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 pregnancy

By SEAN MURPHY Related 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 being pregnant, part of a nationwide push in GOP-led states hopeful that the conservative U.S. Supreme Court will uphold new restrictions.

“I want Oklahoma to be the most pro-life state within the nation," 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 high courtroom that it is contemplating weakening or overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion practically 50 years in the past.

The bill Stitt signed takes impact instantly together with his signature, and the Oklahoma Supreme Court docket on Tuesday denied an emergency request to temporarily halt the bill. Abortion providers say now that the brand new law is in effect, they may instantly cease offering providers for women after six weeks of being pregnant.

“While the law is in effect, which it now's because the governor signed it, abortion companies after six weeks will be largely unavailable," stated Rabia Muqaddam, a workers legal professional for the New York-based Heart for Reproductive Rights, which is representing Oklahoma abortion suppliers in the case. “It’s a short-term loss, but we’re hopeful that the Oklahoma Supreme Courtroom will nonetheless grant us relief."

The brand new legislation prohibits abortions as soon as cardiac exercise may be detected in an embryo, which experts say is roughly six weeks into a pregnancy, before many women know they are pregnant. An identical invoice authorized in Texas final yr led to a dramatic reduction within the variety of abortions performed in that state, with many ladies going to Oklahoma and different surrounding states for the process.

Dr. Iman Alsaden, the medical director of Deliberate Parenthood Great Plains, stated Texas' legislation that took impact in September has given their workers an thought of what a post-Roe country would possibly appear to be.

“Since that day, my colleagues and I've recurrently handled sufferers who are fleeing their communities to seek care," Alsaden stated. “They’re taking day off of labor, taking outing of faculty and taking time away from their household tasks to get the care that until September 2021 they have been capable of get safely and readily of their communities."

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

Just like the Texas legislation, the Oklahoma bill would enable private residents to sue abortion providers or anybody who helps a girl get hold of an abortion for up to $10,000. After the U.S. Supreme Court allowed that mechanism to remain in place, other 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 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 effect until this summer time, and legal specialists say it is more likely to be blocked because the Roe v. Wade choice still remains the regulation of the land.

The variety of abortions carried out every year in Oklahoma, which has four abortion clinics, has declined steadily during the last twenty years, from greater than 6,200 in 2002 to three,737 in 2020, the fewest in additional than 20 years, in accordance with data from the Oklahoma State Division of Health. In 2020, earlier than the Texas legislation was handed, 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 carried out in Oklahoma each month, the data shows. That number jumped to 222 Texas women in September and 243 in October.