Last night, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt signed the state’s Texas style copycat abortion ban into law. This cruel ban went into effect immediately.
President & CEO of Physicians for Reproductive Health Dr. Jamila Perritt responds,
“As Oklahoma enacts a copycat restriction like Texas’s coercive and dangerous abortion ban, I first and foremost am thinking of Oklahomans who are now unable to access abortion care after six weeks of pregnancy. I am also thinking of Texans who depended so heavily on the clinics providing abortion care in Oklahoma up until this point. Any abortion ban is an attack on the values, health, and lives of our communities.
Abortion is health care, and health care is not a crime
“Oklahoma is now the third state in the United States to make abundantly clear that their leadership does not care about the interests or wellbeing of the people who live there. Make no mistake, our communities will not back down. We are deeply committed and will not give up on the real needs of real people with real lives, families, and dreams. There are health care providers, legal advocates, practical support organizations, passionate storytellers, and committed allies who will never stop centering the health care needs of our friends, family members, and peers.
“Now is the time for health care providers across the country to remember that patients are in deep need of care and compassion, not judgement and punishment. No matter the circumstances of a person’s pregnancy outcome, whether miscarriage, abortion, or self-managed abortion, no one should be criminalized for accessing the care they need. Abortion is health care, and health care is not a crime.”
