Reproductive rights advocates protest outside of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. on November 1, 2021. (Photo: Yasin Ozturk/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Reproductive Rights Advocates Brace for Oklahoma's Near-Total Abortion Ban
Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt is expected to sign a bill that would punish abortion providers with 10 years in prison or a $100,000 fine.
Reproductive rights advocates on Tuesday braced for Kevin Stitt, Oklahoma's Republican governor, to sign what's been described as a "worse than Texas" abortion ban that would make performing the medical procedure at any stage of pregnancy a felony punishable by up to a decade in prison.
"These extremist politicians are willing to turn their own constituents into medical refugees."
The New York Times reports the GOP-controlled Oklahoma House of Representatives voted 70-14 to approve Senate Bill 612, which would imprison healthcare providers who perform abortions at any time "except to save the life of a pregnant woman in a medical emergency" for 10 years or fine them $100,000. The measure, which was passed by the state Senate last year, heads to the desk of Stitt, who has pledged to sign "every piece of pro-life legislation" he receives.
"If allowed to take effect, S.B. 612 would be devastating for both Oklahomans and Texans who continue to seek care in Oklahoma," reproductive rights groups including the ACLU of Oklahoma and Oklahoma Call for Reproductive Justice said in a statement.
"Nearly half of the patients Oklahoma providers are currently seeing are medical refugees from Texas," the groups added. "Now, Oklahomans could face a future where they would have no place left in their state to go to seek this basic healthcare."
S.B. 612 has been compared to S.B. 8, the Texas law banning abortion after around six weeks of pregnancy and incentivizing private citizens with a $10,000 reward plus legal fees for successfully suing abortion providers or anyone who "aids or abets" the procedure. The law allows no exceptions in cases of rape or incest.
However, critics say the Oklahoma bill is even more severe than the Texas ban.
"We are actually going to be worse than Texas because this bill would prohibit abortion access as soon, at conception, whereas Texas allows for a six-week abortion ban," Tamya Cox-Toure, executive director of the ACLU of Oklahoma, told KTUL.
Cox-Toure said that "Oklahoma providers were seeing an increase of almost 2,500%" in people seeking abortions "because of Texas patients coming to Oklahoma for care."
Myfy Jensen-Fellows of the Trust Women Foundation told KTUL that S.B. 612 "will make it difficult not only for people in Oklahoma, not only people in Kansas and Texas, but the entire region."
S.B. 612 is one of numerous state-level attacks on reproductive rights, and comes as the constitutional right to abortion established nearly half a century ago in Roe v. Wade is imperiled by the United States Supreme Court's right-wing supermajority.
State-level abortion bans like S.B. 12 have spurred calls for the U.S. Senate to pass the House-approved Women's Health Protection Act, which would codify the right to abortion nationwide.
Responding to the Oklahoma bill, Planned Parenthood Action tweeted, "These extremist politicians are willing to turn their own constituents into medical refugees."
"Abortion is healthcare," the group added. "And we'll keep fighting for your care, no matter what."
Urgent. It's never been this bad.
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission from the outset was simple. To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It’s never been this bad out there. And it’s never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed and doing some of its best and most important work, the threats we face are intensifying. Right now, with just four days to go in our Spring Campaign, we are not even halfway to our goal. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Can you make a gift right now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? There is no backup plan or rainy day fund. There is only you. —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Reproductive rights advocates on Tuesday braced for Kevin Stitt, Oklahoma's Republican governor, to sign what's been described as a "worse than Texas" abortion ban that would make performing the medical procedure at any stage of pregnancy a felony punishable by up to a decade in prison.
"These extremist politicians are willing to turn their own constituents into medical refugees."
The New York Times reports the GOP-controlled Oklahoma House of Representatives voted 70-14 to approve Senate Bill 612, which would imprison healthcare providers who perform abortions at any time "except to save the life of a pregnant woman in a medical emergency" for 10 years or fine them $100,000. The measure, which was passed by the state Senate last year, heads to the desk of Stitt, who has pledged to sign "every piece of pro-life legislation" he receives.
"If allowed to take effect, S.B. 612 would be devastating for both Oklahomans and Texans who continue to seek care in Oklahoma," reproductive rights groups including the ACLU of Oklahoma and Oklahoma Call for Reproductive Justice said in a statement.
