Oklahoma Set To Outlaw Abortion After Lawmakers Pass Two Texas-Style Bans In One Day

Topline

Oklahoma is poised to ban nearly all abortions, as the state legislature passed two bills Thursday copying Texas’ controversial law against the procedure, which will likely cut off abortion access to both Oklahoma residents and an influx of Texans that have traveled to the state for the procedure.

Pro-abortion rights demonstrators protest outside of the US Supreme Court in Washington, DC on … [+] November 1, 2021.

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Key Facts

The Oklahoma Senate passed HB 4327 Thursday in a 35-10 vote, after the state House passed it in March.

The bill will ban all abortions except in the case of medical emergencies or rape, incest or sexual assault, but only if those incidents have been reported to law enforcement.

Like Texas’ controversial SB 8 law, the abortion ban can only be enforced through civil lawsuits brought against anyone who “aids or abets” an abortion in the state, rather than state officials, and plaintiffs can sue for at least $10,000 in damages.

The vote came hours after Oklahoma’s SB 1503 passed the state Senate in a 68-12 vote, after previously clearing the House in March.

That bill would ban all abortions after approximately six weeks of pregnancy except in the case of medical emergencies, with the same lawsuit enforcement mechanism as HB 4327.

The state House will now have to approve amendments in HB 4327 before it can be signed by Gov. Kevin Stitt (R), who has previously said he will sign any new abortion restrictions into law, and will take effect immediately once they’re signed.

Big Number

45%. That’s the percentage of Texas residents seeking abortions that went to Oklahoma to get an abortion between September and December 2021, after SB 8 took effect, according to a study from the University of Texas at Austin. Planned Parenthood clinics in Oklahoma report an 800% increase in Texas residents seeking abortions at their facilities, suggesting Oklahoma’s ban will also significantly impact Texans as well.

Crucial Quote

“A state of emergency exists in Oklahoma,” Oklahoma Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat (R), who introduced SB 1503, said about the surge of Texas abortion patients traveling to Oklahoma, calling it “sickening.” “And that’s the reason we’re making every effort to get our laws changed.”

Key Background

SB 1503 and HB 4327 were passed just weeks after the Oklahoma legislature approved legislation in early April that bans all abortions in the state except for medical emergencies, and makes performing the procedure a felony punishable by a 10-year prison sentene and a $100,000 fine. That law will not take effect until August, however, and could be more likely to be struck down in court, as other similar abortion bans typically have. Oklahoma is one of a handful of GOP-led states that have taken up bills copying the Texas abortion ban, as the legislation’s lawsuit provision makes it harder to strike down in court. Texas’ law has so far withstood legal challenges because prohibiting state officials from enforcing the law makes it harder to name defendants who a court can actually block from enforcing the law. That being said, Idaho had its SB 8 copycat law blocked in state court, after becoming the first state to enact its own Texas-style abortion ban in March.

Tangent

The Supreme Court is expected to rule by late June or early July in a case concerning Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban, which could result in the court allowing states to heavily restrict abortion or even ban it entirely, should the court overturn its precedent in Roe v. Wade. The impending ruling, which conservative justices signaled during the hearing in the case is likely to be in Mississippi’s favor, has led to Republican lawmakers passing a slew of abortion restrictions in preparation. In addition to Oklahoma, Kentucky lawmakers also passed a suite of abortion bans that effectively totally banned the procedure—which a court has now blocked—and 15-week bans similar to the Mississippi law have also been enacted in Arizona and Florida.