Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Republican, signed a near-total abortion ban into law on Tuesday, making performing the procedure a felony.
The bill, SB 612, bans abortion at all stages, except for cases in which the mother’s life is at risk, and does not make exceptions for cases of rape and incest. Abortion providers who violate the new law are subject to a fine of up to $100,000 and 10 years in prison.
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“We’re going to sign every piece of pro-life legislation that hits our desk,” Stitt said. “We want it clear that we want to choose life in Oklahoma. We don’t want to allow abortions in the state of Oklahoma right now.”
Stitt added that he and state Attorney General John O’Connor “know this bill will be challenged immediately by liberal activists from the coast who always seem to want to come in and dictate a mandate and challenge our way of life here in the state of Oklahoma.”
The bill first passed out of the Senate last year but was shelved temporarily. The House unexpectedly took it up for a vote earlier this month without debate or questions on the floor. It passed the House with a vote of 70 to 14.
“SB 612 is monumental for the unborn in OK. It is the strongest Pro-Life bill in the nation, and I was honored to author it and work with my colleagues in the legislature to get this bill passed,” said GOP state Sen. Nathan Dahm.
Oklahoma already has an anti-abortion law on the books that bans the procedure, except for cases in which the mother’s life is in danger, but violators of that law would face more lenient consequences than those who violate the new one. The old law carries a penalty of up to five years in prison.
Its implementation depends on a case that will come before the Supreme Court in June. It could either uphold or weaken the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide. In the case in question, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the court is expected to decide whether to uphold a 2018 Mississippi law effectively banning abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy.
“We are cautiously optimistic that the United States Supreme Court is going to pare [Roe] back,” Attorney General O’Connor said. “We know that 60-plus million Americans have been denied the right to life because of the Roe v. Wade and the [Planned Parenthood v. Casey] decisions, and it’s about time that we end that tragedy in our nation’s history.”
The question is if pre-viability abortion bans are unconstitutional, but the term “viability” has been a controversial one because it is not a set point during gestation but rather is dependent on the developmental progression of the fetus.
“I represent all 4 million Oklahomans. They overwhelmingly do not support abortions in the state of Oklahoma. So we know it’s going to be challenged from some folks, but we’re so excited about the Supreme Court addressing this issue and giving it back to the states, where it belongs,” Stitt said Tuesday.
The majority-conservative court has signaled its willingness to consider overturning Roe, a prospect that has emboldened red states, such as Idaho and Texas, to pass legislation that undercuts access to abortion. The Texas law has survived several legal challenges to its unique enforcement mechanism that gives private citizens, not the state government, the power to prosecute those who have aided and abetted an abortion, such as the healthcare providers present for the procedure. The Idaho law, which includes a similar enforcement mechanism, is set to go into effect 30 days following the Supreme Court’s ruling.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki condemned the law Tuesday afternoon.
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“Make no mistake: the actions today in Oklahoma are a part of disturbing national trend attacking women’s rights and the Biden Administration will continue to stand with women in Oklahoma and across the country in the fight to defend their freedom to make their own choices about their futures,” Psaki said in a statement.
