Oklahoma Supreme Court temporarily halts slew of abortion restrictions

Though the Dobbs decision determined that the U.S. Constitution does not provide any right to abortion, the matter remains largely unresolved at the state level.

By Ben Whedon

Published: November 15, 2023 4:20pm

The Oklahoma Supreme Court on Wednesday temporarily halted three state laws governing abortion and the prescription of abortion bills pending further proceedings.

Abortion is almost completely illegal in the state, allowing only the exception in which a pregnancy presents a risk to the mother's life. Planned Parenthood, the Center for Reproductive Rights, and the Tulsa Women's Clinic joined forces to challenge five state laws regulating abortion, three of which the court temporarily blocked on Wednesday, the Washington Examiner reported.

The coalition originally brought the suit in 2021, at which time the Oklahoma County District Court blocked the other two laws, but declined to block those the Supreme Court stayed on Wednesday. The three newly-blocked laws require that a certified OB/GYN conduct an abortion, that only such a person may prescribe abortion pills, and that the state Board of Pharmacy track the manufacturing and distribution of said pills.

The court ruled 5-4 to grant the stays.

"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," Center for Reproductive Rights attorney Rabia Muqaddam said.

Oklahoma maintains some of the strictest abortion laws nationwide. In the wake of the Dobbs v. Jackson decision in 2022, roughly half of U.S. states have moved to limit or outright ban abortion, though nearly every such law has attracted legal scrutiny at the state level.

Though the Dobbs decision determined that the U.S. Constitution does not provide any right to abortion, the matter largely remains unresolved at the state level and some courts, such as the Supreme Court of South Carolina, have found that their constitutions do convey some right to abortion.

In January of this year, the bench struck down a six-week abortion ban in the Palmetto State, but subsequently upheld a similar law in August after one justice retired and legislators made minor tweaks.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.