China News Service, April 7. The US Overseas Chinese News reported that the Oklahoma state legislature finally approved Tuesday (5) to make abortion illegal in the state, with the only exception being a medical emergency.
According to CNN, the bill, Senate Bill 612, makes abortion and attempted abortion a felony, punishable by a fine of up to $100,000 or 10 years in state prison, or both .
The bill, which first passed the state Senate last year, passed Tuesday in the Republican-dominated House of Representatives by a vote of 70 to 14.
The bill will now go to Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt, who has promised to sign every abortion-restricting bill on his desk.
Rape and incest are not among the exceptions to the Act.
Under the bill, women cannot be criminally charged or convicted for the death of an "unborn child."
Nor would the bill prohibit the use, sale or administration of contraceptives.
Republican Rep. Jim Olsen, the lead author of the bill in the House, said he believes "rape and incest are horrible crimes" but even babies are conceived under "horrific circumstances" , "still has the right to live".
"The child is not responsible for the crime of the father, it is still a life," he said.
The passage of the bill comes as abortion rights advocates protested at the Oklahoma State Capitol on Tuesday.
The Planned Parenthood Action Fund said if the bill goes into effect, it "would be devastating" for Oklahomaans and Texans.
Texas patients who seek abortion care in Oklahoma account for half of the total.
The Oklahoma Senate is also considering another piece of legislation called House Bill 4327, which references a controversial Texas bill.
The bill would ban most abortions at any point during pregnancy and allow ordinary citizens to enforce the law through civil action.
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