Oklahoma governor signs into law strictest abortion ban in the U.S. – Reuters.com

Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt signed into law a strict abortion ban that makes exceptions only in cases of medical emergency, rape or incest.

“I promised Oklahomans that as governor I would sign every piece of pro-life legislation that came across my desk and I am proud to keep that promise today,” Stitt said in a statement.

Oklahoma is among the Republican-led states rushing to pass anti-abortion laws, anticipating that the Supreme Court will soon overturn Roe v. Wade. The Center for Reproductive Rights said it would challenge the law in court.

“Oklahoma is now the only state in the United States to successfully outlaw abortion while Roe v. Wade still stands,” the center said in a statement.

Oklahoma’s four abortion clinics have already stopped providing abortion services in anticipation of the ban, and women in Oklahoma are now forced to travel to Kansas, New Mexico and Colorado for legal abortions.

Already this month, Oklahoma enacted another bill that banned abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, as opposed to fertilization. Both bills rely on civil lawsuits by private citizens for enforcement.

The enforcement provision in both bills was modeled after Texas legislation that took effect in September and stopped clinics from performing nearly all abortions in that state.

A draft Supreme Court opinion leaked on May 2, 2022 showed the court intends to overhaul federal abortion rights and send the issue of legalization back to individual states. State’s rights have been at the core of he abortion issue for many decades and it was not until the Roe v Wade decision that issue became truly federalized.

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