Oklahoma Supreme Court upholds laws banning abortion, clarifies exceptions

The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled Tuesday to clarify, but not overturn state law which bans most abortions.

A number of pro-choice organizations had sued, seeking to overturn two laws entirely, but the justices demurred, writing that the Oklahoma Constitution does not, and has never, guaranteed a woman’s right to have an abortion.

However, in its opinion, the court wrote “We hold that the Oklahoma Constitution creates an inherent right of a pregnant woman to terminate a pregnancy when necessary to preserve her life.”

As written, some interpreted state law as only allowing a legal abortion in the event of a medical emergency, but the justices essentially ruled that is contrary to the rights which protect the mother.

The ruling states, in part:

“‘The language, ‘except to save the life of a pregnant woman in a medical emergency’ is much different from ‘preserve her life’ found in § 861. It restricts the performance of an abortion to only a pregnant woman who is ‘in a medical emergency’ which includes that her life ‘is endangered.’ We read this section of law to require a woman to be in actual and present danger in order for her to obtain a medically necessary abortion. We know of no other law that requires one to wait until there is an actual medical emergency in order to receive treatment when the harmful condition is known or probable to occur in the future.”

Governor Kevin Stitt issued a statement on the ruling late Tuesday afternoon, reading in part:

“I wholeheartedly disagree with this activist majority’s opinion creating a right to an abortion in Oklahoma. Alarmingly, this activist majority acted out of hand by making a policy decision that belongs to the people. Chief Justice Kane said it best in his well-written dissent: ‘This Court should adhere to the Constitution given to us, not craft what we believe to be a “better” Constitution. The power lies with the people.’”

You can read the entire ruling here: