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 Associated Press

3 Might 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, 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 probably the most pro-life state in the country," Stitt tweeted after signing the bill.

Stitt's signing of the invoice comes on the heels of a leaked draft opinion from the nation's high court docket that it's considering weakening or overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade resolution that legalized abortion nearly 50 years ago.

The bill Stitt signed takes effect immediately together with his signature, and the Oklahoma Supreme Court docket on Tuesday denied an emergency request to quickly halt the invoice. Abortion providers say now that the new regulation is in impact, they'll instantly stop offering services for women after six weeks of pregnancy.

“While the regulation is in effect, which it now could be as a result of the governor signed it, abortion services after six weeks will likely be largely unavailable," said Rabia Muqaddam, a staff 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 will nonetheless grant us aid."

The new regulation prohibits abortions once cardiac exercise might be detected in an embryo, which specialists say is roughly six weeks into a pregnancy, before many ladies know they are pregnant. A similar bill accepted in Texas final 12 months 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 Deliberate Parenthood Great Plains, mentioned Texas' regulation that took effect in September has given their employees an concept of what a post-Roe country may appear to be.

“Since that day, my colleagues and I have regularly handled sufferers who are fleeing their communities to hunt care," Alsaden stated. “They’re taking time off of work, taking time out of faculty and taking time away from their household tasks to get the care that until September 2021 they were in a position to get safely and readily in their communities."

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

Just like the Texas law, the Oklahoma invoice would permit private residents to sue abortion providers or anyone who helps a girl receive 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 temporarily 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 is just not set to take impact until this summer season, and authorized specialists say it's likely to be blocked as a result of the Roe v. Wade determination still stays the legislation of the land.

The variety of abortions carried out each year in Oklahoma, which has 4 abortion clinics, has declined steadily over the last 20 years, from greater than 6,200 in 2002 to three,737 in 2020, the fewest in additional than 20 years, according to knowledge from the Oklahoma State Department of Well being. In 2020, earlier than the Texas regulation was passed, about 9% of the abortions performed in Oklahoma have been girls from Texas.

Before the Texas ban took impact on Sept. 1, about 40 girls from Texas had abortions performed in Oklahoma each month, the data exhibits. That number jumped to 222 Texas girls in September and 243 in October.