What we know about Oklahoma's new abortion ban — the strictest in the nation

The nation’s most restrictive abortion ban is now in effect in Oklahoma.

Gov. Kevin Stitt on Wednesday signed House Bill 4327 into law, which bans abortions from the point of fertilization with limited exceptions.

The new law comes just weeks after the state enacted a six-week abortion ban modeled after one that took effect in Texas in 2021. But Oklahoma’s law goes further than the restrictive anti-abortion law in Texas that was previously thought to be the strictest in the nation.

Related: Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signs nation's strictest abortion ban. It starts immediately

Proponents have touted the measure as a victory for the unborn. Abortion rights groups have said the law will be devastating for Oklahomans, and they plan to challenge the measure in court.

Here’s what we know about the new law.

What does this mean for abortion clinics?

Because HB 4327 included an emergency clause, it took effect immediately upon the governor’s signature.

Abortion providers said they would stop offering the procedure, if they had not already, as soon as Stitt signed the bill into law.

Oklahoma’s two Planned Parenthood clinics already had halted abortion services following a six-week ban that took effect earlier this month. Although the clinics were looking to resume abortions soon, that changed when the Oklahoma Legislature approved the more restrictive anti-abortion legislation.

Related: 'It's horrible.' Uncertainty looms as Oklahoma clinic braces for Texas-style abortion ban

The state’s other two abortion providers, the Tulsa Women’s Clinic and the Trust Women clinic in Oklahoma City, said they would stop performing the procedure once Stitt signed HB 4327.

Oklahomans seeking an abortion likely will have to travel out of state for the procedure.

How does this law differ from Oklahoma’s six-week abortion ban?

HB 4327 bans abortion after fertilization — so, any point during pregnancy — with limited exceptions.

Under Senate Bill 1503, which went into effect earlier this month, abortions were still legal if they occurred before embryonic cardiac activity could be detected on an ultrasound, which is roughly the six-week mark of pregnancy.

SB 1503 provided an exception for later abortions in the event of a medical emergency but had no exception for cases of pregnancy caused by rape or incest.

Related: Oklahomans, Texans now comprise majority of patients at Kansas abortion clinic, doc says

This law bans most abortions after “fertilization.” What does that mean and when does it occur?

Banning abortion after fertilization essentially prohibits all abortions, because fertilization is the first step that leads to pregnancy.

Fertilization happens when a sperm cell and an egg cell join in the fallopian tubes to form a single cell called a zygote.

Over the next few days, the zygote will rapidly divide into multiple cells, and that cluster of cells will travel to the uterus, implant there and begin to grow. Pregnancy begins when the fertilized egg implants in the uterus, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

How will Oklahoma's new abortion law be enforced?

The law allows people to file civil actions against anyone, including a doctor, who helps a woman obtain an abortion at any point in her pregnancy.

Successful plaintiffs could be awarded at least $10,000 in damages.

What exceptions does this law provide?

Under HB 4327, abortions are only legal under extremely limited circumstances: in the event of a medical emergency, or in the case of pregnancy caused by rape or incest, so long as the person seeking an abortion reported the crime to law enforcement.

The vast majority of rapes and sexual assaults go unreported.

With so many new anti-abortion laws taking effect in Oklahoma, which ones matter?

The abortion ban that begins at fertilization will supersede an earlier law that bans most abortions at about the sixth week of pregnancy.

Anti-abortion lawmakers say the near-total ban will work in tandem with a new law that classifies performing an abortion as a felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison or up to $100,000 in fines.

Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City, who opposes abortion, said most of the state’s anti-abortion laws will work “in concert” with one another. But it is unclear if that will still be the case should the U.S. Supreme Court overturn Roe v. Wade — spurring Oklahoma’s trigger law to take effect.

Although HB 4327 includes limited exceptions for rape and incest, the state’s trigger ban only allows for an exception to save the life of the mother in a medical emergency, which would seem to put the two measures in conflict with each other.

Who can be sued under Oklahoma's new abortion law? Who can’t be sued?

Any private citizen who performs an abortion or “knowingly engages” in conduct that “aids or abets” a woman seeking an abortion in violation of this law could face a civil lawsuit. The law includes little detail about what counts as aiding or abetting, except to say that it includes paying for or reimbursing the costs of a woman’s illegal abortion

The law is written in such a way that someone could be sued even if they don’t realize they’re breaking the law by helping a woman.

However, a woman who gets an abortion could not be sued.

In what appears to be protections for taxi, Uber and Lyft drivers, the law stipulates a person who takes a pregnant woman to a provider cannot be sued if said person is unaware the woman intends to get an abortion.

Someone could bring a lawsuit anytime in the six years following a woman’s illegal abortion.

Does this law include medication abortions?

Yes. Medication abortions, which are done by taking a series of pills over the course of a few days, are banned under HB 4327.

Does this law outlaw Plan B?

No. HB 4237 specifically says the law doesn’t apply to emergency contraception, also referred to as Plan B or “morning after” pills. So emergency contraception will remain legal under the law.

Plan B isn’t an abortifacient. The pills cannot terminate a pregnancy; they work by delaying ovulation, thereby preventing fertilization, or by preventing a fertilized egg from implanting.

The pills are meant to be taken within a few days after unprotected sex or after the failure of another birth control method to prevent pregnancy.

Does this law outlaw birth control?

No. In addition to explicitly allowing for emergency contraception, the law says it does not ban any other type of contraception. So birth control methods like intrauterine devices, or IUDs, implants, condoms and birth control pills all remain legal.

What about ectopic pregnancies and miscarriages?

The law says any procedure to “remove a dead unborn child” as a result of a miscarriage, or removing an ectopic pregnancy, is not considered an abortion and wouldn’t be prohibited under the measure.

An ectopic pregnancy is a life-threatening situation that happens when a fertilized egg grows outside of the uterus. Most occur in the fallopian tube, which can rupture as the pregnancy grows and cause internal bleeding.

An ectopic pregnancy can’t be moved to the uterus and will never be viable, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma implemented the nation's strictest abortion ban. What to know