Oklahoma’s near-total abortion ban

Oklahoma has passed a law that would ban all abortions, except when an abortion is necessary to save the life of a pregnant woman.

Oklahoma governor Kevin Stitt (R) signed the law last week.

The law will go into effect 90 days after the state legislature adjourns at the end of May, unless courts intervene.

I read and discussed Oklahoma’s near-total abortion ban on the latest episode of Primary Sources.

I also discussed the results of a study that determined the Texas abortion ban has led to a significant increase in the number of Texas residents who travel to other states to receive abortion services.

Finally, I read a passage from Sex and the Constitution by Geoffrey Stone about dangerous self-induced and back-alley abortions that many desperate women resorted to prior to Roe v. Wade. 

 

I also discussed the possibility that these dangerous and horrifying back-alley abortions could return if abortion rights are eliminated in much of the United States.

It’s an intense episode to be sure, but I believe it’s an important one. 

 

 

You can listen to previous episodes of Primary Sources on YouTube.

Abortion might soon be illegal in 21 states

Abortion could quickly become illegal in much of the United States if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade.

A total of 21 states already have laws on their books that could allow them to quickly ban abortions if the Supreme Court allows them to do so, according to an analysis from the pro-choice Guttmacher Institute. 

 

 

The Supreme Court is considering whether to overturn or limit Roe v. Wade, a 1973 decision that protects a pregnant person’s right to obtain an abortion prior to fetal viability. 

The court will rule on the scope of legal protections for abortion when it decides Dobbs v. Jackson, which the court will likely decide this summer.

On Primary Sources, I discussed the state abortion bans that could take effect if the court overturns Roe v. Wade.

I also read and analyzed Missouri’s abortion trigger ban that would take effect if the Supreme Court allows states to ban pre-viability abortions. 

 

An important development took place after I recorded this episode.

A new Kentucky law has effectively ended all access to abortion in the state.

The only two abortion clinics in Kentucky have stopped providing abortions. The clinics said they couldn’t continue to provide abortions while complying with the terms of a new state abortion law that took effect last week.

Reproductive rights groups have filed two lawsuits in federal court against the Kentucky law.

This means Texas and Kentucky both have abortion bans currently in effect that limit access to some or all pre-viability abortions.