On Wednesday strictest abortion ban in the Oklahoma state of the U.S. came into effect as Governor Kevin Stitt signed the law.
The law prohibits abortions from fertilization. It also allows the private citizens to sue those people who help women in terminating their pregnancies.
Stitt said in a statement that by signing this law he has kept his promise.
The legislation has got the backing of Republicans and has come into effect immediately. However, the law has also given certain exceptions in the cases of medical emergency, rape, and incest.
Oklahoma is one of the Republican-led states that are rushing to pass anti-abortion laws. It has become the only state in the country that has completely outlawed abortion.
Oklahoma also enacted another bill earlier this month. This bill banned abortions that are done after six weeks of pregnancy.
Four abortion clinics in Oklahoma already stopped giving abortion services in anticipation of the ban.
The enforcement provision in both of the bills was modeled after Texas legislation that came into effect in September last year. It stopped all the clinics in that state from performing nearly all kinds of abortions.
Before these Oklahoma laws, the state had become a destination for those Texas women who sought abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. Now, after the enforcement of these laws, the patients will be forced to travel to other states such as New Mexico, Kansas, and Colorado to terminate their pregnancies.
It is being anticipated that U.S. Supreme Court will soon reverse Roe vs Wade, the 1973 case. This case established the constitutional right to abortion.
The Center for Reproductive Rights, which is a global advocacy group from New York, said that very soon it would file a challenge petition against the ban and will try to get it blocked in the court.
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