Oklahoma Gov. Stitt holds ceremonial signing for 9 abortion bills

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) held a ceremonial signing on Friday for nine anti-abortion bills.

Stitt’s office announced the signing in a press release on Thursday.

The measures had previously been signed in either late April or late May. 

Earlier this month, abortion rights advocates and reproductive health care clinics in Oklahoma filed a federal lawsuit against the state seeking to overturn five of the bills.

“I promised Oklahomans I would sign every piece of pro-life legislation that came across my desk,” Stitt said on Twitter. “It’s an honor to be the most pro-life governor in the country and I will always step up to protect the lives of unborn children.”

I promised Oklahomans I would sign every piece of pro-life legislation that came across my desk.

It’s an honor to be the most pro-life governor in the country and I will always step up to protect the lives of unborn children.https://t.co/YeliDpmtHt

— Governor Kevin Stitt (@GovStitt) September 10, 2021

Among the legislation, Senate Bill 918 would restore Oklahoma’s authority to prohibit abortion if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court ruling which guaranteed women a constitutional right to abortion. 

House Bill 2441 prohibits abortions once a “fetal heartbeat” is detected, except if the mother’s life is in danger. HB 1102 adds the performance of an abortion as “unprofessional conduct,” except for cases where the mother’s life is at risk or she risks physical impairment.

House Bill 1904 requires people performing abortions to be certified obstetricians and gynecologists.

Senate Bill 960 increases the age that a child can be relinquished to rescuers from seven days to 30 days, while directing the state to award grants for establishing a “Baby Box” where a child can be relinquished.

Senate Bill 778 and Senate Bill 779 are both intended to provide safeguards around the use of abortion-inducing drugs. Senate Bill 584 prohibits “fetal trafficking,” or the illegal selling of trafficking fetal body parts.

Senate Bill 647 requires birthing centers to keep a written policy that allows the family to direct the disposition of the remains of children who were stillborn or miscarried.

The ceremony comes as abortion rights take center stage after Texas’s near-total abortion ban went into effect last week.

Texas’s measure bans abortions at a point when most women don’t know that they are pregnant, and allows citizens to sue those that perform or aid in an abortion in violation of the law.

The Justice Department has filed a lawsuit against Texas to block the law, which critics say could lead to the erosion of Roe v. Wade.