Oklahoma Passes Third Abortion Ban—Will Outlaw Procedure Even If Roe V. Wade Isn’t Overturned

Topline

The Oklahoma legislature passed its third major abortion ban in a little over a month Thursday, as House lawmakers gave final approval to a bill banning abortion starting at conception that’s modeled after Texas’ ban on the procedure and can take effect even if the Supreme Court hasn’t overturned Roe v. Wade.

Abortion rights supporters march on May 14 in New York City.

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Key Facts

House lawmakers passed HB 4327 in a 73-16 vote, after the Senate passed the bill in April and sent it back to the House to approve new amendments (the chamber first voted for the bill in March).

The bill bans all abortions starting at the moment of fertilization, except in cases of medical emergencies, rape, incest and sexual assault, but only if those incidents have been reported to law enforcement.

Like Texas’ six-week abortion ban and a similar six-week ban that’s already taken effect in Oklahoma, HB 4327 is enforced through private citizens bringing lawsuits against anyone who “aids or abets” an abortion for at least $10,000 in damages.

That lawsuit provision was designed to make it harder to strike down the ban in court—Texas and Oklahoma’s six-week bans are still in effect—meaning HB 4327 can likely ban all abortions even with the Supreme Court’s ruling in Roe v. Wade still intact.

Though other bills that ban abortion starting at fertilization have raised concerns for possibly applying to common birth control methods, HB 4327 specifies that it doesn’t apply to contraception like Plan B—but critics say it could be interpreted to restrict in vitro fertilization.

The bill will now go to Gov. Kevin Stitt (R), who opposes abortion rights and is expected to sign it into law.

Chief Critic

“Based on Oklahoma politicians’ commitment to steamrolling the rights of the people they serve, there is little concern in the Capitol for constitutional protections,” Emily Wales, interim president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Plains Votes, said in March after HB 4327 passed the House for the first time. “[HB 4327] is intended to shame, stigmatize, and create fear among vulnerable Oklahomans.”

What To Watch For

The Center for Reproductive Rights said on Twitter Thursday it intends to challenge the legislation in court.

Tangent

The ACLU of Oklahoma has also opposed HB 4327 for “attack[ing] our transgender and nonbinary communities,” as the bill defines the term “woman” as based on biological sex and having two X chromosomes and a uterus, “regardless of any gender identity that the person attempts to assert or claim.”

Key Background

HB 4327 is the third major abortion ban that Oklahoma lawmakers have passed since the start of April, after the legislature passed another total abortion ban in early April that makes performing the procedure a felony, and then the six-week ban modeled after Texas’ law. The other full abortion ban won’t take effect until the summer, however, and unless Roe is overturned—as a leaked draft opinion from the Supreme Court suggests it soon may be—it is likely easier to strike down in court. Oklahoma is one of a number of GOP-led states that have enacted abortion bans in recent months, but lawmakers have become particularly motivated to outlaw the procedure in the state in light of Texas’ ban, which sent a flood of Texans seeking abortions to Oklahoma given the state’s proximity. Approximately 48% of Texas patients seeking abortions went to Oklahoma to have the procedure between September and December 2021, after the Texas ban took effect, according to a study from the University of Texas at Austin.