Oklahoma City – Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signed a bill Tuesday it makes it a crime to have an abortionpunished with up to 10 years in prison, with exceptions only for abortions performed to save the life of the mother.
The bill, which will go into effect 90 days after the state legislature is adjourned next month, is part of an aggressive push for Republican-led states across the country to reduce abortion rights. Advocates for abortion rights say the bill signed by the GOP governor is likely to face a legal challenge.
His step comes as the conservative U.S. Supreme Court considers recovering abortion rights which have been in force for almost 50 years.
Under the bill, anyone convicted of abortion will face up to 10 years in prison and a $ 100,000 fine. He does not authorize criminal charges against a woman for having an abortion.
State Sen. Nathan Dahm, the Republican author of the bill now before Congress, called it “the strongest pro-life legislation in the country right now, effectively eliminating abortion in Oklahoma.”
Advocates for the right to abortion say the bill is clearly unconstitutional.
“It has never been more obvious that politicians are using tricks and games to pass these harmful laws,” said Dr. Ghazaleh Moayedi, an obstetrician and gynecologist from Texas and Oklahoma and a member of the board of Physicians for Reproductive Health. “Oklahoma lawmakers are trying to ban abortion on all sides and are only looking at which of these dangerous and embarrassing bills can get their governor to sign.”
Similar bills against abortion rights passed by the Oklahoma Legislature and other conservative states in recent years have been stopped by the courts as unconstitutional, but advocates have been driven by the Supreme Court decision. to allow new restrictions on Texas abortion to stay in place.
Texas’ new law, the most restrictive law on abortion rights in the United States in decades, leaves the application to private citizens, who have the right to charge what critics call a $ 10,000 “reward.” if they file a successful lawsuit against a provider or anyone who helps a patient get an abortion.
Several states, including Oklahoma, are pursuing similar legislation this year.
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