An Oklahoma state lawmaker plans to introduce a bill similar to the Texas heartbeat law this month that would ban abortions in his state.
KOCO News 5 reports state Rep. Sean Roberts, R-Hominy, said his legislation will make it illegal to abort unborn babies in Oklahoma except if the mother’s life is at risk.
Similar to the Texas law, Roberts said his bill includes a private enforcement mechanism that would allow individuals to sue abortionists and those who help them abort unborn babies in elective abortions.
“When it comes to fighting for the lives of the unborn, we must be willing to do whatever it takes,” Roberts said in a statement. “This legislation is critical, and it must be passed this session to stem the tide of Texans seeking abortions in our state.”
The Oklahoma legislative session begins Feb. 7, and Roberts said he is prepared to fight to get his bill passed.
“The pro-life citizens of Oklahoma should have the ability to help hold these doctors accountable,” he said. “This legislation puts principle into action and I am going to fight extremely hard to get it passed during the upcoming session.”
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Right now, Oklahoma is a destination state for abortions for women from Texas because of its heartbeat law.
Abortion providers in Oklahoma and other surrounding states have said they’ve seen an influx of women from Texas seeking abortions …
Oklahoma routinely passes some of the strictest anti-abortion measures in the country, and Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt has said he would sign any anti-abortion bill the Legislature sends him.
The enforcement of the Texas heartbeat law, the first pre-viability abortion ban that has been allowed to go into effect in nearly five decades, has pro-life advocates hopeful. Though the court battle about the Texas law is on-going, the U.S. Supreme Court refused twice to block it thus far. As a result, the law has been in effect since Sept. 1, and pro-life leaders estimate thousands of unborn babies’ lives have been saved.
Hoping to save lives in their states as well, lawmakers have proposed similar pro-life bills in Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Missouri, Nebraska and North Carolina this winter.
Currently, the Supreme Court forces states to legalize abortion on demand under Roe v. Wade. States that want to protect unborn babies may only do so once they reach the point of viability, currently about 22 weeks.
The Texas situation is unique. It is the first state to be allowed to enforce an early abortion ban and only because of the private enforcement mechanism that allows individuals to sue abortionists who violate the law.
The Supreme Court also is considering a Mississippi challenge to Roe v. Wade, one that could allow states to protect unborn babies again or, at the very least, allow states to enact more limits on abortion, such as an abortion ban after 15 weeks of pregnancy.
If the court grants Mississippi’s request, experts estimate as many as 26 states would ban abortions and hundreds of thousands of babies would be spared from violent abortion deaths every year across America. The Supreme Court is expected to publish its ruling on the Mississippi case in June.
Since 1973, more than 63.4 million unborn babies have been killed in abortions in the U.S.
ACTION ALERT: Contact the Oklahoma state House to urge support for the bill.
