Empty chairs are pictured inside a Planned Parenthood clinic in Oklahoma City. (Photo by Carmen Forman/Oklahoma Voice)
OKLAHOMA CITY — Nearly two years after Republican lawmakers banned most abortions, they’ve filed a slate of legislation to further restrict access to the procedure.
GOP lawmakers filed bills this year to crack down on access to abortion-inducing pills, punish people who help minors obtain abortions and allow for civil lawsuits against doctors who perform the procedure in violation of state law.
There also are at least two bills that would allow women who undergo the procedure to be prosecuted, but similar legislation has previously failed to get traction in the GOP-led Oklahoma Legislature.
Lawmakers largely avoided addressing abortion issues last year even though some Republicans sought carve-outs to Oklahoma’s strict law that bans the procedure except to save the life of the mother. There are no exceptions for rape or incest.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma is tracking about 15 pieces of anti-abortion legislation that were filed this year or carried over from last year’s legislative session, said Executive Director Tamya Cox-Touré. She’s also the co-chair of the Oklahoma Call for Reproductive Justice.