Oklahoma Governor Signs America’s Most Restrictive Abortion Ban

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma — Governor of OklahomaKevin Stitt enacted the nation’s strictest abortion ban on Wednesday, making the state the first to virtually end the availability of the procedure.

State lawmakers approved the ban that is enforced through civil lawsuits rather than criminal trials, similar to a Texas law that passed last year. The law takes effect immediately upon Stitt’s signature and bans all abortions with few exceptions. Abortion providers had said they would stop performing the procedure as soon as the law was enacted.

“I promised Oklahomans that as Governor I would enact every pro-life law that comes across my desk, and I’m proud to keep that promise today.”the Republican governor said in a statement. “From the moment life begins at conception is when we have a responsibility as human beings to do everything we can to protect the life of that baby and the life of the mother. That’s what I believe and what most Oklahomans believe.”.

Abortion providers across the country have been bracing for the possibility that the new conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court could further restrict the practice, and that has been especially the case in Oklahoma and Texas.

The bills are part of an aggressive campaign in Republican-led states to curtail abortion rights. It was launched following the leak of a draft Supreme Court opinion indicating that the justices are considering weakening or overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade who legalized abortion nearly 50 years ago.

The only exceptions in Oklahoma law are to save the life of a pregnant woman or if the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest that has been reported to the police.

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