海角大神

If the governor of Oklahoma signs legislation passed Thursday, any physician聽found to have performed聽an abortion in the state could be sentenced to one-to-three years聽in jail and have his or her license revoked.聽聽聽

The Republican-dominated Senate passed the聽bill 33 to 12. If the bill becomes law, it will make it a felony for聽any physician in the state to聽perform聽an abortion, except in order to聽save a woman's life. Opponents call the bill unprecedented in the post-Roe. v. Wade era. Supporters say it is not unconstitutional because the state is within its rights to set requirements for medical licenses, according to Reuters.聽

Gov.聽Mary聽Fallin, a Republican聽opposed to abortion,聽, according to Reuters. She has five days to decide whether to do so.

Since 2010, 18 states have moved to including Texas's House Bill 2, which passed measures requiring doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 100 miles of of the clinic and requiring abortion clinics to meet the same standards as ambulatory surgical clinics. That law reached the US Supreme Court this term. Supporters say it ensures the safety of women. Critics argue that the law sets unnecessary standards and has聽led to the closure of more than half of the state's clinics, writes 海角大神's聽Warren聽Richey聽in a three-part series about the measure.聽聽

Despite legal battles, Oklahoma's legislation stands apart, says聽Maya聽Manian, a University of San Francisco law professor who lectures and writes聽about abortion rights.聽聽

"This law is more blatantly unconstitutional," Professor Manian聽tells the聽Monitor in a phone interview.聽"Criminalizing the act of abortion is a more direct attack on abortion rights."聽聽

"It will never stand in court," she adds.聽"It will be immediately struck out as long as Roe v. Wade is good law."聽聽

David Cohen, a Drexel University law professor, said the legislation isn鈥檛 only unconstitutional, it will end up being expensive.聽

"The state is wasting taxpayer dollars, not only in the time spent on this but also because inevitably the courts will make the state pay the attorneys fees for the challengers,鈥� writes Professor Cohen in an e-mail. "In other words, this law is not only an obvious violation of women's rights but is also going to be very costly."

Under present聽law,聽"no person" in Oklahoma聽shall perform or induce an abortion聽"unless that person" is a licensed physician. The legislation聽passed Thursday would聽, as well as聽revoke the聽licenses of physicians who perform abortions, unless the mother's life is in danger, writes Politico. This聽does not include exceptions for rape or incest.聽聽

In contrast to Oklahoma's direct ban on abortion procedures, other聽states have increased聽safety requirements they say protect the聽health聽of聽women who receive the procedure, as in the case of Texas. This spring, Utah pushed the medical frontier of the abortion fight further, the Monitor's Jessica Mendoza reported, by including the requirement聽anesthesia be used聽on聽women more than 20 weeks pregnant, in case the fetus might feel pain. Research suggests that pain is unlikely until the third trimester.聽

Before Oklahoma's bill, the most聽controversial had been the聽Texas law being considered by the Supreme Court. The high court has been operating shorthanded since the death of Justice Antonin Scalia in February, making the fate of the case unclear.

鈥淭his is a watershed moment in the battle for reproductive rights,鈥澛燦ancy Northup, president of the New York-based Center for Reproductive Rights, told Richey.聽聽