Oklahoma Supreme Court Invalidates Two Abortion Bans

The Oklahoma Supreme Court has ruled that two of the state's abortion bans enacted last year are unconstitutional and affirmed the right to terminate a pregnancy in life-threatening situations. Abortion remains largely inaccessible in the state due to a 1910 ban that makes exceptions for the life of the pregnant person. The ruling affects a pair of laws passed in 2022 that were modeled on a novel legal strategy from Texas that created a civil enforcement mechanism. The court held that the citizen enforcement aspect of the law could unconstitutionally thwart a person from receiving a lifesaving abortion.