Oklahoma gets even tougher vs. abortions
Oklahoma’s state house passed a bill Thursday banning abortion from the point of conception.
House Bill 4327 is the third piece of legislation passed this year in Oklahoma targeting abortion. Previously, the state banned abortion after six weeks. Additionally, performing an abortion will become a felony in Oklahoma in August.
The latest bill is modeled on Texas’ controversial law that allows private citizens to sue anyone who helps a woman get an abortion. It will take effect as soon as Gov. Kevin Stitt signs it.
Though Stitt didn’t immediately comment on the bill Thursday, he has promised to sign any anti-abortion bill that crosses his desk. He vowed to make Oklahoma “the most pro-life state in the country.”
House Bill 4327 allows for exceptions if the mother’s life is in danger or if the pregnancy was the result of rape or incest.
The bill could be seen as simple window dressing, as the six-week ban already prevented most abortions in the state because many women don’t realize they’re pregnant after six weeks. When Texas passed its six-week ban, the number of abortions in the Lone Star State plummeted.
Oklahoma had seen a significant increase in women from Texas seeking an abortion in the state. Republican lawmakers in Oklahoma were outraged.
“Is our goal to defend the right to life or isn’t it?” state Rep. Wendi Stearman asked during debate on the new bill. House Bill 4327 passed 73-16, mostly along party lines.
Abortion-rights advocates have promised legal challenges to the Oklahoma bills but will likely face uphill battles. The U.S. Supreme Court has already functionally upheld the Texas law, and earlier this month a draft opinion leaked in which the high court’s conservative majority vowed to entirely dismantle Roe v. Wade.
“It’s the worst-case scenario for abortion care in the state of Oklahoma,” CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Plains Emily Wales said.
While several Republican-led states have introduced anti-abortion legislation in 2022, only Idaho and Oklahoma have explicitly copied Texas’ game-changing law. Idaho’s bill was blocked by the state’s supreme court. Meanwhile, Democratic-led Connecticut developed its own bill designed to counter the Texas law, hoping it could serve as a model for other liberal states.