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 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 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 resolution that legalized abortion practically 50 years ago.

The invoice Stitt signed takes effect instantly along 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 will instantly cease providing providers for ladies after six weeks of pregnancy.

“While the regulation is in effect, which it now is as a result of the governor signed it, abortion providers after six weeks will probably be largely unavailable," stated Rabia Muqaddam, a employees attorney for the New York-based Center 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 Court docket will still grant us aid."

The 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 being pregnant, earlier than many ladies know they are pregnant. An analogous bill accepted in Texas final year led to a dramatic discount within the number of abortions carried out in that state, with many ladies going to Oklahoma and different surrounding states for the procedure.

Dr. Iman Alsaden, the medical director of Planned Parenthood Nice Plains, mentioned Texas' law that took impact in September has given their staff an idea of what a post-Roe nation would possibly appear to be.

“Since that day, my colleagues and I've commonly handled sufferers who're fleeing their communities to hunt care," Alsaden said. “They’re taking break day of labor, taking day trip of school and taking time away from their household duties to get the care that until September 2021 they have been able to get safely and readily of their communities."

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

Like the Texas law, the Oklahoma invoice would permit private 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 remain in place, other Republican-led states sought to copy Texas’ ban. Idaho’s governor signed the first copycat measure in March, although it has been briefly blocked by the state’s Supreme Courtroom.

Stitt earlier this year signed a bill to make performing an abortion a felony crime in Oklahoma, however that measure isn't set to take effect until this summer, and legal consultants say it's prone to be blocked as a result of the Roe v. Wade determination nonetheless remains the legislation of the land.

The number of abortions carried out each year in Oklahoma, which has 4 abortion clinics, has declined steadily over the last two decades, from greater than 6,200 in 2002 to 3,737 in 2020, the fewest in additional than 20 years, in line with data from the Oklahoma State Department of Well being. In 2020, earlier than the Texas law was handed, about 9% of the abortions performed in Oklahoma had been 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 reveals. That quantity jumped to 222 Texas ladies in September and 243 in October.