OKLAHOMA CITY aEUR” Oklahoma Gov. On Wednesday, Kevin Stitt signed the nation’s most restrictive abortion ban. This makes Oklahoma the first state to end the availability of the procedure.
The ban was approved by state lawmakers and is enforced through civil lawsuits, rather than criminal prosecution. This is similar to the Texas law passed last year. The law, which takes effect immediately after Stitt’s signing, prohibits all types of abortions. The bill will immediately take effect and abortion providers have indicated that they will cease performing the procedure once the bill is signed.
The first-term Republican stated that he had promised Oklahomans that if elected as governor, he would sign any piece of pro-life legislation that was presented to him. He also said that he is proud to have kept that promise. “From the moment that life begins at conception, we as humans have a responsibility to protect the baby’s life. This is what I believe, and it is what most Oklahomans believe.
Throughout the country, abortion providers have been anticipating the possibility that the U.S. Supreme Court’s new conservative majority may further restrict the practice. This has been especially true in Oklahoma and Texas.
Elizabeth Nash (state policy analyst for Guttmacher Institute), stated that Oklahomans will suffer a devastating impact. It will also have severe ripple consequences, particularly for Texas patients who traveled to Oklahoma large numbers following the Texas six-week ban on abortions in September.
These bills are part of a Republican-led push to reduce abortion rights in states. This follows a leaked draft opinion of the nation’s highest court, which suggests that justices may be considering weakening or overturning Roe v. Wade, the landmark decision that legalized abortion almost 50 years ago.
Oklahoma law only allows for the saving of a woman’s life or the reporting of incest or rape to law enforcement.
The bill allows doctors to perform a “dead unborn baby” or miscarriage or to remove an ectopic child, which is a potentially life-threatening emergency in which a fertilized egg implanted outside of the uterus (often in a fallopian tube) and very early in pregnancy.
This law does not apply to morning-after pills like Plan B, or any other type of contraception.
After the governor signed a six week ban earlier in the month, two of Oklahoma’s four abortion centers have already stopped offering abortions.
It is not clear what will happen to women who are eligible under one of these exceptions, as the state’s remaining two abortion clinics will cease offering services. State Rep. Wendi Stewartman, the law’s author, stated that doctors will have the power to determine which women are eligible and that abortions will be performed at hospitals. However, providers and abortion-rights advocates warn that proving qualification can be difficult and even dangerous.
The Texas-style bill was already signed into law. This measure is also one of three anti-abortion measures sent to Stitt this year.
Oklahoma’s law was inspired by a Texas law of its kind that the U.S. Supreme Court allowed to continue in force. This law allows private citizens to sue anyone who assists a woman to have an abortion, or any provider. Other Republican-led states tried to replicate Texas’ ban. The governor of Idaho signed the first copycat bill in March. However, it was temporarily blocked by the Supreme Court.
The third Oklahoma bill, which will take effect in the summer, would make it a crime to perform an abortion and punishable with up to 10 years imprisonment. This bill does not include any exceptions for incest or rape.
