Oklahoma Supreme Court Strikes Down Two Abortion Laws
The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled today that two Oklahoma laws that banned abortions were unconstitutional.
The state’s high court ruled the state’s abortion bans passed last year are too restrictive and vague for doctors.
Those laws made abortion illegal, except in a QUOTE “medical emergency.” It was unclear to justices and doctors across the state what exactly that means.
Tamya Cox-Toure is the ACLU of Oklahoma Executive Director. She says the ruling gives further guidance on when Oklahomans can receive care.
“However, because of our pre-Roe abortion bans, Oklahoma does not have full access to abortion care, even in light of these laws being struck down as unconstitutional,” Cox-Toure said.
A 1910 law prohibiting abortion is still in place. It only allows the procedure if it will save a mother’s life - but doesn’t have the medical emergency requirement.
Oklahoma Supreme Court Rules In Favor Of OTA
The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled today in favor of the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority.
The state’s high court found that the OTA did not violate the Open Meetings Act when they discussed the ACCESS Oklahoma project last year.
The group opposing the project, Pike-off OTA, argued that the turnpike authority was in violation of the Open Meetings Act because two meeting agendas did not contain all of the business that the O-T-A intended on conducting.
The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled that since the announcement was for informational purposes only, and no vote was taken, the OTA did not violate any rules.
Special Remembrance Held In Tulsa
On the 102nd anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre, a crowd collected soil in remembrance of the unknown victims killed. Many consider the massacre to be the worst act of racial violence in U.S. history.
While fewer than 200 were confirmed to have died in the massacre, some researchers estimate hundreds of men, women and children died when a white mob razed Tulsa’s Greenwood District, known as Black Wall Street, on May 31st and June 1st, 1921.
On Wednesday, Black leaders in Tulsa gathered at Standpipe Hill in the Greenwood District to honor the unknown victims of the massacre.
Organizer Greg Robinson said the location of the ceremony was symbolic of what Black Wall Street QUOTE “Was, is, and will be into the future.”
“We ensure that it will never happen again, and we make a pledge to return this space to the greatness that it absolutely deserves,” Robinson said.
After poems, prayers and speeches, those in attendance poured soil into four jars in remembrance of the victims.
Two of the three living survivors of the massacre, Lessie Benningfield Randle and Viola Fletcher, were in attendance and poured soil into the jars.
Upgrades Coming To Will Rogers World Airport
Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City is seeing a significant increase in air travel this year despite higher travel costs.
So the airport is planning to upgrade the facility over the next few years.
Officials say flight demand is now back to pre-COVID levels.
The airport has plans for a parking garage and other upgrades to accommodate the increased demand.
A Federal Inspection Station is also reportedly in the works to enable non-stop international flights by 2025.
Airport officials say funding for these projects will come from a trust, not taxpayers.
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