Oklahoma abortion ban is misogynistic

The list of proposed and pending laws destroying women’s reproductive rights and body autonomy gets longer as Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signed into law a state-wide ban on abortion on Tuesday.

Under this new law, Oklahoma Senate Bill 612, performing an abortion is prohibited in the state and will be charged as a felony, with the exception to save the life of the pregnant woman in a medical emergency.

The law makes no exception in cases of rape or incest.

The law punishes anyone who performs an abortion with up to 10 years in prison and a fine up to $100,000.

This law is designed not to save or protect lives, but to control women and girls. 

Oklahoma’s new law punishing abortion providers, even in cases of rape and incest is misogynistic. 

Under Oklahoma law now, the legal penalties for abortion providers may be harsher than for rapists. 

According to The Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, the minimum penalty in Oklahoma for rape is five years in prison, while the sentence for abortion providers is up to 10 years. 

Pregnancy and the decision to carry a pregnancy to term is one of the most private and personal decisions a woman can make. 

The Oklahoma law is the latest of a spate of state laws banning abortion, with some punishing abortion providers and anyone down to the Uber driver for helping to facilitate abortion. 

Adjacent to Oklahoma, the state of Texas enacted a ban on abortion last fall. After the ban, many Texans had traveled to Oklahoma, with other nearby states, such as Colorado and Kansas.

According to the Texas Policy Evaluation Project, 45% of pregnant Texans wanting an abortion traveled out of state between September and December 2021 and obtained abortion care in one of four facilities that provide abortion in Oklahoma.

The new abortion law in Oklahoma brings devastation not only to Oklahomans but also Texans.

The Oklahoma law is scheduled to go into effect in August, after the Supreme Court is expected to overturn or weaken Roe V. Wade, the 50-year-old law that made a woman’s right to choose a constitutional right. 

Should the Court overturn Roe v. Wade, Oklahoma is one of a projected 26 states where abortion is likely to become illegal. This will be a devastating step backward for all women in this country. 

Abortion is a human right and should never be considered a crime.

Unsigned editorials represent the opinion of the Campus Times Editorial Board.

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