Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt signed into law today a near-total ban on abortions in the state. With no exceptions for rape or incest, the new law outlaws all abortions, at any stage of development, except in the case of requiring abortion to save the life of the pregnant person.
The law specifically targets medical professionals, making it a felony to perform an abortion or provide abortion medication, with a punishment of up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. It does not authorize criminal charges against the person seeking an abortion—although that’s little comfort, given that we just saw Lizelle Herrera held in a Texas jail for days and getting indicted by a grand jury after allegedly taking abortion-inducing medication, despite there being similar protections there. (Oklahoma also passed a bill last year to prohibit abortion medication from being ordered online but was blocked by the state’s Supreme Court.)
This law is undeniably unconstitutional and seems designed specifically to make its way to a Supreme Court battle. (Every Republican governor seems eager to be the one who can get their state’s ban through the court. It’s a weird race to achieve the cruelest legacy.)
A second, separate abortion ban is also making its way through the Oklahoma legislature right now, and that one comes with a “private enforcement” mechanism modeled after Texas’ horrible S.B. 8, which turned anyone with a grudge or desire for some cash into a vigilante abortion bounty hunter. H.B. 4327 is set up to be “enforced exclusively through the private civil actions”—meaning civil lawsuits can be filed by random people filed against anyone who plays a part in “aiding or abetting” an abortion, from Uber drivers to insurance companies. If that rando wins their case, they’re entitled to $10,000 in compensation per abortion “crime.”
Obviously, these cases are going to be challenged in the legal system. Emily Wales, the interim president of Planned Parenthood Great Plains, said in a statement:
“It’s a very dark day in Oklahoma. We have been in the middle of a crisis for the last seven months — as Texans have been forced to leave their home states for care — and now Oklahomans may have to do the same. It’s unconscionable. But know this: the law signed today is not yet in effect, and abortion remains legal in Oklahoma. We will fight back against these cruel bans in court because people shouldn’t have to cross state lines in secret to access care that should be available in their communities. Planned Parenthood has served Oklahomans for decades and will continue to do just that. While we have a long fight ahead of us, our doors will stay open, and we are here to provide care with dignity.”
(image: Mark Wallheiser/Getty Images)
