The Oklahoma House of Representatives voted Tuesday to enact a law that makes it a felony to perform or attempt to perform an abortion, except to save the life of the pregnant woman in a medical emergency. S.B. 612 makes performing or attempting to perform an abortion punishable by a fine of $100,000 or up to ten years in prison.

The law defines a “medical emergency” as:

A condition which cannot be remedied by delivery of the child in which an abortion is necessary to preserve the life of a pregnant woman whose life is endangered by a physical disorder, physical illness or physical injury including a life-endangering physical condition caused by or arising from the pregnancy itself.

The law provides for an affirmative defense against prosecution for licensed physicians who provide medical treatment that accidentally or unintentionally results in the termination of a pregnancy. S.B. 612 passed with 70 votes for, and 14 votes against.

The passing of S.B. 612 will affect not only Oklahoman women’s constitutional right to access abortion services but also will affect women in Texas, who have been forced to travel out of state to access abortion services after the passing of S.B. 8 in Texas in September 2021. Since the Supreme Court refused to enjoin the Texas law in December 2021 in Whole Women’s Health v. Jackson, many states have enacted copy-cat or otherwise restrictive abortion laws. The Court heard oral arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization in December 2021, a case that many fear will give the Court’s conservative majority the opportunity to overturn Roe v. Wade, which has guaranteed women’s constitutional right to an abortion for almost 40 years.