In a 5-4 ruling, the Oklahoma Supreme Court sided with abortion rights supporters.
Oklahoma’s 5-4 Supreme Court split the difference on Tuesday, ruling that pregnant women have the right to abortion whenever the pregnancy poses a risk to their health, not just in the case of a medical emergency.
Proponents of abortion rights have won a narrow triumph since the Supreme Court of the United States repealed Roe v. Wade.
According to the court’s interpretation of the state constitution, if a woman’s doctor determines that continuing the pregnancy constitutes a risk to the woman’s life, the lady has the right to an abortion to safeguard her health. Abortions were only legal in the past when necessary.
There is no compelling state interest in waiting until a medical emergency occurs since this “would further endanger the life of the pregnant woman,” according to the verdict.
The court decided 5-4 that abortions are legal under state law if it is essential to “preserve” or “save” the mother’s life.
Contrary to “except to save the life of a pregnant woman in a medical emergency,” the court ruled that “preserving her life” is a quite distinct idea.
According to the ruling, a doctor does not require “absolute certainty” that the mother’s life is in danger before concluding that abortion is essential to protect the woman’s life.
The issue of whether or not abortion is constitutionally protected in the state was not addressed by the court.
Following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, many groups, including Planned Parenthood and the Tulsa Women’s Reproductive Clinic, filed suit against Oklahoma and other states for passing anti-abortion laws.
Oklahoma’s “cruel abortion bans” have put people’s lives in jeopardy, according to a statement made by Center for Reproductive Rights President and CEO Nancy Northup.
Northrup was dissatisfied with the court’s refusal to rule on the broader question of whether or not the state constitution protects the right to abortion in other situations.
Much of the state of Oklahoma’s population will be left out due to this choice. The abortion doctor and lawsuit plaintiff, Dr. Alan Braid, released a statement calling it “heartbreaking” that so many people in Oklahoma would be denied access to abortion services.
Emily Wales, CEO of Planned Parenthood in the Great Plains, called the ruling a “small step” in restoring women’s access to abortion.
To paraphrase what she stated, the Oklahoma Supreme Court had recognized an unassailable truth: that individuals required access to basic medical care. Despite this, “the right recognized today is so limited that most people who need abortion will not be able to access it,” the authors conclude.