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 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 pregnancy, a 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 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 determination that legalized abortion nearly 50 years ago.

The invoice Stitt signed takes impact instantly 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 legislation is in effect, they will immediately cease providing services for women after six weeks of pregnancy.

“Whereas the legislation is in effect, which it now could be because the governor signed it, abortion providers after six weeks will likely be largely unavailable," said Rabia Muqaddam, a workers lawyer for the New York-based Center 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 Courtroom will still grant us reduction."

The brand new regulation prohibits abortions as soon as cardiac activity could be detected in an embryo, which specialists say is roughly six weeks right into a pregnancy, before many ladies know they are pregnant. A similar invoice permitted in Texas final yr led to a dramatic discount within the variety of abortions performed 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, mentioned Texas' legislation that took impact in September has given their staff an idea of what a post-Roe country would possibly look like.

“Since that day, my colleagues and I have usually handled sufferers who're fleeing their communities to hunt care," Alsaden stated. “They’re taking day off of labor, taking outing of college and taking time away from their family tasks to get the care that till September 2021 they were able to 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 being pregnant is the result of rape or incest.

Like the Texas legislation, the Oklahoma bill would permit private residents to sue abortion providers or anybody who helps a woman receive an abortion for as much as $10,000. After the U.S. Supreme Courtroom 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 quickly blocked by the state’s Supreme Court docket.

Stitt earlier this 12 months signed a bill to make performing an abortion a felony crime in Oklahoma, however that measure shouldn't be set to take impact till this summer season, and legal specialists say it's prone to be blocked as a result of the Roe v. Wade resolution nonetheless stays the legislation of the land.

The number of abortions carried out each year in Oklahoma, which has 4 abortion clinics, has declined steadily during the last twenty years, from greater than 6,200 in 2002 to 3,737 in 2020, the fewest in additional than 20 years, in line with information from the Oklahoma State Division of Health. In 2020, earlier than the Texas legislation was passed, about 9% of the abortions performed in Oklahoma were ladies from Texas.

Earlier than the Texas ban took impact on Sept. 1, about 40 girls from Texas had abortions carried out in Oklahoma every month, the information exhibits. That number jumped to 222 Texas women in September and 243 in October.