Planned Parenthood Challenges Oklahoma's Total Abortion Bans In Court

Planned Parenthood has joined with abortion providers and advocates in Oklahoma to sue the state over two abortion bans on the books.

One is the 1910 ban that preceded Roe v. Wade and was resurrected last week after the Supreme Court overturned the 1973 ruling. The other, Senate Bill 612, was signed by Governor Stitt in 2022 and would make performing an abortion in Oklahoma a felony.

“Today, we’re challenging overlapping and contradictory bans on abortion care, including one ban that took effect when William Howard Taft was president and was invalidated before Richard Nixon resigned," said Emily Wales, president, and CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Plains "Oklahomans deserve abortion access here at home that’s consistent with modern history and modern medicine. Today’s standard of care – as defined by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Medical Association, and every credible medical organization – includes abortion services. The government got out of the business of blocking care 49 years ago, and our hope is that Oklahoma’s Supreme Court will recognize what the U.S. Supreme Court seems determined to ignore: the state has no place in private medical decisions.”

The lawsuit was filed Friday with Oklahoma Supreme Court. The petitioners are also requesting an emergency order to block the bans while litigation is ongoing.