The governor of the US state of Oklahoma on Wednesday signed into law a bill that bars nearly all abortions after fertilization, the country’s strictest ban yet on the procedure.
“I promised Oklahomans that as governor I would sign every piece of pro-life legislation that came across my desk and I am proud to keep that promise today,” Republican Governor Kevin Stitt said in a statement.
“From the moment life begins at conception is when we have a responsibility as human beings to do everything we can to protect that baby’s life and the life of the mother,” he added.
The bill, approved by Oklahoma legislators last week, follows a similar measure that went into effect in neighboring Texas in September, which gives members of the public the ability to sue doctors who perform abortions — or anyone who helps facilitate them.
The only exceptions from the new law are the need to save the mother’s life as well as rape or incest that have been reported to law enforcement.
Recent efforts by Republican-led states to restrict access to abortions come in anticipation of the US Supreme Court likely overturning Roe v. Wade, the 1973 landmark decision allowing nationwide access to abortion.
Planned Parenthood, the leading advocate of abortion rights in the United States, said it would challenge the Oklahoma law in court.
“We will never stop working to defend your right to control your body,” the group said.
A draft opinion leaked earlier this month showed the Supreme Court’s conservative majority was on the verge of overturning Roe, sparking mass protests across the country.
Less time to read?
Try Quickreads
-
Onlookers urged police to charge into Texas elementary school
Onlookers urged police officers to charge into the Texas elementary school where a gunman’s rampage killed 19 children and two teachers, witnesses said Wednesday, as investigators worked to track the massacre that lasted upwards of 40 minutes and ended when Ramos was killed by a Border Patrol team. “Let’s just rush in because the cops aren’t doing anything like they are supposed to,” he said. “More could have been done.”
-
1st highly likely monkeypox case in Finland; Denmark to get vaccines: Top points
The cases of monkeypox are surging globally with the World Health Organization on Wednesday confirming 131 confirmed and 106 suspected cases of the virus in 19 countries. Here are the latest updates Spain reported 59 new cases of the monkeypox on Wednesday and the total number of suspected cases nationwide stands at 171. Finland on Wednesday identified its first “highly likely” case of the monkeypox, according to the Helsinki hospital district.
-
-
Imran Khan’s Azadi march: Army deployed, Islamabad turns into battleground
The army was called in by the Shehbaz Sharif government in the early hours on Thursday to protect the Red Zone of Islamabad as former prime minister and PTI chief Imran Khan entered the capital with Imran Khan’s’ Azadi march. The government said Army has been deployed to protect important buildings like Supreme Court, Parliament House, Prime Minister House, Presidency, Pakistan Secretariat and Diplomatic Enclaves. Here are the top 10 updates on the Islamabad crisis: 1.
-
Joe Biden, Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro set to meet in June at US summit,
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and US leader Joe Biden are set to meet next month after Bolsonaro accepted an invitation to the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles, two sources told Reuters on Wednesday. Bolsonaro’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the news, which was first reported by the O Globo newspaper. The White House and the US State Department did not immediately respond to questions on the matter.