Oklahoma legislators on Thursday passed a bill which bans almost all abortions post-conception. This bill led by the republicans will prohibit all abortions except in cases when it is deemed necessary to save the life of the woman, or in cases of rape and incest.
Critics have called it ‘the most restrictive measure’ in the United States.
Last week, the Democrats tried to pass a bill which would have allowed abortions throughout the gestation period.
The bill is yet to be signed by the state’s Republican governor Kevin Stitt, and he has already said that he wants Oklahoma to be the most ‘pro life’ state in the US.
According to The New York Times, The bill allows private individuals to sue abortion providers and anyone who “aids or abets” an abortion.
The bill, which passed overwhelmingly on Thursday, is modelled on a Texas anti-abortion law that allows anyone to sue abortion providers.
But it bans abortion even earlier than what the Texas law prescribes, that is abortion cannot take place after six weeks of conception, almost around the time when a cardiac activity of the embryo can be detected.
Neal Katyal, department of Justice veteran and former acting Solicitor general during the Obama administration, calls this law a ‘flat ban on abortion coupled with Texas-style vigilante provision’ which allows a third person to receive a bounty if they report any case of abortion.
“There can be nothing higher or more vital than the defending of innocent, unborn life,” Republican State Representative Jim Olsen declared on the Oklahoma House floor on Thursday, after the bill passed by a 73-16.
Exemptions are allowed in cases of rape and incest in Oklahoma, but only if the crime is reported to the police. Contraception and morning-after medications are not prohibited.
Oklahoma has approved two more anti-abortion measures in the last three months, forcing most abortion clinics in the state to close.
According to a recently leaked draft opinion, a majority of conservative justices on the US Supreme Court might reverse the Roe v Wade decision, which legalised abortion over half a century ago.
This judgement would not outlaw abortion nationwide, but it would let state legislatures to decide whether to restrict abortion access or outright prohibit it.
Nearly half of the states in the United States have so-called trigger laws, which would make abortion illegal immediately if Roe v Wade were reversed.
Read More – Abortion rights: What happens to Roe v Wade now?
