Oklahoma Senate approves near-total abortion ban News
filmDASH_OKC / Pixabay
Oklahoma Senate approves near-total abortion ban

Oklahoma lawmakers Thursday gave final approval on an abortion bill allowing private citizens to bring civil action against abortion providers. Since Oklahoma Senate passed “Heartbeat Act,” the bill now heads to the governor’s desk for approval.

Oklahoma passed a near-total abortion ban earlier this month. SB 612 made abortion and any attempt at an abortion a felony with punishments including fines and jail time. Unlike Texas’ 6-week abortion ban and Arizona’s 15-week abortion ban, the new Oklahoma law SB1503 implements a near-total ban, with only medical emergency exceptions.

Oklahoma’s abortion ban uses the same framework as the Texas bill by allowing private citizens to bring claims against abortion providers after a 6-week period. This allows private citizens to sue abortion providers or performers even if they have not personally suffered a loss. The US Supreme Court in a December 2021 decision left the Texas ban in place. Like the Texas ban, Oklahoma’s SB1503 disallows abortions after a heartbeat is detected. Private citizens who brought suit under the bill stand to gain at least $10,000 in damages for each abortion the defendant performed, attempted to perform, or aided in.

Oklahoma Governor Stitt previously promised to make Oklahoma “the most pro-life state in the country.” Sitt promised to sign the bill, paving the way for Oklahoma to be one of the most restrictive states for abortions.

The stringent Oklahoma ban might bring abortion back to the courts. Planned Parenthood vowed to fight the ban and ACLU voiced concern for Texans who were seeking abortions in neighboring Oklahoma.

 

THIS DAY @ LAW

UN General Assembly approves Palestine partition plan

The UN General Assembly approved UN Resolution Resolution 181 (II) on November 29, 1947, recommending that the British Mandate for Palestine be split into a Jewish state, an Arab state, and an international zone for Jerusalem. The vote in the assembly was 33 for to 13 against, with 10 abstentions. The resolution sparked a war between Palestinian Arabs and Jews in 1947 and a wider war after Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, and Lebanon invaded the new State of Israel in 1948. Read Resolution 181 (II).

UN divided Palestine between Arabs and Jews

On November 29, 1947, the UN General Assembly voted to partition Palestine into Jewish and Arab territories, leading to the establishment of a Jewish state the following year. Read UN General Assembly Resolution 181.

Defense Secretary Robert McNamara resigns during Vietnam Conflict

On November 29, 1967, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara announced that he was resigning from his office to accept an appointment as head of the World Bank. The announcement came as the Vietnam Conflict was becoming increasingly unpopular in the United States and abroad.