Oklahoma Abortions Drop to 0 as Abortion Ban Saves Thousands of Babies
Oklahoma’s abortion law has saved thousands of children from abortion.
Oklahoma is the second state to have an abortion ban that protects the lives of babies before they are born.
Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt, in May 2022, signed the abortion ban that was the most protective in the nation at the time. It was a Texas style law with a private right to action for enforcement. But instead of protecting babies when they are six weeks old and their heartbeat is detectable, as Texas law does it, the measure protects unborn children from conception.
Oklahoma, which has implemented a complete abortion ban to protect unborn children, immediately put the ban into effect.
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The Charlotte Lozier Institute notes that the Oklahoma Health Department report shows that the May 2022 ban on abortion was effective in protecting women and babies.
In 2022, there were only 2,160 abortions in Oklahoma. This is a significant drop (by 70%) from the 7,287 reported in 2021. 1). The number of chemical abortions in Oklahoma dropped by 75 percent, from 5,009 to 1,255 in the year 2022. This represents 58 percent. According to the Charlotte Lozier Institute, Oklahoma’s abortion rate has decreased by 70 percent since 2002 when it began using its current reporting format.
Oklahoma has good news. The new pro-life legislation was successful in reducing abortions to zero.
Table 1: Number of abortions by month, 2022
2022
615 January
February 593
March 800
April 147
May 5,
June 0
July 0
August 0
September 0
October 0
November 0
December 0
Texas’s ban on abortions was the first in the nation. Oklahoma’s new protection for babies is expected to help Texas save more babies from abortions.
In 2022, unlike previous years, the majority of abortions in Oklahoma were performed by women who lived outside Oklahoma, with only 42 percent being performed on Oklahomans. Out of all the women who obtained an abortion in Oklahoma from outside the state, 1,119 (52%) were Texas residents. Women from Arkansas (92), Missouri (24), Kansas (13) and Louisiana (5%) also had abortions performed in Oklahoma in the year 2022. The number of abortions performed by women from other states was suppressed.
Data also showed that the majority of abortions were done to control or elect a pregnancy, and not for reasons related to a woman’s life or health.
Oklahoma asks women who have abortions to provide their reasons. Multiple reasons can be given for one abortion. In the past, abortions were mostly performed for purely elective reasons.
The forms indicated 52 abortions that met the definition of a medical crisis in Section 1-738.1A and 11 others that met the definition under Section 1-745.2. Both define a medical situation as an immediate risk to a woman’s health or major bodily functions. 66 forms indicated that the abortion was needed to save the life of the mother, but the report did not specify whether the danger was immediate. Sixteen abortions occurred for rape, and twelve for incest. Seven abortions occurred because “the mother wanted a child with a different gender.” Many women attribute their abortions to other people. 424 abortions took place because their husbands or partners wanted an abortion and 138 abortions because their parents wanted it.
Oklahoma can be a great guide to other states on how to protect women and unborn babies.
