Anti-abortion law signed in Oklahoma

In the United States, liberal abortion laws could be on the verge of an end, a leaked Supreme Court document suggests. Opponents of abortion smell the dawn. Conservative states like Oklahoma are already trying to establish facts.

Former Oklahoma Senator Connie Johnson, who is running for Oklahoma Governor in the Democratic primary, speaks at an abortion rights rally Tuesday, May 3, 2022, in Oklahoma City.

Sue Ogrocki/AP

(dpa)

Amid the heated debate over abortion rights in the US, the governor of Oklahoma has signed legislation drastically tightening regulations in the state. Governor Kevin Stitt wrote on Twitter on Tuesday that the four million people in his state are overwhelmingly in favor of protecting unborn life.

Oklahoma’s “heartbeat law” is similar to a highly controversial regulation from the state of Texas. It bans abortions once a doctor can determine the heartbeat of an embryo or fetus. This can be after around six weeks if some women do not yet know that they are pregnant. The law also allows civil lawsuits against those who perform or knowingly assist women in having an abortion.

On Monday evening, the magazine “Politico” published the draft of a ruling by the US Supreme Court, according to which the country’s liberal abortion law should be overturned. The document sparked outrage in the administration of Democratic US President Joe Biden and in liberal sections of the population.

Conservative politicians have long attempted to dismiss the Roe v. Wade confessed to overturning the 1973 landmark ruling. Several Republican-governed states have tightened abortion laws in hopes they will stand up in the Supreme Court.

Gov. Stitt signed a law last month that would make performing an abortion in Oklahoma punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $100,000 (€92,000). Exceptions should only apply if the life of the expectant mother is in acute danger due to the pregnancy. The proposed penalties do not threaten the pregnant women, but the medical staff who perform abortions. According to American media reports, critics are taking legal action against both laws in Oklahoma.

Thousands of people demonstrated in New York on Tuesday against potentially drastic restrictions on abortion rights. Posters read, among other things, “Misogyny kills more people than abortion” or “Stop the war against women”. There were also protests in front of the Supreme Court in Washington. Abortion rights have been the subject of heated debates in the United States.


source site-111