Oklahoma Court Rules 2 Anti-Abortions Laws Passed In April 2022 Unconstitutional - Reports

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 01st June, 2023) The Supreme Court in the US state of Oklahoma has ruled that two laws passed in 2022 that ban most abortions are unconstitutional, but the ruling does not affect the 1910 law, which still prohibits most cases of pregnancy termination in the state unless they are necessary to save the mother's life, news media reported.

The laws repealed by the court on Wednesday were civil laws that had relied on lawsuits from private citizens to enforce them and both had made exceptions for cases involving a "medical emergency," The New York Times newspaper reported.

The judges regarded the exceptions as "too narrow" and said that a woman has a constitutional right to terminate a pregnancy to save her life without specifying the need for a medical emergency, the report said.

In April 2022, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt signed a law that made abortion procedure a felony, except in cases when a mother's life was at risk. The law did not make any exceptions for cases of rape or incest. The law also penalizes health workers performing abortions with up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $100,000.