EMILYs List Statement on Oklahoma Implementing the Most Restrictive Abortion Ban in the Country

For Immediate Release
April 12, 2022

EMILYs List Statement on Oklahoma Implementing the Most Restrictive Abortion Ban in the Country

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Gov. Kevin Stitt signed into law a near-total abortion ban in Oklahoma (S.B. 612) that is set to take effect in August. Gov. Stitt has signaled his willingness to sign other anti-abortion bills headed to his desk, which will have a more immediate effect. S.B. 612 is now the most restrictive abortion law in the country because it makes performing an abortion a felony. The bill was passed by the state Senate last year, and was passed by the state House last week. Laphonza Butler, president of EMILYs List, released the following statement:

“EMILYs List strongly condemns Gov. Kevin Stitt for signing into law the most restrictive abortion ban in the country. Time and time again, Republicans have demonstrated that they do not believe we should have the right to make decisions about our bodies and our futures. Actions like these prove that anti-abortion legislators are just playing political games without regard for the egregious impacts on millions of people across the nation.

“Oklahoma is not an outlier. In advance of a U.S. Supreme Court decision that could overturn the precedent in Roe v. Wade, Republican lawmakers are scrambling to chip away at our abortion access with the goal of banning abortion outright. Today, Oklahoma’s implementation of the most restrictive abortion ban in the country is a grave reminder of how crucial a pro-choice majority is at all levels of government. As we brace for more unconstitutional bans in state legislatures, EMILYs List will continue to lead the fight to elect Democratic pro-choice women who will defend our rights and ensure equal access to abortion care across the country.” 

EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, has raised over $700 million to elect Democratic pro-choice women candidates. With a grassroots community of over five million members, EMILY's List helps Democratic women win competitive campaigns – across the country and up and down the ballot – by recruiting and training candidates, supporting and helping build strong campaigns, researching the issues that impact women and families, running nearly $50 million in independent expenditures in the last cycle alone, and turning out women voters and voters of color to the polls. Since our founding in 1985, we have helped elect the country's first woman as vice president, 159 women to the House, 26 to the Senate, 16 governors, and more than 1,300 women to state and local office. More than 40% of the candidates EMILYs List has helped elect to Congress have been women of color. After the 2016 election, more than 60,000 women reached out to EMILY's List about running for office laying the groundwork for the next decade of candidates for local, state, and national offices. In our effort to elect more women in offices across the country, we have created our Run to Win program, expanded our training program, including a Training Center online, and trained thousands of women.