The Oklahoma Heart Rate Act, Senate Bill 1503, takes effect immediately and prohibits abortion at a time when a doctor can detect early heartbeat in an embryo or fetus, which may be as early as six weeks after pregnancy – before many women they even know they are pregnant. The measure provides exceptions for medical emergencies, but not for rape or incest. “I want Oklahoma to be the most professional state in the country because I represent all four million Oklahoma residents who want to protect the unborn to a great extent.
SB 1503 will also allow individuals to file a civil lawsuit against a person who performs or causes an abortion, intends to perform an abortion, or knowingly assists or promotes abortion, such as paying for the procedure. Under the bill, the relief will include at least $ 10,000 in legal damages for each abortion the defendant has performed or assisted in violation of the law, court fees, and compensatory damages.
The bill will ban civil claims against certain individuals, including a woman who has had an abortion or requested the procedure. The bill will also prohibit a person who has conceived a woman through rape, sexual violence or incest from filing a civil lawsuit.
Last month, Stew signed an almost total ban on abortion in a law that makes abortion illegal in the state, except in the case of emergency medical care.
This law, which is expected to take effect this summer, makes committing or attempting to have an abortion a crime punishable by a maximum fine of $ 100,000 or a maximum of 10 years in prison, or both.
Abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood and the Tulsa Women’s Reproductive Clinic, challenged SB 1503 last week.
Abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood and the Tulsa Women’s Reproductive Clinic, challenged SB 1503 last week.
On Tuesday, shortly before Stit signed the law, the Oklahoma Supreme Court refused to grant the plaintiffs’ request for a temporary restraining order that would suspend the measure’s entry into force.
The plaintiffs expressed disappointment with the court’s decision, but said they would continue to fight in the hope of eventually blocking the law. The state’s Supreme Court has not yet decided whether to hear the case, according to the plaintiffs.
Nancy Northup, head of the Reproductive Rights Center, which represents the plaintiffs, said the ban would “reverberate far beyond Oklahoma.”
“Many Texans are fleeing to Oklahoma for abortion services and may not be able to do so now. This is just a preview of what will happen if Rowe is overturned, “Northup said in a statement.
The Center for Reproductive Rights and Planned Parenthood last week also filed a separate challenge in an existing case with SB 612, an almost total abortion ban signed by Stitt last month.
This story was updated with additional developments on Tuesday.
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