(Reuters) - Oklahoma lawmakers on Thursday gave final approval to a bill that would ban nearly all abortions and would allow private citizens to sue anyone who helps women terminate a pregnancy.
The bill would take effect immediately upon being signed by Republican Governor Kevin Stitt, making it the most restrictive abortion ban in the United States.
The Republican-backed legislation bans abortion from the moment of "fertilization," making exceptions only in cases of medical emergency, rape or incest. The bill text says it does not prohibit the use of contraception or emergency contraception.
Trust Women, which operates a clinic in Oklahoma City, called passage of the bill "gratuitous and cruel."
"Our patients are frightened, confused about the new reality they now live in," the clinic said in a statement.
The Center for Reproductive Rights, a global advocacy group based in New York, said on Thursday it would challenge the ban in state court.
Oklahoma is among the country's Republican-led states rushing to pass anti-abortion laws this year, anticipating that the U.S. Supreme Court will soon overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 case that established the constitutional right to abortion.
A draft opinion leaked earlier this month showed the court's conservative majority intends to overhaul federal abortion rights and send the issue of legalization back to individual states.
