Skip to content
Center for Reproductive Rights
Center for Reproductive Rights

Primary Menu

  • About
    • Overview
    • Center Leadership & Staff
    • Pro Bono Program
    • Creative Council
    • Annual Reports
    • Contact Us
    • Careers
    • Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
  • Work
    • Overview
    • Litigation
    • Legal Policy and Advocacy
    • Resources & Research
    • Recent Case Highlights
    • Landmark Cases
    • World’s Abortion Laws Map
    • What if Roe Fell? U.S. Abortion Laws Map
  • Issues
    • Overview
    • Abortion
    • Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights
    • Assisted Reproduction
    • Contraception
    • Humanitarian Settings
    • Maternal Health
    • COVID-19
  • Regions
    • Overview
    • Africa
    • Asia
    • Europe
    • Latin America and the Caribbean
    • United States
    • Global Advocacy
  • News
    • Latest News
    • Center in the Spotlight
    • Events
    • Press Releases
    • Press Room
    • Newsletters
  • Resources
    • Resources & Research
    • World Abortion Laws Map
    • What if Roe Fell? U.S. Abortion Laws Map
    • Take Action Toolkit
  • Act
    • Overview
    • Give
    • Act
    • Learn
  • Donate
    • Make a Gift Now
    • Be a Champion
    • Join the Advocates Council
    • Become a Major Donor
    • Give Through Your Donor-Advised Fund
    • Make a Gift In Honor
    • Attend an Event
    • Leave a Legacy
    • More Ways to Give
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn
Donate
icon-hamburger icon-magnifying-glass Donate
icon-magnifying-glass-teal
Center for Reproductive Rights - Center for Reproductive Rights - search logo
search Close Close icon
Center for Reproductive Rights -
Menu Close Menu Close icon
Donate

Primary Menu

  • About
    • Overview
    • Center Leadership & Staff
    • Pro Bono Program
    • Creative Council
    • Annual Reports
    • Contact Us
    • Careers
    • Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
  • Work
    • Overview
    • Litigation
    • Legal Policy and Advocacy
    • Resources & Research
    • Recent Case Highlights
    • Landmark Cases
    • World’s Abortion Laws Map
    • What if Roe Fell? U.S. Abortion Laws Map
  • Issues
    • Overview
    • Abortion
    • Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights
    • Assisted Reproduction
    • Contraception
    • Humanitarian Settings
    • Maternal Health
    • COVID-19
  • Regions
    • Overview
    • Africa
    • Asia
    • Europe
    • Latin America and the Caribbean
    • United States
    • Global Advocacy
  • News
    • Latest News
    • Center in the Spotlight
    • Events
    • Press Releases
    • Press Room
    • Newsletters
  • Resources
    • Resources & Research
    • World Abortion Laws Map
    • What if Roe Fell? U.S. Abortion Laws Map
    • Take Action Toolkit
  • Act
    • Overview
    • Give
    • Act
    • Learn
  • Donate
    • Make a Gift Now
    • Be a Champion
    • Join the Advocates Council
    • Become a Major Donor
    • Give Through Your Donor-Advised Fund
    • Make a Gift In Honor
    • Attend an Event
    • Leave a Legacy
    • More Ways to Give
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn

  • Overview

Share this page

Donate Now

Join Now

  • Hidden

Oklahoma Call for Reproductive Justice et al. v. O’Connor, et al.

Filing date: 09.02.2021
This case seeks to block several extreme Oklahoma laws that ban and restrict abortion.

Share this page

  • facebook
  • Twitter
  • linkedin
  • Email id

(Updated 05.02.22) On April 28, 2022, the Center for Reproductive Rights and its partners filed a motion to add to this case a challenge to SB 612, a law passed in April and due to take effect in August that bans all abortion care except in narrowly defined medical emergencies. The lawsuit seeks to block the law–which makes abortion a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and/or a $100,000 fine–from taking effect.

The original lawsuit in this case was filed on September 2, 2021 to block five Oklahoma abortion bans and restrictions–all of which have been blocked while the case proceeds on its merits.

The laws ban and restrict abortion care and were due to go into effect on November 1. These laws ban abortion entirely by suspending doctors’ licenses, ban abortion at approximately six weeks of pregnancy, bar highly trained professionals from providing abortion services, and restrict access to medication abortion. 

Center President and CEO Nancy Northup stated, “All of these laws have the same goal: to make it harder to get an abortion in Oklahoma. We will continue to fight in court to ensure these laws are struck down for good. Politicians should not be meddling in the private health decisions of Oklahomans.”

