texas’ ban. Idaho’s governor signed the first copycat measure in March, though it has been quickly blocked by the state’s Supreme Courtroom.

Stitt earlier this 12 months 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 season, and legal experts say it's likely to be blocked because the Roe v. Wade choice still remains the legislation of the land.

The variety of abortions carried out each year in Oklahoma, which has four abortion clinics, has declined steadily over the last 20 years, from greater than 6,200 in 2002 to 3,737 in 2020, the fewest in additional than 20 years, in response to data from the Oklahoma State Department of Health. In 2020, earlier than the Texas legislation was passed, about 9% of the abortions performed in Oklahoma were women from Texas.

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