Oklahoma has become the second state to ban a common second-trimester abortion procedure that critics describe as dismembering a fetus.
Republican Gov. Mary Fallin signed the legislation Monday after it was overwhelmingly approved by the House and Senate.
The abortion measure prohibits doctors from using forceps, clamps, scissors or similar instruments on a live fetus to remove it from the womb in pieces. Such instruments are used in dilation and evacuation procedures performed in the second trimester.
The bill would ban the procedure except when necessary to save a woman's life. Critics say the procedure is often the safest to terminate pregnancies during the second trimester.
Kansas Republican Gov. Sam Brownback signed a similar measure into law last week.
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