Oklahoma GOP Lawmaker to Introduce Texas-style Abortion Bill

Rep. Sean Roberts-R Hominy

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A Republican lawmaker from Oklahoma has announced plans to introduce a bill mirroring a Texas law that has become the nation’s biggest curb to abortion in nearly 50 years.

State Rep. Sean Roberts said his bill would allow any individual in Oklahoma to sue doctors who perform an abortion that is not to save the mother’s life. Plaintiffs would be able to seek up to $10,000 in damages in civil court against abortion providers or anyone who “aids and abets” such an abortion.

“When it comes to fighting for the lives of the unborn, we must be willing to do whatever it takes,” said Roberts, R-Hominy.

Abortion providers in Oklahoma and other surrounding states have said they’ve seen an influx of women from Texas seeking abortions, some driving hours through the middle of the night and including patients as young as 12 years old.

Oklahoma routinely passes some of the strictest anti-abortion measures in the country, and Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt has said he would sign any anti-abortion bill the Legislature sends him.