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Oklahoma lawmakers pass one of the most restrictive bills against abortion: prohibiting it "from fertilization"

2022-05-20T13:22:10.304Z


State lawmakers in Oklahoma have passed a bill that would ban abortion from the "fertilization" stage.


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(CNN) --

Oklahoma state lawmakers approved a bill Thursday that would ban abortions from the "fertilization" stage and allow citizens to sue abortion providers who "intentionally" perform or induce a abortion "in a pregnant woman".

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    Wade

The legislation constitutes one of the strictest anti-abortion bills in the United States.

Also, it is a clear opposition to the protections that the historic decision of Roe v.

Wade on the right to abortion, to the point where defenders of this guarantee have promised to present a legal challenge against the bill if it is enacted.

The measure prohibits abortion at any stage of pregnancy, except for medical emergencies or if the pregnancy was due to rape, sexual assault or incest and the police were informed.

The conditions of the project against abortion in Oklahoma

HB 4327 defines "fertilization" as "the fusion of a human sperm cell with a human egg cell."

And although the measure considers that a pregnancy begins with fertilization and not implantation, it also does not restrict the use of forms of contraception that prevent a fertilized egg from implanting in the uterus.

According to the bill, abortion "does not include the use, prescription, administration, procurement, or sale of Plan B, morning-after pills, or any other type of contraception or emergency contraception."

Get to know the legal map of the right to abortion in the world 3:41

Republican state Rep. Wendi Stearman, who is leading the bill, told CNN after lawmakers passed it: "Our intent is to discourage abortion, not contraception."

The Oklahoma House of Representatives passed the measure 73-16, and the bill now heads to Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt's desk for signing into law.

The president has previously promised to sign all laws that limit abortion.

CNN has reached out to the governor's office for comment.

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The passage of this bill comes as Republican-led states have pushed for strict anti-abortion measures in the face of the possibility that the US Supreme Court will overturn Roe v.

Wade next month, in a case related to a Mississippi abortion law.

Although many states have anti-abortion laws designed to take effect if the high court overturns Roe, the Oklahoma bill would be implemented once the governor signs it into law.

This year alone, Stitt has already signed two controversial abortion bills.

One of which is modeled after a Texas anti-abortion law that allows private citizens to take civil action against abortion providers.

In April, the governor enacted a near-total abortion ban, which criminalizes having an abortion in the state, with the sole exception of a medical emergency.

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Earlier this month, the leak of a draft opinion written by Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito showed that the conservative-majority court was poised to overturn Roe v.

Wade, the historic ruling that legalized abortion across the country.

"Oklahoma will be the first state to completely ban abortion"

Alexis McGill-Johnson, president and CEO of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said in a statement Thursday that if Stitt signs the bill, "Oklahoma will be the first state in the country to completely ban abortion, even as Roe keep standing."

"What little access to abortion remains in the state will disappear. And the crisis facing Oklahoma patients and those who depend on access in the state will worsen," he said.

In that sense, he warned that the group would legally challenge the ban if it becomes law.

CNN's Veronica Stracqualursi contributed to this report.

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Source: cnnespanol

All news articles on 2022-05-20

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