Oklahoma Abortion Clinics React To State’s Newly-Signed Abortion Law

Oklahoma abortion providers face another restriction as Oklahoma's heartbeat bill is now signed into law. It's the latest move in Governor Stitt's mission to make it the most pro-life state in the country.

With the latest law, abortions can no longer happen in Oklahoma after about six weeks into a pregnancy. Anyone who performs and/or helps someone get the procedure can face a lawsuit.   

Providers said this law will do exactly what it did in Texas: It won't stop the abortions. It will just outsource them. 

"All they have to do is disrupt the system enough to make it appear more difficult than it really is to seek this care," Trust Women Clinic's Communication Director Zack Gingrich-Gaylord said.

Governor Stitt tweeted a picture of himself as he posed next to the newly-signed Senate Bill 1503. It bans abortions in Oklahoma after cardiac activity is detected, a time when most women don't even know they're pregnant.

"We are not doing abortions beyond six weeks, but we are still open as a resource for the community," Gingrich-Gaylord said. "We spent a fair amount of time in the past couple weeks making sure we wouldn't have to cancel a lot of patients.”

The new law also has a mechanism that allows people to report others they believe helped someone get the procedure after six weeks. They could face a fine up to $10,000, but the law doesn't specify what kind of aid constitutes as illegal, or where people can report violations.

"People who give rides, people who watch your kids, if somebody loans you some money to be able to pay for the procedure. All of that is unclear and untested, but within the scope of that law." Gingrich-Gaylord said. “These laws really do strike at the heart of these community bonds that many of our patients rely on to get this kind of medical care."

Doctors who are reported can also lose their license on top of fines. It's also not clear how or if the law can be enforced on tribal lands where federal law has jurisdiction. 

Providers also said the law may also cast an air of suspicion between doctors and pregnant patients and make a devastating situation like a miscarriage more traumatic.

"We even saw in Texas a doctor reported a patient having a miscarriage and she was momentarily charged with manslaughter. It's also very difficult to tell the difference between an abortion and a miscarriage from a provider point of view," Gingrich-Gaylord said.

Another piece of legislation, House Bill 4327, is one vote away from the Stitt’s desk. It has the same parameters as SB 1503, but it would ban the procedure from fertilization. 

SB 1503 will also have to work in junction with State Bill 612, which Governor Stitt signed into law earlier this year. That law bans the procedure from fertilization, and a doctor who performs an abortion can be criminally charged and face up to 10 years in prison and a $100,000 fine. That goes into effect in August. 

Clinics in Oklahoma also are watchful of the Supreme Court’s leaked decision on Roe V Wade, as a trigger law is on the books that will also ban the procedure.