Oklahoma legislature approves Republican bill banning abortions (x-posted from LBN)

[BumRushDaShow]

Oklahoma legislature approves Republican bill banning abortions


By Caroline Kitchener
Today at 11:20 a.m. EDT | Updated today at 4:59 p.m. EDT



A billboard advertising adoption services at a bus stop in Oklahoma City. (Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters)


The Oklahoma Senate on Thursday approved a Republican bill that would outlaw abortion, putting the state on track to be the first in the nation to enact a total abortion ban once the GOP governor signs the measure into law. Coming ahead of a highly anticipated Supreme Court decision on abortion expected this summer, the Oklahoma measure shows that states are not waiting for the high court to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade decision enshrining abortion rights before acting to ban the procedure within their own borders.

Oklahoma’s bill is modeled after the restrictive Texas law enacted last fall, which has evaded court intervention with a novel legal strategy that empowers private citizens to enforce the law. But the Oklahoma bill goes even further than Texas, where abortion is allowed within up to six weeks of pregnancy. The new measure makes exceptions for rape and incest — as long as they are reported to law enforcement — and medical emergencies. The bill cleared the Oklahoma House in March and now goes to Gov. Kevin Stitt (R), who is expected to sign it.

The Senate vote was 35-10. During the debate, state Rep. Warren Hamilton (R) questioned why the bill should include an exception for ectopic pregnancies, a life-threatening condition in which the fetus grows outside the uterus. “I wonder how we square that with the idea of justice for all,” said Hamilton, who also opposed the measure’s exceptions for rape and incest.

Democratic state Rep. Mary Boren argued that “the only kind of abortion this bill attempts to reduce is legal abortion in Oklahoma,” emphasizing that the legislation would force women to travel to abortion clinics out of state or perform their own abortions. “That’s why this isn’t a pro-life bill. Jeopardizing women’s health is not pro-life.” The measure would immediately cut off abortion access in a state that has absorbed nearly half of all Texas patients who have been forced to leave their state for abortions.

More: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/04/28/abortion-oklahoma-republicans/