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 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 Courtroom will uphold new restrictions.

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

Stitt's signing of the invoice comes on the heels of a leaked draft opinion from the nation's high court that it is contemplating weakening or overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade resolution that legalized abortion almost 50 years in the past.

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 invoice. Abortion providers say now that the brand new regulation is in effect, they are going to instantly cease providing services for women after six weeks of being pregnant.

“While the legislation is in impact, which it now could be because the governor signed it, abortion services after six weeks will probably be largely unavailable," mentioned Rabia Muqaddam, a employees legal professional for the New York-based Heart for Reproductive Rights, which is representing Oklahoma abortion providers within the case. “It’s a short-term loss, but we’re hopeful that the Oklahoma Supreme Courtroom will nonetheless grant us relief."

The new legislation prohibits abortions as soon as cardiac exercise might be detected in an embryo, which consultants say is roughly six weeks into a pregnancy, before many ladies know they're pregnant. An identical bill permitted in Texas last 12 months 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 Deliberate Parenthood Nice Plains, stated Texas' legislation that took effect in September has given their workers an thought of what a post-Roe nation may seem like.

“Since that day, my colleagues and I've often handled patients who're fleeing their communities to seek care," Alsaden said. “They’re taking time off of labor, taking outing of school and taking time away from their family 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 are no exceptions if the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest.

Just like the Texas law, the Oklahoma invoice would allow private citizens to sue abortion providers or anybody who helps a girl acquire an abortion for up to $10,000. After the U.S. Supreme Court docket allowed that mechanism to remain 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 temporarily blocked by the state’s Supreme Court.

Stitt earlier this yr signed a invoice to make performing an abortion a felony crime in Oklahoma, but that measure shouldn't be set to take effect till this summer time, and legal consultants say it's likely to be blocked because the Roe v. Wade resolution nonetheless stays the law of the land.

The variety 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 accordance with information from the Oklahoma State Department of Well being. In 2020, earlier than the Texas law was handed, about 9% of the abortions carried out in Oklahoma had been women from Texas.

Before the Texas ban took effect on Sept. 1, about 40 girls from Texas had abortions performed in Oklahoma every month, the info shows. That number jumped to 222 Texas women in September and 243 in October.