Washington - Oklahoma's legislature passed a bill on Thursday in Oklahoma's legislature that prohibits nearly all abortions at “fertilization”. If signed into a law, it will be the strictest abortion law yet in the US.

The bill, offered by Republican lawmakers, would take effect immediately. Not only would it ban nearly all abortions at conception — there are exceptions for medical emergencies or if the pregnancy was a result of rape, sexual assault or incest and reported to law enforcement— it bypasses a court challenge by allowing civilians to press charges against those whom they believe have performed an abortion or helped someone obtain one.

It even allows citizens to sue abortion providers who "knowingly" perform or induce an abortion "on a pregnant woman."

HB 4327 defines "fertilization" as "the fusion of a human spermatozoon with a human ovum." The bill considers a pregnancy to begin at fertilization, and not implantation.

Oklahoma's House of Representatives approved the measure by a vote of 73-16, and it now heads to the desk of Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt, who has previously pledged to sign every piece of legislation limiting abortion that reaches his desk.

Oklahoma passed a bill earlier this month, which prohibited abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy, echoing a similar move in Texas. Stitt has said he wanted Oklahoma to be “the most pro-life state in the country,” and Republicans there have sought to make the state the vanguard in banning abortion.

In anticipation of the Supreme court overturning Roe v. Wade, Republicans in dozens of states have rushed to write laws that would severely restrict abortion access or ban the procedure.

Vice President Kamala Harris called it "one of the most extreme abortion bans in the country. "It's outrageous and it's just the latest in a series of extreme laws around the country," said Harris in a virtual meeting with abortion providers.

Pro-life and pro-abortion groups agree that if Roe v. Wade falls, 26 states are already equipped or very likely to restrict abortion early in the pregnancy. The list of pro-life states willing to protect preborn babies include Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.