BABY STEPS

Oklahoma Supreme Court Allows Life-Saving Abortions

The ruling doesn’t reinstate the right to an “elective” abortion for Oklahomans.

The Oklahoma constitution protects access to life-saving abortions, the state’s Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday. The court’s ruling also struck down a law passed by the Oklahoma legislature that criminalized abortions. In the wake of Roe v. Wade being overturned, Oklahoma legislators passed an almost-total abortion ban except in cases of a “medical emergency.” In its ruling, the court stated: “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,” increasing health-related abortion protections. The ruling doesn’t reinstate the right to an “elective” abortion for Oklahomans, but allows for legal abortions in the case of a “reasonable degree of medical certainty or probability” that the pregnancy is unsafe or could end the mother’s life.