Oklahoma High Court Strikes Citizen-Enforced Abortion Bans
- June 02, 2023
The Oklahoma Supreme Court struck down two state anti-abortion laws May 31 as unconstitutional for insufficient medical emergency exceptions.
The two laws at issue were S.B. 1503, which banned abortion after six weeks of pregnancy, and H.B. 4327, which banned abortion entirely, according to the Center for Reproductive Rights, a plaintiff in the case.
The laws allowed any private individual to bring a lawsuit against anyone who provided an unlawful abortion or assisted someone in obtaining one.
The high court found the laws unconstitutional under Oklahoma Call for Reproductive Justice v. Drummond, which held “the Oklahoma Constitution creates an inherent right of a pregnant woman to terminate a pregnancy when necessary to preserve her life” and allowed doctors to rely on their medical judgment in making that determination.
Despite the decision, abortion care remains largely unavailable in the state because of an overlapping pre-Roe abortion ban that is still in effect, the Center for Reproductive Rights said.
Oklahoma Call for Reproductive Justice v. Oklahoma, No. 120376 (Okla. May 31, 2023).