Oklahoma Governor Signs Near-Total Abortion Ban Into Law

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt speaks during a roundtable discussion at the White House on June 18, 2020. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt has signed a bill to ban abortions in the state, except in medical emergencies.

“As Governor, I promised to sign every piece of pro-life legislation that hit my desk,” Stitt wrote on Twitter after signing the bill on April 12. “Today I kept that promise by signing SB 612 into law, once again showing the world that Oklahoma is the most pro-life state in the country.”

He wrote in a separate post: “The most important thing is to take a stand for the unborn and protect life. Every life is precious. As a father of six, that’s what I believe and I know that’s what Oklahomans believe.”

Under the legislation, those who are found to have carried out abortions can be penalized up to $100,000 and face up to 10 years in prison. There’s no exception in the law for rape or incest.

“Attorney General John O'Connor and I know this bill will be challenged immediately by liberal activists from the coast,” Stitt said at the legislation’s signing.

SB 612 will take effect this summer unless it’s blocked in court.

Oklahoma had become a frequent destination for those who were seeking to have an abortion from Texas after the Lone Star state in September banned abortions for pregnancies from about six weeks.

Planned Parenthood abortion providers in Oklahoma saw a nearly 2,500 percent increase in Texas patients in the months after the Texas law took effect compared to the same period in 2020, the organization said.

Melissa Fowler, the National Abortion Federation’s chief program officer, said in a statement that the Oklahoma abortion ban “will have a devastating impact” on people seeking abortions from Oklahoma and Texas.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki in a White House statement called the ban “the country’s most restrictive legislation regulating access to reproductive health care.” She called on Congress to pass legislation, the Women’s Health Protection Act, that would codify what she calls a “long-recognized constitutional right” nationally.

“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.

Pro-life group Live Action praised the legislation.

“Oklahoma’s governor just signed a bill into law that protects preborn children from the moment of conception, outlawing abortion in effectively every circumstance,” the group wrote on Twitter. “A great step forward for human rights!”

In the past few months, Republican-led states, including Oklahoma, have been passing abortion bans in hopes that an impending U.S. Supreme Court decision could help the bans withstand legal challenges.

A Mississippi law that bans abortion after 15 weeks of gestation is currently being considered by the U.S. Supreme Court, which is due to rule by the end of June on the law’s constitutionality.

If the court rules in Mississippi’s favor, it could give pro-life groups a chance to repeal the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that has prohibited states from banning abortions prior to when the fetus is considered “viable,” deemed to be about 24 weeks of pregnancy.

Reuters contributed to this report.