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, 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 essentially the most pro-life state within the country," Stitt tweeted after signing the invoice.

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

The bill Stitt signed takes impact instantly with his signature, and the Oklahoma Supreme Court on Tuesday denied an emergency request to temporarily halt the invoice. Abortion providers say now that the brand new legislation is in effect, they may instantly cease providing companies for girls after six weeks of pregnancy.

“While the legislation is in effect, which it now is as a result of the governor signed it, abortion services after six weeks will likely be largely unavailable," mentioned Rabia Muqaddam, a staff lawyer for the New York-based Center 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 Court docket will nonetheless grant us aid."

The brand new regulation prohibits abortions as soon as cardiac activity can be detected in an embryo, which experts say is roughly six weeks right into a pregnancy, earlier than many ladies know they're pregnant. A similar invoice approved in Texas final year led to a dramatic discount in the number of abortions carried out in that state, with many women going to Oklahoma and different surrounding states for the procedure.

Dr. Iman Alsaden, the medical director of Planned Parenthood Great Plains, stated Texas' regulation that took effect in September has given their staff an concept of what a post-Roe country might appear like.

“Since that day, my colleagues and I've often handled patients who are fleeing their communities to seek care," Alsaden mentioned. “They’re taking break day of work, taking day out of faculty and taking time away from their household obligations to get the care that till September 2021 they have been in a position to get safely and readily of their communities."

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

Like the Texas law, the Oklahoma bill would allow personal citizens to sue abortion providers or anyone who helps a lady obtain 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 copy 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 yr signed a invoice to make performing an abortion a felony crime in Oklahoma, however that measure will not be set to take effect till this summer time, and authorized specialists say it is more likely to be blocked because the Roe v. Wade resolution still remains the law of the land.

The number of abortions carried out each year in Oklahoma, which has 4 abortion clinics, has declined steadily during the last 20 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, before the Texas law was passed, about 9% of the abortions performed in Oklahoma were women from Texas.

Earlier than the Texas ban took impact on Sept. 1, about 40 ladies from Texas had abortions carried out in Oklahoma each month, the info reveals. That number jumped to 222 Texas ladies in September and 243 in October.