Oklahoma governor Kevin Stitt signed a bill into law on Tuesday that makes performing an abortion a felony offense punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $100,000 fine. The bill makes an exception for cases in which the life of the mother is in danger.
“We want to outlaw abortion in the state of Oklahoma,” Stitt said during a signing ceremony for the bill. “I promised Oklahomans that I would sign every pro-life bill that hits my desk, and that’s what we’re doing here today.”
The bill is set to take effect 90 days after the state legislature adjourns next month. It does not authorize criminal charges against a woman who receives an abortion.
The bill aims to address the “state of emergency” brought upon Oklahoma by a Texas law banning abortion after six weeks of pregnancy, Oklahoma senate president Greg Treat has said. Treat said a “sickening” number of abortions have been performed in Oklahoma since the Texas law took effect in September, with many Texans traveling to Oklahoma to receive abortions.
The Oklahoma bill does not include the enforcement mechanism used by Texas’ abortion ban, which allows any individual to sue anyone who knowingly performs or aids in an abortion after a fetal heartbeat has been detected, removing the responsibility of enforcement from the state’s executive branch and placing it into the hands of citizens.
Republican lawmakers in the Oklahoma legislature have tried several times to pass legislation restricting abortion in the state in recent months, including two measures similar to the Texas law. Both of those bills have passed one chamber and could still potentially advance before the end of the legislative session.
Republican state senator Nathan Dahm, who wrote the Oklahoma bill that was signed into law on Tuesday, called it the “strongest pro-life legislation in the country right now, which effectively eliminates abortion in Oklahoma,” according to the Associated Press.
However, the bill is likely to face legal challenges. Pro-choice advocates argue the bill is unconstitutional, noting similar laws in Arkansas and Alabama have been blocked by federal courts.
“The U.S. Supreme Court’s failure to stop Texas from nullifying the constitutional right to abortion has emboldened other states to do the same,” Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the New York-based Center for Reproductive Rights, said in a statement. “We’ve sued the state of Oklahoma ten times in the last decade to protect abortion access and we will challenge this law as well to stop this travesty from ever taking effect.”