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 Related Press

3 May 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 want Oklahoma to be probably the most pro-life state in the nation," 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 high court that it's considering weakening or overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade determination that legalized abortion almost 50 years ago.

The invoice Stitt signed takes impact immediately with his signature, and the Oklahoma Supreme Court on Tuesday denied an emergency request to quickly halt the bill. Abortion providers say now that the brand new regulation is in effect, they will instantly stop providing providers for women after six weeks of being pregnant.

“While the legislation is in impact, which it now is as a result of the governor signed it, abortion companies after six weeks will probably be largely unavailable," mentioned Rabia Muqaddam, a staff legal professional for the New York-based Heart 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 docket will nonetheless grant us aid."

The new regulation prohibits abortions once cardiac activity will be detected in an embryo, which specialists say is roughly six weeks right into a pregnancy, before many women know they're pregnant. A similar bill approved in Texas last year led to a dramatic reduction within the number of abortions performed in that state, with many ladies going to Oklahoma and different surrounding states for the procedure.

Dr. Iman Alsaden, the medical director of Deliberate Parenthood Great Plains, said Texas' regulation that took effect in September has given their staff an idea of what a post-Roe nation may appear to be.

“Since that day, my colleagues and I have commonly handled patients who are fleeing their communities to seek care," Alsaden stated. “They’re taking time off of work, taking outing of faculty and taking time away from their household responsibilities to get the care that till September 2021 they were capable of get safely and readily in their communities."

The invoice authorizes abortions if carried out as the result of a medical emergency, however there aren't any exceptions if the being pregnant is the result of rape or incest.

Just like the Texas regulation, the Oklahoma invoice would enable personal residents to sue abortion providers or anyone 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 copy Texas’ ban. Idaho’s governor signed the first copycat measure in March, though it has been quickly blocked by the state’s Supreme Court.

Stitt earlier this 12 months signed a bill to make performing an abortion a felony crime in Oklahoma, however that measure is just not set to take impact until this summer time, and authorized experts say it's likely to be blocked as a result of the Roe v. Wade determination still remains the law of the land.

The variety of abortions performed annually in Oklahoma, which has 4 abortion clinics, has declined steadily during the last two decades, from more than 6,200 in 2002 to 3,737 in 2020, the fewest in more than 20 years, in keeping with information from the Oklahoma State Department of Health. In 2020, earlier than the Texas regulation was handed, about 9% of the abortions performed in Oklahoma have been women from Texas.

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