Topline
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) signed a bill Tuesday that bans virtually all abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, threatening to sharply curtail abortion access for both Oklahomans and Texans who have traveled to Oklahoma since their state passed a similar ban last year—a move that comes as the Supreme Court appears poised to overturn abortion rights nationwide.
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) speaks during a roundtable at the State Dining Room of the White House … [+]
Key Facts
Stitt announced that he signed the law—known as the Oklahoma Heartbeat Act, or SB1503—in a Tuesday afternoon tweet, after the state House passed it on Thursday and the state Senate passed it in March.
The law prohibits abortions if a physician can detect “cardiac activity,” which typically takes place after around six weeks of pregnancy, with exceptions for medical emergencies but not for pregnancies following rape or incest.
This ban is enforced by allowing private citizens to file civil lawsuits against anybody who “aids or abets” an abortion, not including women who receive the procedure—an unusual enforcement structure almost identical to Texas’ six-week abortion ban, which courts have so far repeatedly declined to overturn.
Last month, Stitt also signed into law a near-total abortion ban that would make performing an abortion a felony, but that law doesn’t take effect until August.
What To Watch For
A group of Oklahoma abortion providers filed a challenge against SB1503 in state court last week, seeking to stop the law from going into effect. One of those providers—Planned Parenthood Great Plains—called the law a “bounty-hunting scheme.”
Surprising Fact
If SB1503 holds up in court, its repercussions will likely extend beyond Oklahoma. In the four months following the September 1 start of Texas’ six-week abortion ban, more than 50% all abortion patients who visited Planned Parenthood’s Oklahoma clinics hailed from Texas, up from 10% over the same period in 2020, the organization said earlier this year.
Tangent
Oklahoma is now the third state to pass a six-week abortion ban enforced through civil lawsuits, following Texas and Idaho, though Idaho’s Supreme Court halted the law last month.
Key Background
Stitt signed Oklahoma’s new abortion bill less than 24 hours after a leaked Supreme Court draft opinion indicated the high court plans to strike down Roe v. Wade, the 49-year-old decision that guarantees abortion rights in all 50 states. The draft was published by Politico, and its authenticity was confirmed Tuesday by Chief Justice John Roberts, who said it doesn’t necessarily reflect the court’s final decision. The Supreme Court—which has a 6-3 conservative majority—has appeared more open to letting states restrict abortion access in recent months. The court allowed Texas’ abortion law to remain in effect while legal challenges work their way through the court system, partly because the Texas law—like the Oklahoma law—isn’t enforced by government officials, making it difficult to find a defendant to sue.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/joewalsh/2022/05/03/oklahoma-enacts-texas-style-6-week-abortion-ban/