Oklahoma Supreme Court keeps anti-abortion laws on hold while challenge is pending

Source: Associated Press

Oklahoma Supreme Court keeps anti-abortion laws on hold while challenge is pending

BY SEAN MURPHY
Updated 4:11 PM EST, November 14, 2023

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Oklahoma Supreme Court reiterated its position on Tuesday in a 5-4 opinion that the state constitution guarantees a woman’s right to an abortion when necessary to preserve her life, although the procedure remains illegal in virtually all other cases.

In a case involving a legal challenge to five separate anti-abortion bills passed by the Legislature in 2021, the court ordered a lower court to keep in place a temporary ban on three of those laws while the merits of the case are considered. Two of the laws were already put on hold by a district court judge.

The three laws addressed by the court include: requiring physicians performing an abortion to be board certified in obstetrics and gynecology; requiring physicians administering abortion drugs to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital; and requiring an ultrasound 72 hours before administering abortion drugs.

“We are 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,” said Rabia Muqaddam, Senior Staff Attorney at the Center for Reproductive Rights, a New York-based abortion rights organization that sued the state, joined by Oklahoma abortion providers. “This is welcome news, but the devastating reality is that Oklahomans still do not have access to the abortion care they need.”

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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/oklahoma-supreme-court-abortion-8e6160880139b86d654dd0531831e945