Case: Oklahoma Call for Reproductive Justice v. O’Connor

On September 2, 2021, the Oklahoma Call for Reproductive Justice, Tulsa Women’s Reproductive Clinic, Comprehensive Health of Planned Parenthood Great Plains, and Planned Parenthood of Arkansas and Eastern Oklahoma filed this lawsuit in the District Court of Oklahoma County against the State Board of Pharmacy, the State Board of Osteopathic Examiners, the Oklahoma Department of Health, the Attorney General, and the District Attorneys of Oklahoma County and Tulsa County, to block five Oklahoma state laws that ban and restrict abortion care and were due to go into effect on November 1, 2021. The laws were H.B. 1102, H.B. 2441, H.B. 1904, S.B. 778,  and S.B. 779. H.B. 1102 would ban abortion entirely, H.B. 2441 would ban abortion at six weeks of pregnancy, H.B. 1904 would disqualify non-board certified OBGYNs from providing abortion care, and S.B. 778 and S.B. 779 would implement additional restrictions on access to medication abortion, including requiring an ultrasound 72 hours prior.

Represented by the Center for Reproductive Rights, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and private counsel, Plaintiffs alleged that the challenged laws were contrary to Oklahoma Supreme Court precedent and in some instances, were identical to ones already struck down by the court. In particular, Plaintiffs alleged that the laws violated the state Constitution's Substantive Due Process Clause by violating women's fundamental rights to choose to terminate a pregnancy, to bodily integrity, and to health. Plaintiffs sought (1) a declaratory judgment stating that the challenged laws violated the Oklahoma Constitution and were void and of no effect, (2) permanent injunctive relief prohibiting the state from enforcing the challenged laws, and (3) attorney’s fees and costs. This case was first assigned to Judge Richard Ogden and then transferred to Judge Cindy Truong.

Plaintiffs also filed a motion for temporary injunction on the same day the case was filed and on October 6, 2021, the motion was granted as to H.B. 1102 and 2441, but denied as to H.B. 1904 and S.B. 778 and 779. This prohibited the state from enforcing the total abortion ban and the six-week abortion ban as litigation continued. The order followed a court hearing on the matter, and the order did not contain a rationale.

On October 13, 2021, Plaintiffs filed an appeal to the Oklahoma Supreme Court challenging the decision, which granted a temporary injunction pending appeal for the three remaining laws, H.B. 1904 and S.B. 778 and 779, on October 28, 2021. This prohibited the state from enforcing the laws that would disqualify non-board certified OBGYNs from providing abortion care and implement extra requirements on medication abortion. Again, the court did not provide a rationale.

On April 28, 2022, Plaintiffs filed motions to temporarily enjoin and add a challenge to S.B. 612, a law that would ban all abortion care except in narrowly defined medical emergencies and would make abortion a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and/or a $100,000 fine. However, on July 15, 2022, the two motions were stricken by the court at Plaintiffs' request, with no reasoning provided. The docket has been silent since then. Presumably, this case remains ongoing.