Oklahoma House passes near-total ban on abortions

Oklahoma’s state House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a bill that would amount to a near total ban on abortions in the state, should it become law.

Under the bill, doctors in Oklahoma would be banned from performing an abortion at any point during a woman’s pregnancy, except in a case that would save the woman’s life, local news outlet KFOR reported.

Citizens of Oklahoma would be able to sue doctors who perform abortions and could also file civil suits up to $10,000 against anyone else who may try to perform an abortion, according to KFOR.

The bill will be voted on by Oklahoma’s state Senate and could become one of the nation’s strictest abortion bans if it is passed, KFOR noted.

Earlier this week, the Oklahoma House Public Health Committee passed the abortion ban measure in a vote along party lines, according to The Associated Press.

And just last month, an Oklahoma Senate committee passed five anti-abortion measures. One of the bills barred abortion 30 days after conception, a time in which women are unaware that they are pregnant, the AP reported.

The legislation in Oklahoma follows a controversial law in Texas passed last year that allows private citizens to sue anyone who performs, aids or abets an abortion after fetal cardiac activity is detected, which is usually after six weeks.

The U.S. Supreme Court has allowed the Texas law to stand, and the state’s Supreme Court earlier this month ruled against the final challenge from abortion providers.