Summary

Summary

(Updated 09.25.2026) The Center for Reproductive Rights and its partners initially brought this case on April 28, 2022, to block an Oklahoma law banning abortion after approximately six weeks of pregnancy that was passed by the legislature that day. The law, S.B. 1503, took effect when it was signed into law by Governor Kevin Stitt on May 3. On May 26, 2022, the Center and its partners filed a challenge to H.B. 4327, a total ban on abortion. That law–at the time the most restrictive abortion ban in effect in the U.S.–took effect on May 25, immediately after the governor signed it into law.

Both “vigilante-style” laws encouraged individuals to bring costly and harassing lawsuits against abortion providers, health center workers, or others who help someone access abortion care in Oklahoma in violation of the law. According to the enforcement scheme of S.B. 1503 and H.B. 4327, individuals could sue an abortion provider or anyone else who assists someone in obtaining an abortion in violation of the law. Those who successfully sue would be rewarded with at least $10,000.

Ultimately, the Oklahoma Supreme Court struck down both bans and reaffirmed its decision from March 2023 in another case litigated by the Center and its partners recognizing the inherent right to abortion to preserve one’s life.

About the case

About the case

This case was filed on April 28, 2022, the same day that S.B. 1503 was passed by the Oklahoma state legislature. In a move reserved for constitutional crises and other urgent situations, the Center for Reproductive Rights and Planned Parenthood – on behalf of abortion providers and a reproductive justice organization – filed the case directly with the Oklahoma Supreme Court. Petitioners requested an emergency order blocking the law banning abortion after six weeks from taking effect while litigation proceeded on the merits.

While federal challenges to Texas’s vigilante ban had been unsuccessful in blocking the law, there was precedent in Oklahoma state court to support plaintiffs’ arguments for relief that would prevent the ban from taking effect.

However, on May 3, shortly after Governor Kevin Stitt signed S.B. 1503 into law, the Oklahoma Supreme Court issued its ruling, declining to block the ban and allowing it to take effect that day.

On May 25, Governor Stitt signed an even more extreme law: H.B. 4327, which banned abortion entirely using the same vigilante-style enforcement mechanism. Petitioners added a challenge to the new law and sought emergency relief to keep both bans from taking effect. The Oklahoma Supreme Court again declined to block the bans.

In May 2023, the Oklahoma Supreme Court struck down the two vigilante-enforced abortion bans as unconstitutional. Relying on its prior ruling that the Oklahoma Constitution protects an inherent right to life-preserving abortion care, the Court found that S.B. 1503 and H.B. 4327 could prevent care in such circumstances, and thus they violate the state constitution.

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