{"id":264981,"date":"2022-03-23T15:44:24","date_gmt":"2022-03-23T20:44:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=264981"},"modified":"2022-03-23T15:53:57","modified_gmt":"2022-03-23T20:53:57","slug":"oklahoma-house-bill-protect-preborn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/oklahoma-house-bill-protect-preborn\/","title":{"rendered":"Oklahoma House passes bill to protect nearly all preborn children in the state from abortion"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Oklahoma House of Representatives has approved a Texas-style bill which will, if passed by the Senate and signed into law, protect nearly all preborn children from abortion in the state.<\/p>\n

HB 4327<\/a> was passed in a 78-19 vote on Tuesday evening. The measure had been approved by the Oklahoma Public Health Committee earlier this month<\/a>, and will now be sent to the Senate.<\/p>\n

Under HB 4327, citizens could sue abortionists or anyone else who aids and abets in the commission of an abortion, for $10,000 \u2014 similar to the provisions of the Texas Heartbeat Act. HB 4327 states that a suit may be brought:<\/p>\n

… against any person who: [p]erforms or induces an abortion in violation of this act; [k]nowingly engages in conduct that aids or abets the performance or inducement of an abortion, including paying for or reimbursing the costs of an abortion through insurance or otherwise….<\/em><\/p>\n

Unlike in Texas, however, the Oklahoma legislation bans all<\/em> abortions, not just once an embryonic heartbeat is detected; Texas bans abortion at the point a heartbeat is detected. The bill’s allowed exception would be in cases where abortion is necessary to save the mother’s life, but intentionally ending the life of a preborn child is\u00a0never medically necessary<\/a>.<\/p>\n

WATCH: Will more women die from back-alley abortions if they can\u2019t get them legally?<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

If the bill becomes law, it would be the most protective abortion law in the country.<\/p>\n

The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Wendi Stearman, told The Oklahoman<\/a>, “House Bill 4327 does not end abortion, but it will induce compliance because no abortion provider will violate it and risk a lawsuit.”<\/p>\n

An array of abortion advocates contributed to a statement<\/a> released by Planned Parenthood slamming the bill, pointing to Texas as an example of how banning abortion allegedly hurts women.<\/p>\n

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Oklahoma\u2019s ban would devastate the region\u2019s abortion care network, forcing thousands to leave the state for care\u2014& would cut off a crucial abortion access point for Texans. Nearly 1\/2 of all Texans who had an abortion out-of-state in the last 6 mo traveled to OK.#BansOffOurBodies<\/a> https:\/\/t.co\/sBVIUpDiya<\/a><\/p>\n

— Planned Parenthood Action (@PPact) March 23, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n