Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt Signs 6-Week Abortion Bill

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) signed the Oklahoma Heartbeat Act on Tuesday, which bans abortions after the fetal heartbeat is detected.

Heartbeats can normally be found around six weeks into a pregnancy, and many women don’t know they’re pregnant at that time. The bill is modeled after a similar Texas bill that was approved last year.

“I want Oklahoma to be the most pro-life state in the country,” Stitt wrote on Twitter shortly after signing the bill.

The “Oklahoma Heartbeat Act” also grants private citizens the right to sue anyone who enables an abortion in any way for up to $10,000. This includes performing the abortion or even helping a woman get an abortion somewhere else. Women who have an abortion cannot be sued and anyone who impregnated a woman through rape or incest will not be allowed to sue.

The new law will allow exceptions for mothers whose lives are in danger but does not allow exclusions in cases of rape or incest. It goes into effect immediately, due to the emergency clause attached to the bill.

Stitt signed a ban on nonbinary gender identifiers on birth certificates last Tuesday and signed a near-total ban on abortion in mid-April.