Summary

Summary

The Center for Reproductive Rights filed a case on September 16, 2026 challenging two of Oklahoma’s abortion bans as applied to Oklahomans who receive a fatal fetal diagnosis.

Currently, Oklahoma bans abortions except when necessary to preserve the life of the pregnant person. This means that even when a fetus has a fatal condition, doctors may not treat pregnant patients according to medical best practices or the patient’s wishes. A fatal fetal condition means the pregnancy is likely to end in miscarriage or stillbirth; in the event of a live birth, the infant’s survival will not be sustained, with or without medical support.

Physicians have the expertise to diagnose a fatal fetal condition, as well as the training to support pregnant patients’ decision-making in these circumstances, such as by providing them with accurate, unbiased information about the condition and prognosis. But Oklahoma’s abortion bans deprive pregnant people of the ability to choose abortion care from their trusted providers in their communities.

About the case

About the case

The State of Oklahoma forces pregnant patients with fatal fetal conditions to continue their pregnancies, despite the very real consequences to the pregnant person. It is deliberately subjecting Oklahomans to the physical symptoms related to pregnancy, the mental health implications of forced continuation of pregnancy, and the harms of taking away patients’ ability to make this deeply personal decision for themselves.

This is precisely the situation that the patient plaintiffs in this case faced. After receiving fatal fetal diagnoses, Magon Hoffman and Sheena Hamlin were both forced to flee Oklahoma for care their doctors were barred from providing.

This case seeks to ensure that no more Oklahomans who receive a fatal fetal diagnosis are forced to continue their pregnancies even though their child will not survive, or flee the state for care.

Plaintiffs are seeking relief from two Oklahoma abortion bans: 21 O.S. § 861 (the “Total Ban”) and 63 O.S. § 1-745.5 (the “22-Week Ban”). Both bans contain limited exceptions that permit abortion care when the pregnant person’s life is threatened. However, there is no exception in the bans for fatal fetal diagnoses. Plaintiffs ask the Court to block the bans in these circumstances so that no other Oklahomans have to go through what the patient plaintiffs did.

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