In 1973, in Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court held that the U.S. Constitution protects the right to terminate a pregnancy prior to viability, and Oklahoma state courts have faithfully applied this precedent. Oklahoma legislators, however, have repeatedly enacted laws that violate the right to abortion and are thus “unconstitutional and contrary to clear Oklahoma Supreme Court precedent,” according to the complaint filed by the Center and its partners.  

The first three laws challenged in this case include: 

  • A law that bans abortion entirely by declaring that the provision of abortion care is “unprofessional conduct” by physicians, resulting in suspension of medical licensure for one year, at a minimum.
  • A law banning abortion at approximately six weeks of pregnancy, which is before most people realize they are pregnant.
  • A law that would arbitrarily prohibit highly trained clinicians, including family medicine doctors, from providing abortion care because they are not board-certified OB/GYNs. 

The other two laws contain hundreds of provisions severely limiting access to medication abortion, which as many benefits for patients:

  • One law includes provisions that convert the existing mandatory delay law into an ultrasound requirement, which will force patients to have two appointments with a healthcare provider at least 72-hours apart.  Other provisions require patient and provider information to be filed with the state.  
  • The other includes additional restrictions on medication abortion, which apply to providers and manufacturers and distributors, including narrowing the window in which medication abortion can be prescribed and requiring access to a doctor with admitting privileges at a nearby hospital.  

Center President and CEO Nancy Northup said about the laws at issue in this case, “If allowed to take effect, these laws would end abortion access in Oklahoma, forcing patients to travel great distances and cross state lines to get essential health care. It’s unbelievable that in the midst of a global pandemic, Oklahoma’s lawmakers would have people drive hundreds of miles to access abortion services. They should be focusing on containing the spread of COVID-19 and saving the lives of people in their state instead of taking away their citizens’ constitutional rights.” 

The lawsuit was filed by the Center, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Dechert LLP, and Blake Patton on behalf of the Oklahoma Call for Reproductive Justice, Tulsa Women’s Reproductive Clinic, Dr. Alan Braid, Comprehensive Health of Planned Parenthood Great Plains, and Planned Parenthood of Arkansas and Eastern Oklahoma. 

Defendants for the case include the Attorney General of Oklahoma, District Attorneys for Oklahoma County and Tulsa County, the Oklahoma State Board of Medical Licensure and Supervision, the Oklahoma State Board of Osteopathic Examiners, the Oklahoma State Board of Health, and the Oklahoma State Board of Pharmacy.  

On October 4, a state court judge agreed to block the total abortion ban, which declares that providing abortion at any stage in pregnancy qualifies as “unprofessional conduct” by physicians; and the law banning abortion as early as approximately six weeks into pregnancy. But the judge refused to block the law that would prohibit highly qualified providers from providing abortion care because they are not board-certified OB/GYNs and the two laws restricting medication abortion. At the same time, the state court agreed to block the total abortion ban, which declares that providing abortion at any stage in pregnancy qualifies as “unprofessional conduct” by physicians; and the law banning abortion as early as six weeks into pregnancy.

On October 25, the Oklahoma Supreme Court instituted an emergency temporary injunction blocking the three remaining laws while the appeal is pending. The appeal is fully briefed and we are now awaiting a decision.

Timeline of case: 

  • April 26, 2021: Governor Kevin Stitt signed into law H.B. 1102, a total ban on abortion; H.B. 2441, a six-week abortion ban; and H.B. 1904, an OB/GYN requirement. 
  • May 28, 2021: Governor Kevin Stitt signed into law S.B. 778 and S.B. 779, which restrict medication abortion. 
  • September 2, 2021: Plaintiffs filed the case in state court, asking the Oklahoma County district court to block the laws before they take effect on November 1, 2021.  
  • October 4, 2021: The district court held a hearing on Plaintiffs’ request for an injunction to block the laws before they take effect. Ruling from the bench, the state court judge blocked two of the abortion bans, but denied the request for the temporary injunction on several of the restrictions.
  • October 25, 2021: The Oklahoma Supreme Court blocked the remaining three laws, leaving all five laws blocked while the case continues.
  • April 12, 2022: Governor Kevin Stitt signed into law S.B. 612, which makes performing an abortion a felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and/or a $100,000 fine.
  • April 28, 2022: The Center filed a motion to add to this case a challenge to S.B. 612, which seeks to block the law from taking effect.

Center Attorneys: Rabia Muqaddam, Caroline Sacerdote, and Kulsoom Ijaz.

Co-Counsel/Cooperating Attorneys: Christine Clarke and Diana Salgado of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Linda Goldstein of Dechert LLP, and Blake Patton of Walding and Patton. 

