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State of Oklahoma
Posted: May 31, 2023 9:31 AMUpdated: May 31, 2023 3:27 PM
State Supreme Court Strikes Down Abortion Laws
Nathan Thompson
The Oklahoma Supreme Court has struck down two laws authored by Washington County legislators in 2022 that effectively banned abortion, ruling that the measures are unconstitutional.
House Bill 4327 was authored by former District 11 Rep. Wendi Stearman and co-authored in the Senate by District 26 Sen. Julie Daniels. It banned all abortions in Oklahoma from conception and allows for civil suits. The law had and exception to save the life of a pregnant woman or in the case of incest, sexual or rape.
Senate Bill 1503 was authored by Sen. Daniels and co-authored by former Rep. Todd Russ, who is now the State Treasurer. The bill would ban all abortions after a fetal heartbeat has been detected.
In the 6-3 decision released on Wednesday, the Supreme Court justices ruled that a pregnant woman has an “inherent right” to end a pregnancy when her life is in danger.
Sen. Daniels issued a written statement late Wednesday afternoon saying the following:
“On Wednesday, a rogue Oklahoma Supreme Court, acting as self-appointed legislators, unleashed another attack on Oklahoma’s unborn children. The court also thumbed its nose at the Legislature and showed their contempt for the separation of powers.
“These laws ensuring abortionists faced paying damages and the loss of their medical licenses was already precedent in other states, such as Texas.
“Our court should have dismissed these two lawsuits last year. Instead, they ignored the fact that the government can’t be the defendant under these civil laws.
“In both decisions, the majority said not one word about a right to life of the unborn child. This is a dangerous game the Supreme Court is playing in terms of judicial activism. It should be a wakeup call to my colleagues that we need to strongly consider legislative intervention to avoid any more erosion to pro-life measures, or any other pieces of legislation that the Oklahoma Supreme Court doesn’t like.
“The Legislature had an opportunity to clarify our pro-life statutes this legislative session. SB 834 would have made language, including definitions and exceptions, consistent throughout our laws that could have thwarted this attack on the right to life in our state. We had a duty to use our legislative authority to act to protect unborn children from unelected pro-abortion justices. I am gravely disappointed and saddened that we stood silent. We still have options. We must work quickly. We must work together.”
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