Possible 10-year sentence for performing procedure.
QUICK FACTS:
- Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) on Tuesday signed into law his state’s near-total ban on abortion, Forbes reports.
- The governor signed SB 612, prohibiting all abortions aside from medical emergencies.
- The ban will make performing abortions a felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $100,000 fine, as soon as it takes effect in August.
- Sitt said he wants Oklahoma to be the “most pro-life state in the country.”
- Although the law could get struck down in court, the state legislature is preparing to pass a second ban that would have more immediate effects.
OKLAHOMA’S BAN COULD BE OVERTURNED IN COURT:
- Total abortion bans like SB 612 could be struck down in court because they violate the Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling.
- The 6-3 conservative court will revisit that precedent in the coming months, according to Forbes.
- Mississippi has asked the court to use its 15-week abortion ban to overturn Roe v. Wade, which means SB 612 would be free to take effect in August.
- While justices signaled during oral arguments in the Mississippi case they’re likely to uphold the law, it’s still unclear whether they’d narrowly allow 15-week bans or let states ban abortion entirely.
BACKGROUND:
- Oklahoma lawmakers are also prepared to soon pass HB 4327, which also bans all abortions except in cases of medical emergencies, and would take effect immediately once Stitt signs it into law, Forbes notes.
- HB 4327 copies Texas’ abortion ban by enforcing the law through lawsuits private citizens file against anyone who “aids or abets” an abortion, rather than by state officials.
