Oklahoma Senate panel passes 5 anti-abortion measures

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — An Oklahoma Senate committee approved five anti-abortion bills, including one that would ban abortions 30 days after conception, before many women know they’re pregnant.

All five measures were approved Monday by the Senate Health and Human Services Committee on party-line votes and now head to the full Senate for consideration.

Four of the bills were written by Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat, a longtime abortion opponent. One of the measures calls for a statewide vote to amend the Oklahoma Constitution to clarify there is no guaranteed right to an abortion in Oklahoma.

A fifth bill, by Sen. Julie Daniels, R-Bartlesville, is similar to a recently passed Texas law that prohibits abortions after cardiac activity has been detected and allows third parties to sue abortion providers and others who help a woman obtain an abortion.

All five measures were condemned by abortion rights groups.

“Patients have shared devastating stories of trying to access care while abortion rights are under attack, but politicians continue to put their own agendas ahead of individuals’ rights to make private medical decisions,” Planned Parenthood Great Plains Votes’ Interim President Emily Wales said in a statement.