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 pregnancy, a 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 probably the most pro-life state within the country," Stitt tweeted after signing the bill.

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

The invoice Stitt signed takes impact instantly together with his signature, and the Oklahoma Supreme Court on Tuesday denied an emergency request to quickly halt the bill. Abortion suppliers say now that the brand new legislation is in impact, they will immediately cease offering services for ladies after six weeks of being pregnant.

“While the legislation is in impact, which it now's because the governor signed it, abortion companies after six weeks will probably be largely unavailable," said Rabia Muqaddam, a workers legal professional 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 still grant us reduction."

The brand new regulation prohibits abortions as soon as cardiac exercise can be detected in an embryo, which consultants say is roughly six weeks right into a being pregnant, earlier than many women know they're pregnant. The same bill approved in Texas last 12 months led to a dramatic reduction in the number of abortions carried out in that state, with many women going to Oklahoma and other surrounding states for the process.

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

“Since that day, my colleagues and I have commonly handled patients who are fleeing their communities to hunt care," Alsaden mentioned. “They’re taking day off of labor, taking time out of college and taking time away from their household duties to get the care that until September 2021 they have been in a position to get safely and readily in their communities."

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

Like the Texas legislation, the Oklahoma bill would permit non-public citizens to sue abortion providers or anybody who helps a girl acquire an abortion for as much as $10,000. After the U.S. Supreme Courtroom allowed that mechanism to stay 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 Court.

Stitt earlier this 12 months signed a bill to make performing an abortion a felony crime in Oklahoma, however that measure isn't set to take effect till this summer time, and legal experts say it's more likely to be blocked as a result of the Roe v. Wade choice still stays the law of the land.

The number of abortions carried out every year in Oklahoma, which has four abortion clinics, has declined steadily over the past 20 years, from greater than 6,200 in 2002 to 3,737 in 2020, the fewest in more than 20 years, in accordance with knowledge from the Oklahoma State Division of Health. In 2020, before the Texas regulation was passed, about 9% of the abortions performed in Oklahoma have been ladies from Texas.

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