2 weeks Ago
Three years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v.
Wade, prompting Oklahoma to enact among the nation’s strictest bans. The following year, 3,347 Oklahomans got abortions in Kansas. The procedure didn’t end among Oklahomans; it just crossed state lines.
Kansas was the first state to vote on abortion rights after the U.S. Supreme Court in June 2022 took away federal protections to the procedure.
Two months after the ruling, 59% of Kansas voters rejected a legislative referendum to ban abortions. The state’s Supreme Court reaffirmed abortion rights last July. Abortion is legal in Kansas for up to 20 weeks post fertilization.
In November, Missouri became the first in the nation to reverse a near-total abortion ban by a vote of the people, with 52% support. Abortions are legal in that state until viability, or about 24 weeks. The PAC supporting the amendment raised $31 million for the effort.
People are also reading...
Bill addressing tribal toll collections falls in House committee; governor reacts State ends contracts for three large mental health services providers in Tulsa County Timothy McVeigh's letters to Oklahoma journalist offer window into bomber's mind Dan Bitson resigns from Booker T. Washington football program Update: Motorcyclist in critical condition after crash with school bus, Tulsa police say Berry Tramel: Mike Gundy predicts soon-coming super conference of 32 teams Epic concert series in Stillwater launches with Cross Canadian Ragweed reunion Here's how the sold-out Red Dirt concert event The Boys From Oklahoma became a reality Nine measles cases now confirmed in Oklahoma Patrick Fletcher: A joyful Sooner | Berry Tramel’s ScissorTales Together in history, Oklahoma's first father-daughter four-time state wrestling champs Ben Arbuckle’s personality a change from recent OU offensive coordinators | Berry Tramel’s ScissorTales Stitt: Order addresses 'rumors' about costly contractors replacing state employees Ricardos celebrates 50 years of serving Tex-Mex classics Bill Haisten: Vols’ debacle reminiscent of the OSU-Spencer Sanders divorce Oklahoma lawmakers are worried about a repeat of Missouri here, which could explain why they are trying so hard to make it nearly impossible for citizens to get a petition referendum to a statewide vote. Senate Bill 1027 would limit how many signatures could come from each county and would require some potentially unconstitutional new rules around signature gathering.
Some anti-abortion activists don’t want to risk any loosening of Oklahoma’s nearly complete ban. Even though there is an exemption for the life of the mother, physicians and medical institutions aren’t taking chances of running afoul of the law. Stories have emerged of Oklahoma women being required to get closer to death before an abortion would be performed.
The way to make abortions rare is to increase access to birth control and sex education. Yet every year a handful of lawmakers want to prevent any progress in those areas. Family planning centers cannot depend on federal dollars in the Trump administration.
Simply saying “no” doesn’t get at the reasons women seek abortions. For years, the Oklahoma State Department of Health surveyed patients receiving abortions to get at those reasons. Between 2002 and 2020, abortions in Oklahoma fell by 49%.
The years of the largest decreases coincided with programs created to give long-term contraception to low-income women and to provide evidence-based sex education to youth. Of Oklahoma women who received abortions during that time, the highest rates were among those in their 20s with a high school diploma or GED and were unmarried, and the majority had previously given birth. Now Oklahomans are going to Kansas — and, likely, Missouri.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment released in December its annual vital statistics report tracking information from 2023. Sections about abortion reflect the political reality. Of the 19,467 induced abortions, patients from out of state represented 15,111 of the total.
Patients from Oklahoma traveling to Kansas for abortions totaled 3,347. Of those, 64 were girls younger than 18. In 2021, the last full year in Oklahoma when abortions were legal, 4,145 such procedures were performed in the state.
And 898 abortions were performed in 2022 before the ban was enacted. The other states with the biggest numbers of patients traveling to Kansas from out of state were Texas (7,707), Missouri (3,110) and Arkansas (746). Most women realize they are pregnant at about six weeks’ gestation.
In Kansas, about 69% got the procedures at nine weeks or less, and 23% were between nine and 12 weeks. No abortions were performed in the last trimester. What all this data don’t show are the individual stories.
Data are broad strokes, while stories are the details and emotions behind such decisions. The interesting aspect of Oklahoma’s reports were women’s explanations of their choices. They weren’t required to answer the questions, but many did.
What their answers showed was that each situation was different and complex. Some said they were not ready for parenthood. Others said they were in abusive relationships, had financial problems, faced job interference, had relationship difficulties or had health problems.
Some reported having been raped or that a parent or spouse wanted them to have the abortion. They spoke of unemployment, lack of health insurance, child care unaffordability and mental health breakdowns. Many reported maternal health complications, including possible death, and problems with fetal development.
Those issues didn’t go away when Oklahoma banned abortion. For women with means, they went to Kansas. If Oklahoma leaders truly want to eliminate abortion, they must address the issues leading to it.
The Tulsa World is where your story lives.