"Nearly half of the patients Oklahoma providers are currently seeing are medical refugees from Texas," the groups added. "Now, Oklahomans could face a future where they would have no place left in their state to go to seek this basic healthcare."
S.B. 612 has been compared to S.B. 8, the Texas law banning abortion after around six weeks of pregnancy and incentivizing private citizens with a $10,000 reward plus legal fees for successfully suing abortion providers or anyone who "aids or abets" the procedure. The law allows no exceptions in cases of rape or incest.
However, critics say the Oklahoma bill is even more severe than the Texas ban.
"We are actually going to be worse than Texas because this bill would prohibit abortion access as soon, at conception, whereas Texas allows for a six-week abortion ban," Tamya Cox-Toure, executive director of the ACLU of Oklahoma, told KTUL.
Cox-Toure said that "Oklahoma providers were seeing an increase of almost 2,500%" in people seeking abortions "because of Texas patients coming to Oklahoma for care."
Myfy Jensen-Fellows of the Trust Women Foundation told KTUL that S.B. 612 "will make it difficult not only for people in Oklahoma, not only people in Kansas and Texas, but the entire region."
S.B. 612 is one of numerous state-level attacks on reproductive rights, and comes as the constitutional right to abortion established nearly half a century ago in Roe v. Wade is imperiled by the United States Supreme Court's right-wing supermajority.
State-level abortion bans like S.B. 12 have spurred calls for the U.S. Senate to pass the House-approved Women's Health Protection Act, which would codify the right to abortion nationwide.
Responding to the Oklahoma bill, Planned Parenthood Action tweeted, "These extremist politicians are willing to turn their own constituents into medical refugees."
"Abortion is healthcare," the group added. "And we'll keep fighting for your care, no matter what."
Reproductive rights advocates on Tuesday braced for Kevin Stitt, Oklahoma's Republican governor, to sign what's been described as a "worse than Texas" abortion ban that would make performing the medical procedure at any stage of pregnancy a felony punishable by up to a decade in prison.
"These extremist politicians are willing to turn their own constituents into medical refugees."
The New York Times reports the GOP-controlled Oklahoma House of Representatives voted 70-14 to approve Senate Bill 612, which would imprison healthcare providers who perform abortions at any time "except to save the life of a pregnant woman in a medical emergency" for 10 years or fine them $100,000. The measure, which was passed by the state Senate last year, heads to the desk of Stitt, who has pledged to sign "every piece of pro-life legislation" he receives.
"If allowed to take effect, S.B. 612 would be devastating for both Oklahomans and Texans who continue to seek care in Oklahoma," reproductive rights groups including the ACLU of Oklahoma and Oklahoma Call for Reproductive Justice said in a statement.
"Nearly half of the patients Oklahoma providers are currently seeing are medical refugees from Texas," the groups added. "Now, Oklahomans could face a future where they would have no place left in their state to go to seek this basic healthcare."
S.B. 612 has been compared to S.B. 8, the Texas law banning abortion after around six weeks of pregnancy and incentivizing private citizens with a $10,000 reward plus legal fees for successfully suing abortion providers or anyone who "aids or abets" the procedure. The law allows no exceptions in cases of rape or incest.
However, critics say the Oklahoma bill is even more severe than the Texas ban.
"We are actually going to be worse than Texas because this bill would prohibit abortion access as soon, at conception, whereas Texas allows for a six-week abortion ban," Tamya Cox-Toure, executive director of the ACLU of Oklahoma, told KTUL.
Cox-Toure said that "Oklahoma providers were seeing an increase of almost 2,500%" in people seeking abortions "because of Texas patients coming to Oklahoma for care."
Myfy Jensen-Fellows of the Trust Women Foundation told KTUL that S.B. 612 "will make it difficult not only for people in Oklahoma, not only people in Kansas and Texas, but the entire region."
S.B. 612 is one of numerous state-level attacks on reproductive rights, and comes as the constitutional right to abortion established nearly half a century ago in Roe v. Wade is imperiled by the United States Supreme Court's right-wing supermajority.
State-level abortion bans like S.B. 12 have spurred calls for the U.S. Senate to pass the House-approved Women's Health Protection Act, which would codify the right to abortion nationwide.
Responding to the Oklahoma bill, Planned Parenthood Action tweeted, "These extremist politicians are willing to turn their own constituents into medical refugees."
"Abortion is healthcare," the group added. "And we'll keep fighting for your care, no matter what."