US: Kamala Harris criticises newly enacted abortion law in Oklahoma; calls it 'outrageous'

As the Oklahoma lawmakers have enacted legislation prohibiting abortion after conception, United States Vice President Kamala Harris, on Saturday, criticised the law, calling it 'outrageous'. Taking to Twitter, the US Vice President said, “Yesterday in Oklahoma, the state legislature passed a law that would effectively ban abortion from the moment of fertilisation. It’s outrageous.” She further asserted that at the municipal, state, as well as federal levels, they must elect pro-choice leaders. 

These comments of Kamala Harris came after Oklahoma legislators passed the law which opponents claim is the most stringent in the country. According to a BBC report, all abortions would be prohibited under the Republican-led measure, unless to save the mother's life or if the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest. The Oklahoma law was approved following reports that the US Supreme Court may overturn the 1973 rule that made abortion legal across the country. 

Furthermore, bills to restrict abortion access are gaining traction in Republican-led states across the United States. While, on the other hand, US Senate Democrats attempted to approve a bill last week that critics said would enable abortion during the whole nine-month pregnancy. 

Oklahoma legislators approved half a dozen anti-abortion bills this year

In addition to this, Oklahoma legislators have already approved a half-dozen anti-abortion bills this year, The Associated Press reported. Further, two of Oklahoma's four abortion clinics have already ceased performing abortions after the governor approved a six-week ban earlier in May, and an attorney representing the two remaining independent clinics said on Thursday that once the law is approved, they will no longer provide services. Governor Kevin Stitt is expected to sign the law early next week. 

Abortion is permitted in most US states that do not limit it until roughly 24 weeks of pregnancy, or towards the conclusion of the second trimester. 

The bill is based on a Texas anti-abortion law that empowers anybody to sue abortion providers, which was passed handily on Thursday. However, the Oklahoma measure prohibits abortion even sooner than Texas, which prohibits it after six weeks. This is when heart activity in the embryo may be observed, and many women are unaware they are pregnant. 

Fertilization is defined in Oklahoma law as "the fusion of a human spermatozoon with a human ovum", BBC reported. National anti-abortion organisations have long sought to prohibit abortion after conception. 

Meanwhile, as per the data from the Oklahoma State Department of Health, the number of abortions done each year in Oklahoma has consistently decreased over the previous two decades, from over 6,200 in 2002 to 3,737 in 2020, the fewest in over 20 years. 

(Image: AP)