OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma Supreme Court on Wednesday overturned two state laws that outlawed abortion, but the procedure is still banned in the state.
The state’s high court found by a 6-3 vote that Senate Bill 1503 and House Bill 4327 were unconstitutional. Both measures were passed by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Kevin Stitt in 2022.
“I again wholeheartedly disagree with the Oklahoma Supreme Court’s use of activism to create a right to an abortion in Oklahoma,” Stitt said in a written statement. “This court has once more over-involved itself in the state’s democratic process, and has interceded to undo legislation created by the will of the people.”
Senate Bill 1503, by Sen. Julie Daniels, R-Bartlesville, banned abortion when a fetal heartbeat was detected, which is usually at six weeks and before most people know they are pregnant.
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It has an exception for a medical emergency but does not define what qualifies as one.
House Bill 4327, by former Rep. Wendi Stearman, R-Bartlesville, was described at the time of its passage as the strictest abortion ban in the country.
It would have prohibited abortion at conception and allowed for civil suits where a plaintiff could be awarded a minimum of $10,000.
It had exceptions to save the life of the mother or in cases of sexual assault or rape that has been reported to law enforcement.
The state Supreme Court noted that it had found in March that a pregnant woman has an inherent right to terminate a pregnancy when it is necessary to preserve her life.
“Despite the court’s decisions today on SB 1503 and HB 4327, Oklahoma’s 1910 law prohibiting abortion remains in place,” according to a statement from the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office. “Except for certain circumstances outlined in that statute, abortion is still unlawful in the State of Oklahoma.”
Senate President Pro Tem Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City, said the court’s new ruling has little to no impact on abortion in Oklahoma.
“The ruling has no authority over Oklahoma’s criminal penalties for doctors who perform an abortion,” Treat said. “After the U.S. Supreme Court accurately ruled in 2022 there is no constitutional right to an abortion in the United States, it remains illegal to get an abortion in Oklahoma, unless it is to save the life of the mother.”
House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka, said he was disappointed with the state Supreme Court’s ruling, adding that a supermajority of members in both legislative chambers supported SB 1503 and HB 4327.
“However, Oklahomans can rest assured that House Republicans will continue to protect the lives of the unborn and pursue legislation that values all life,” McCall said in a statement.
“Thanks to the leadership of House and Senate Republicans, Oklahoma is one of the most pro-life states in the nation. Today’s ruling won’t change that, and we will continue to be a voice for the voiceless as we strive to protect the right to life in the State of Oklahoma.”
Treat, as he has done with prior adversarial rulings to state laws, said it is time for judicial reform.
“The state Supreme Court continues to ignore precedent set by federal and state law and keeps making political decisions outside their authority,” Treat said.
Oklahoma Call for Reproductive Justice, Tulsa Women’s Reproductive Clinic, Dr. Alan Braid, Comprehensive Health of Planned Parenthood Great Plains, and Planned Parenthood of Arkansas and Eastern Oklahoma brought the lawsuit.
“Oklahoma lawmakers have passed four abortion bans in the last two years with extremely narrow exceptions. Their lack of concern and empathy for pregnant Oklahomans is frightening,” said Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights. “These overlapping bans have created a public health crisis in the state — we know pregnant women have been turned away from hospitals and denied medically necessary abortions until they were near death.”
The Center for Reproductive Rights, which is representing some of the plaintiffs, has a long history of successfully challenging legislation that put additional restrictions on abortion.
“While it is disappointing that abortion care remains largely out of reach, the state Supreme Court’s decision today confirms that pregnant Oklahomans in life-threatening situations should get the care they need,” said Priya Desai, board member of Oklahoma Call for Reproductive Justice.
“Too many pregnant people in my state have been turned away from care despite facing grave threats to their health and lives. But the fight is not over. We will keep working towards a reality where abortion is available in our home communities once again.”
“After months of uncertainty and chaos, Oklahomans should finally be able to access the life-saving care they need in their home state,” Braid said. “Heartbreakingly, we were forced to close our Tulsa clinic due to Oklahoma’s abortion bans, but I will continue to serve patients in the region at clinics in Illinois and New Mexico.”
History of Oklahoma’s stricken abortion measures
2012
The Oklahoma Supreme Court threw out a law requiring any woman seeking an abortion to have an ultrasound within an hour before the procedure and have what was on the images described to her. The court also overturned another law that put restrictions on the RU-486 abortion-inducing drug and a ban on all medication abortions.
The court also struck down an issue before it could be added to the state ballot that would have let voters decide on an initiative defining a fertilized egg as a “person,” thereby banning abortion and most forms of contraception.
2014
An Oklahoma County judge threw out a law that would have required girls younger than 17 to have a prescription to obtain the “morning after” birth control pill.
The Oklahoma Supreme Court in 2019 upheld the unconstitutionality of a law that would have required doctors who treat women seeking a medication abortion to use a decade-older method that is less safe, less effective and more expensive than the current method, according to the Center for Reproductive Rights. It sought to require doctors to follow U.S. Food and Drug Administration protocols and bar off-label uses.
2015
An Oklahoma County judge issued an injunction on a law that would have banned dilation and evacuation, a common second-trimester abortion procedure.
2016
Gov. Mary Fallin vetoed a bill that would have made it a felony for physicians to perform abortions and revoke their medical licenses unless the abortion was necessary to save the life of the mother.
The Oklahoma Supreme Court threw out a law targeted against child rapists that would have forced abortion providers to take a sample of the fetal tissue when the abortion patient was younger than 14 and send it to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.
The state high court on Dec. 14 struck down a law that would have required doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles.