Plaintiffs: Oklahoma Call for Reproductive Justice, Tulsa Women’s Reproductive Clinic, Dr. Alan Braid, Comprehensive Health of Planned Parenthood Great Plains, and Planned Parenthood of Arkansas and Eastern Oklahoma. 

Legal Documents:

  • Lawsuit Challenging SB 612 Filed in Oklahoma County District Court, 04.28.2022
  • Plaintiffs-Appellants’ Brief, 12.08.2021
  • Ruling by the Supreme Court of the State of Oklahoma, 10.25.2021
  • Complaint, 09.02.2021 

Feature Stories:  

  • Center and Partners Sue Oklahoma Over Abortion Bans That Would Further Devastate Access in the Region, 04.28.2022
  • Oklahoma Supreme Court Blocks Three Extreme Abortion Laws in Center Lawsuit, 10.26.2021
  • Lawsuit Seeks to Block Oklahoma’s New Abortion Bans and Restrictions, 09.02.2021

Press Releases:  

  • Legal Challenges Filed to Block Two Extreme Oklahoma Abortion Bans, 04.28.2022
  • Oklahoma Supreme Court Blocks New Abortion Restrictions, 10.25.2021
  • Court Refuses to Block New Abortion Restrictions in Oklahoma, 10.04.2021
  • Lawsuit Filed to Block Oklahoma’s New Abortion Bans and Restrictions, 09.02.2021 
Get the latest news on reproductive rights and opportunities to take action.
  • Hidden

Related Content

Issues:

Abortion

Regions:

United States

Work:

In the Courts

Case Status:

Open

Footer Menu

  • Careers
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact Us

Center for Reproductive Rights
© (1992-2021)

Use of this site signifies agreement with our disclaimer and privacy policy.

Center for Reproductive Rights
This site uses necessary, analytics and social media cookies to improve your experience and deliver targeted advertising. Click "Options" or click here to learn more and customize your cookie settings, otherwise please click "Accept" to proceed.
OPTIONSACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
CookieDurationDescription
_ga2 yearsThis cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to calculate visitor, session, campaign data and keep track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookies store information anonymously and assign a randomly generated number to identify unique visitors.
_gat_UA-6619340-11 minuteNo description
_gid1 dayThis cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to store information of how visitors use a website and helps in creating an analytics report of how the wbsite is doing. The data collected including the number visitors, the source where they have come from, and the pages viisted in an anonymous form.
_parsely_session30 minutesThis cookie is used to track the behavior of a user within the current session.
HotJar: _hjAbsoluteSessionInProgress30 minutesNo description
HotJar: _hjFirstSeen30 minutesNo description
HotJar: _hjid1 yearThis cookie is set by Hotjar. This cookie is set when the customer first lands on a page with the Hotjar script. It is used to persist the random user ID, unique to that site on the browser. This ensures that behavior in subsequent visits to the same site will be attributed to the same user ID.
HotJar: _hjIncludedInPageviewSample2 minutesNo description
HotJar: _hjIncludedInSessionSample2 minutesNo description
HotJar: _hjTLDTestsessionNo description
SSCVER1 year 24 daysThe domain of this cookie is owned by Nielsen. The cookie is used for online advertising by creating user profile based on their preferences.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
CookieDurationDescription
_fbp3 monthsThis cookie is set by Facebook to deliver advertisement when they are on Facebook or a digital platform powered by Facebook advertising after visiting this website.
fr3 monthsThe cookie is set by Facebook to show relevant advertisments to the users and measure and improve the advertisements. The cookie also tracks the behavior of the user across the web on sites that have Facebook pixel or Facebook social plugin.
IDE1 year 24 daysUsed by Google DoubleClick and stores information about how the user uses the website and any other advertisement before visiting the website. This is used to present users with ads that are relevant to them according to the user profile.
IMRID1 year 24 daysThe domain of this cookie is owned by Nielsen. The cookie is used for storing the start and end of the user session for nielsen statistics. It helps in consumer profiling for online advertising.
personalization_id2 yearsThis cookie is set by twitter.com. It is used integrate the sharing features of this social media. It also stores information about how the user uses the website for tracking and targeting.
TDID1 yearThe cookie is set by CloudFare service to store a unique ID to identify a returning users device which then is used for targeted advertising.
test_cookie15 minutesThis cookie is set by doubleclick.net. The purpose of the cookie is to determine if the user's browser supports cookies.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
CookieDurationDescription
adEdition1 dayNo description
akaas_MSNBC10 daysNo description
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional1 yearThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others1 yearNo description
geoEdition1 dayNo description
next-i18next1 yearNo description
SAVE & ACCEPT
Powered by CookieYes Logo
Scroll Up