Oklahoma Supreme Court blocks abortion restrictions
Oklahoma Supreme Court blocks abortion restrictions
The Oklahoma Supreme Court placed temporary injunctions on three laws regulating abortion and abortion pills on Tuesday
Gabrielle M. Etzel - NOV 15, 2023
The Oklahoma Supreme Court placed temporary injunctions on three laws regulating abortion and abortion pills on Tuesday, signaling that the state's high court could soon weigh whether abortion rights are implied in the state constitution.
In October 2021, reproductive rights groups filed a suit against five bills from the state legislature restricting access to and regulating abortion procedures, saying that all five laws violated the due process clause of the Oklahoma Constitution.
At the time, the Oklahoma County District Court issued a temporary injunction against two of the five laws but allowed three to stand: House Bill 1904 and Senate Bills 778 and 779.
On Tuesday, the state's highest court ruled in a 5-4 decision to grant a temporary injunction on the remaining three pieces of legislation.
Oklahoma HB 1904 requires that any in-person clinic abortion procedure must be performed by a board-certified OB-GYN, while SB 778 requires that abortion pills be prescribed by an OB-GYN. SB 779 requires that the Oklahoma State Board of Pharmacy track the manufacturing and distribution data of abortion pills.
Associate Justice Douglas Combs wrote in the majority opinion that following the logic of the Supreme Court's Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization case overturning federal abortion rights would require the state court to "find [that] a limited right to terminate a pregnancy was deeply rooted in Oklahoma's history and tradition."
Combs added that abortion had been outlawed in Oklahoma until the Roe v. Wade decision, but even criminal statutes "provided a limited exception to allow an abortion if [it] was 'necessary to preserve her life.'"
The Center for Reproductive Rights, a plaintiff in the original suit, told the Washington Examiner that the organization is "grateful that the Oklahoma Supreme Court recognized how these laws are medically baseless and threaten grave harm, while ensuring that they remain blocked as this case proceeds."
"This is welcome news, but the devastating reality is that Oklahomans still do not have access to the abortion care they need. The right to abortion is a human right, and Oklahomans deserve to access such essential healthcare without barriers," Rabia Muqaddam, senior staff attorney for the organization, said in a statement.
With the exception of saving the mother's life, abortion has been completely banned in Oklahoma since May 2022, after an unauthorized copy of the Dobbs decision was leaked to the public.
In November 2022, Oklahomans struck down a ballot initiative amendment that explicitly denied a state constitutional right to an abortion, opening a legal avenue to protect the procedure.
Abortion rights advocates in the state say that Oklahoma has some of the worst maternal death rates in the United States, with 47.5 maternal deaths per 100,000 — 14.5 deaths higher than the national average.
Planned Parenthood Great Plains and the Tulsa Women's Clinic joined the Center for Reproductive Rights in the original lawsuit against the anti-abortion legislation.
Planned Parenthood did not respond to the Washington Examiner's request for comment.