Oklahoma on path to follow Texas abortion law - KTUL

TULSA, Okla. (KTUL) — "If people want to end their pregnancies, they will find a way to end their pregnancies," said Tamya Cox-Toure, executive director of ACLU Oklahoma.

And doing that in Texas, since the passage of SB 8, has for many women meant coming to Oklahoma.

"Oklahoma providers were seeing an increase of almost 2,500% because of Texas patients coming to Oklahoma for care," Cox-Toure said.

But now, Oklahoma is looking to copy Texas with HB 4327.

"This will make it difficult not only for people in Oklahoma, not only people in Kansas and Texas, but the entire region," said Myfy Jensen-Fellows of Trust Women.

Trust Women has clinics that provide abortions in both Oklahoma City and Wichita, and they're bracing for an influx in Wichita if Oklahoma follows Texas.

"We anticipate that and we are making preparations to see as many people as possible," Jensen-Fellows said.

In fact, Oklahoma's version of the law is more stringent than Texas's.

"We are actually going to be worse than Texas because this bill would prohibit abortion access as soon, at conception. Whereas, Texas allows for a six-week abortion ban," said Cox-Toure.

And yet, for some people, the bill doesn't go far enough.

"This is not a bill that criminalizes anything and so, in my view, it’s not a bill that renders equal justice for our pre-born neighbors," said Alan Maricle, who is an abortion abolitionist.

If he was writing the bill...

"It would call out abortion as what it is, which is murder, and it would add it to the homicide code. It would essentially remove the exception that currently exists in the homicide code that excuses and exculpates people who murder a human being as long as that human being is still inside the womb," Maricle said.

HB 4327 does not do that, but it would open up a legal minefield.

"Essentially, anyone could sue anyone, not just abortion providers, but could sue anyone if they think an abortion has performed," said Cox-Toure.

source: https://ktul.com/news/local/oklahoma-on-path-to-follow-texas-abortion-law-aclu-trust-women-hb4327-sb8

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