The Oklahoma Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that a petition to amend the state constitution to criminalize all abortion care will not go forward, the Tulsa World reports (Hoberock, Tulsa World, 3/22).
Background
An Oklahoma resident filed the petition in late January with the Secretary of State. Under the petition, any individual who provides or procures abortion care would have been guilty of homicide. The petition also would have barred the disposal of unused embryos from in vitro fertilization.
In February, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Oklahoma filed a legal challenge against the petition in the state Supreme Court on behalf of four Oklahoma women. The lawsuit stated that the petition violates an individual's constitutional right to abortion, which was upheld more than four decades ago by the U.S. Supreme Court.
ACLU of Oklahoma also noted that the Oklahoma Supreme Court "has explicitly and repeatedly held that an initiative whose enforcement would violate federal constitutional protections for reproductive liberty is invalid and cannot appear on the ballot" (Women's Health Policy Report, 2/17).
Ruling details
The state's high court rejected the amendment in a unanimous two-page ruling (Tulsa World, 3/22).
The opinion stated, "This Court is duty bound by the United States and the Oklahoma Constitutions to 'follow the mandate of the United States Supreme Court on matters of federal constitutional law.'" The state Supreme Court held that the "proposed amendment to the Oklahoma Constitution is facially unconstitutional pursuant to [the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Planned Parenthood v. Casey]. The mandate of Casey remains binding on this court until and unless the United States Supreme Court holds to the contrary" (Hardzinski, KGOU, 3/22).
According to Brady Henderson, legal director at ACLU of Oklahoma, the Casey decision affirmed the right to abortion under Roe v. Wade. Henderson stated that the Oklahoma Supreme Court's ruling "is not an opinion where the state Supreme Court is telling us what it thinks about reproductive rights or abortion bans ... This is an opinion where the court is simply reaffirming the very basic principles of federalism and constitutional law."
ACLU official says similar state bill also unconstitutional
Henderson noted that a similar bill (SB 1552), which recently passed the state Senate, likely also would be struck down by courts (Tulsa World, 3/22). The measure, which is currently before state House lawmakers, would bar physicians who provide abortion care in most cases from obtaining or renewing a medical license in the state (Women's Health Policy Report, 3/9).
Henderson said, "It is not enforceable." He added, "It runs afoul of the same constitutional protections that this initiative petition does. If that is passed and becomes law, it would probably be struck down by state or federal court, really the instant anyone seeks to enforce it and possibly before that" (Tulsa World, 3/22).
