For weeks, the United States has been arguing about abortion legislation. Actually, they are allowed until the viability of the fetus - however, many states go their own way. This also applies to Oklahoma, where future interventions will only be possible in exceptional cases.
Almost all abortions will be banned in the US state of Oklahoma. Governor Kevin Stitt signed legislation banning almost all abortions from the time of conception, with a few exceptions. Only a few exceptions apply. The law is the strictest ban in the country, wrote the Washington Post.
"I made a promise to the people of Oklahoma that as governor, I would sign every life-saving bill that came to my desk, and I'm proud to make good on that promise today," Stitt said. The model is a highly controversial regulation from the state of Texas. This stipulates that the provision will not be enforced under criminal law, but under civil law. The law allows private individuals to take action against clinics that perform abortions, for example.
This legal trick also makes it particularly difficult to challenge the law in court. According to a landmark ruling by the US Supreme Court in 1973, abortions are actually allowed until the fetus is viable - today around the 24th week of pregnancy.
With the detour under civil law, the right to an abortion is undermined. Oklahoma law provides exceptions when an abortion is necessary to save the mother's life or in cases of rape or incest. The governor had signed several laws in recent weeks that have drastically tightened abortion regulations in the state. Violators face long prison sentences.
Planned Parenthood, the leading abortion rights organization in the US, said it will challenge the Oklahoma law in court. "We will never stop fighting for the right to self-determination over one's own body," the group said.
However, a leaked draft ruling earlier this month showed that the conservative majority of the US Supreme Court is about to rule in the landmark Roe v. Wade's 1973 right to abortion. Republicans have already announced or are in the process of tightening abortion laws in most of the states they govern.
