World War 3

Oklahoma House passes near-total abortion ban with threat of prison for providers

2022.04.06 00:01

Oklahoma House passes near-total abortion ban with threat of prison for providers
FILE PHOTO: A doctor does an ultrasound on a patient from Austin, Texas, before her surgical abortion at Trust Women clinic in Oklahoma City, U.S., December 6, 2021. Picture taken December 6, 2021. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein

By Gabriella Borter

(Reuters) – Oklahoma lawmakers on Tuesday passed a bill that would make it illegal to perform an abortion in the state except in medical emergencies, penalizing those who do with up to $100,000 in fines and 10 years in prison.

The Republican-controlled state House of Representatives brought the bill to a vote this week, after it was passed last year by the Midwestern state’s Senate. It now heads to the desk of Republican Governor Kevin Stitt for signing.

Stitt has signaled his support for anti-abortion legislation. If he signs the measure, it would take effect this summer unless blocked by courts.

An abortion ban in Oklahoma would widen a swath of the country where there is little to no legal abortion access. The state has become a destination for Texas women seeking abortions since Texas in September banned abortions for pregnancies of six weeks or less.

“These harmful bills are an alarming reminder that the days of access to safe and legal abortion may be numbered, and we must continue to fight to guarantee all people have access to the essential health care they need, including abortion,” Tamya Cox-Toure, director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma, said in a statement.

The measure passed by the Oklahoma House on Tuesday is one of several anti-abortion bills making its way through the state’s legislature.

Separate legislation introduced this year proposes banning almost all abortions and relying on private citizens to sue any person who “aids or abets” abortions, similar to Texas’ six-week abortion ban. That bill contains an emergency clause, which would allow it to take effect immediately once it is passed and signed by the governor.

The measure approved on Tuesday states, “a person shall not purposely perform or attempt to perform an abortion except to save the life of a pregnant woman in a medical emergency.”

Republican-governed states like Oklahoma have passed a series of restrictive abortion measures in recent years.

The U.S. Supreme Court is due to rule by the end of June in a case involving a Republican-backed Mississippi law that gives its conservative majority a chance to undermine or even repeal the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion nationwide. During arguments in the case, the conservative justices signaled a willingness to dramatically curtail abortion rights in America.

Source

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Back to top button
bitcoin
Bitcoin (BTC) $ 98,892.50 0.45%
ethereum
Ethereum (ETH) $ 3,473.02 0.56%
tether
Tether (USDT) $ 0.999597 0.28%
xrp
XRP (XRP) $ 2.29 1.41%
bnb
BNB (BNB) $ 701.35 1.08%
solana
Solana (SOL) $ 198.78 1.54%
dogecoin
Dogecoin (DOGE) $ 0.331519 0.86%
usd-coin
USDC (USDC) $ 1.00 0.20%
staked-ether
Lido Staked Ether (STETH) $ 3,469.54 0.50%
cardano
Cardano (ADA) $ 0.913443 2.40%
tron
TRON (TRX) $ 0.257419 0.02%
avalanche-2
Avalanche (AVAX) $ 40.38 1.91%
chainlink
Chainlink (LINK) $ 24.55 0.81%
the-open-network
Toncoin (TON) $ 5.99 3.77%
wrapped-steth
Wrapped stETH (WSTETH) $ 4,123.18 0.50%
shiba-inu
Shiba Inu (SHIB) $ 0.000023 0.70%
sui
Sui (SUI) $ 4.53 2.28%
wrapped-bitcoin
Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) $ 98,591.42 0.42%
hedera-hashgraph
Hedera (HBAR) $ 0.31719 0.02%
stellar
Stellar (XLM) $ 0.384392 5.15%
polkadot
Polkadot (DOT) $ 7.47 0.68%
weth
WETH (WETH) $ 3,474.20 0.60%
hyperliquid
Hyperliquid (HYPE) $ 28.28 7.60%
bitcoin-cash
Bitcoin Cash (BCH) $ 461.61 2.64%
leo-token
LEO Token (LEO) $ 9.52 0.63%
uniswap
Uniswap (UNI) $ 13.85 4.58%
litecoin
Litecoin (LTC) $ 108.72 0.44%
bitget-token
Bitget Token (BGB) $ 5.68 15.49%
pepe
Pepe (PEPE) $ 0.000018 3.87%
wrapped-eeth
Wrapped eETH (WEETH) $ 3,669.78 0.75%
near
NEAR Protocol (NEAR) $ 5.45 1.98%
ethena-usde
Ethena USDe (USDE) $ 0.999837 0.17%
aave
Aave (AAVE) $ 370.26 1.33%
usds
USDS (USDS) $ 1.00 0.28%
internet-computer
Internet Computer (ICP) $ 11.22 0.52%
aptos
Aptos (APT) $ 9.61 1.35%
polygon-ecosystem-token
POL (ex-MATIC) (POL) $ 0.514868 2.39%
crypto-com-chain
Cronos (CRO) $ 0.157713 5.19%
vechain
VeChain (VET) $ 0.051994 1.78%
mantle
Mantle (MNT) $ 1.24 0.44%
ethereum-classic
Ethereum Classic (ETC) $ 27.30 2.96%
render-token
Render (RENDER) $ 7.54 4.05%
bittensor
Bittensor (TAO) $ 503.04 1.19%
whitebit
WhiteBIT Coin (WBT) $ 24.99 0.65%
monero
Monero (XMR) $ 194.30 0.96%
mantra-dao
MANTRA (OM) $ 3.76 0.55%
fetch-ai
Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (FET) $ 1.35 3.38%
dai
Dai (DAI) $ 1.00 0.07%
arbitrum
Arbitrum (ARB) $ 0.799613 2.55%
filecoin
Filecoin (FIL) $ 5.30 2.97%