Republican Rep. Wendi Stearman, who is leading the bill, told CNN after lawmakers passed it, „Our intention is to prevent abortion, not contraception.“ The evidence of the anti-abortion law comes as the conservative U.S. Supreme Court considers curtailing the abortion right that has been in place for nearly 50 years thanks to Ros v. Wade. With little discussion and debate, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives voted 70-14 to send the bill to Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt. Although Stitt`s signature is still missing for the law to take effect, he signaled that he would sign any anti-abortion bill that arrives on his desk. HB 4327 defines „fertilization“ as „the fusion of a human sperm with a human egg.“ And while the measure takes into account that pregnancy begins with fertilization rather than implantation, it also does not restrict the use of forms of contraception that prevent a fertilized egg from implanting in the uterus. According to the bill, abortion „does not include the use, prescription, administration, purchase or sale of Plan B, morning-after pills or any other type of contraception or emergency contraception.“ Access to abortion is already difficult in Oklahoma. Many patients who face barriers to health due to systemic discrimination and racism – particularly people from Black, Latino or Indigenous communities, LGBTQ+ people, low-income people, and people who live in rural areas or are young – are harmed by this prohibition. And while some people have or will find the resources to travel and access an abortion, many won`t be able to do so.
Some people may decide to administer their own abortion without medical assistance; Others may choose to carry their pregnancy to term against their will and face the health risks associated with that lifestyle choice. A poll by the Washington Post and ABC, two US media outlets, shows that 54% of Americans think the Supreme Court should uphold protection against abortion. Two weeks ago, shortly after©Judge Samuel Alito released Roe v. Wade, Governor Stitt signed a ban that began within six weeks of conception and followed Texas` legal model. The previous month, she had signed another, which is expected to come into force at the end of August and completely bans abortion unless there is a risk of death for the mother. Similar anti-abortion laws have been passed in recent years in other conservative states; But they were imprisoned by the courts for their unconstitutionality. The bill, passed by Oklahoma lawmakers in a landslide Thursday — 76 votes in favor and only 16 against — leaves health care workers and anyone who „supports or abbreviated“ the practice of abortion exposed to civil lawsuits by individuals, like the one in Texas, which also©determines the legitimacy of the plea. Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Republican who has promised to make his state the most anti-abortion state in the country, is expected to sign it shortly. Unlike other prohibitions that are progressing in state legislation, the S.B. 612 does not include an application model like Texas S.B. 8.
But if not blocked by the courts, the ban would be just as destructive to the people of Oklahoma and its neighboring states, eliminating access to abortion and forcing thousands of patients to seek treatment elsewhere. In the coming months, more than 900,000 women of reproductive age in Oklahoma and many more people who could become pregnant could face the same dangerous reality as their Texas neighbors without access to reproductive health care in their own communities. Dozens of Texas patients flock to Oklahoma health centers for abortions. Some providers report an increase of about 2500% in the last four months of 2021 in Texas patients compared to the same period in 2020. In turn, patients from Oklahoma began traveling to health centers in Kansas, Colorado, Arkansas or even more distant states. If Oklahoma`s health centers are forced not to perform abortions, the ripple effect of this situation will be felt throughout the region. The Oklahoma House of Representatives passed the measure by a vote of 73 to 16, and now the bill is going to Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt`s office for passage. The president has already promised to sign all laws restricting abortion. CNN has reached out to the governor`s office for comment. These are two of the 14 states with the strictest restrictions in this area, which particularly affects the American Southeast, a nursery of ultraconservative evangelicals in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana or Mississippi. A territory less immigrant and loyal to the Republican Party, which concocted a political strategy with Ronald Reagan in the 80s, around the Supreme Court decision Roe v.
Wade, which in 1973 enshrined the legality of abortion at the federal level. Oklahoma lawmakers have already passed a half-dozen anti-abortion measures this year, and abortion providers across the country have boiled down to the possibility that the new conservative majority in federal court could further restrict the practice. Oklahoma lawmakers passed a bill Thursday banning abortion with a few exceptions, and providers said they would stop conducting the process once the governor signed it, in the latest example of a national Republican Party campaign to restrict access to a constitutional right for nearly half a century. A measure passed in neighboring Texas last year prevents courts from blocking the law, though it remains at odds with the right to abortion established by the Supreme Court in 1973. Many conservative states across the country have imposed restrictions on abortion in recent months as the Supreme Court considers a case that will determine the fate of Roe v. Wade this year. Wade, the decision that legalized abortion in the country in 1973. Oklahoma`s new law provides for „rewards“ of up to $10,000 for those who report an abortion, as well as damages± including one for „emotional abuse.“ The bill exempts women who have abortions from prosecution, a red line that lawmakers dare not cross at this time. It does not apply to abortions necessary to „save ±the life of the child“ or the life of the mother „in a medical© emergency.“ It also©allows abortion if the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest, provided the crime has been reported. The Oklahoma bill, which passed the Senate last year, makes only one exception for a life-saving abortion, said Republican Rep. Jim Olsen, who supported the bill.
Under the bill, a person convicted of performing an abortion would face up to 10 years in prison and a $100,000 fine. „For seven months, our health centers have seen first-hand the impact of the health crisis caused by Texas` SB 8 — the legislation that has emboldened anti-abortion lawmakers across the country. It is unacceptable that, given the incredible efforts Texas residents are making to access basic health care, the governor`s best response is to emphasize the cruelty of SB 8 with laws like SB 612, SB 1503 and HB 4327. The U.S. Supreme Court, now dominated by conservative justices, recently signaled that it was close to overturning Roe v. Wade. Wade, which would eliminate a nearly 50-year-old decision that guarantees abortion rights in the country. This entire web of restrictions is brought to light in a bleak backdrop for abortion across the country, fueled by a recent leak that revealed the intentions of conservative Supreme Court justices, Roe v.