Two women in Oklahoma have filed suit against the state for being denied abortion care, according to a press release. Magon Hoffman and Sheena Hamlin were both denied care in Oklahoma after learning their babies were not going to survive, which led to fleeing to a different state for care.
The lawsuit is challenging two different abortion bans in the state, including a total abortion ban dating back to 1910. The Center for Reproductive Rights is the organization that filed the lawsuit. They brought a different case in 2023 to the Oklahoma Supreme Court regarding abortion care.
The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled that the state constitution protects the right to abortion in life-threatening situations, but declined to rule whether the state constitution protects a broader right to abortion outside of those circumstances.
Two OB-GYNs based in Oklahoma City are also plaintiffs in the new lawsuit. In the press release, Dr. Elizabeth Pinard says doctors routinely provide care according to what their patients want for themselves and their families. But the state's abortion ban has left her feeling helpless. She says she doesn't want to tell her patients to leave the state when she can easily give them the care they need in her office.
The Oklahoma attorney general's office told Ozarks at Large they are reviewing the lawsuit.
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