The Oklahoma Supreme Court unanimously ruled Tuesday a citizen-led effort to outlaw abortion in the state is unconstitutional.
In the ruling, the state’s high court cited the 1992 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which upheld the constitutional right to an abortion.
“This Court is duty bound by the United States and the Oklahoma Constitutions to “follow the mandate of the United States Supreme Court on matters of federal constitutional law,” the ruling states. “The proposed amendment to the Oklahoma Constitution is facially unconstitutional pursuant to Casey. The mandate of Casey remains binding on this court until and unless the United States Supreme Court holds to the contrary.
Noble resident Thomas Hunter filed Initiative Petition 406 in January. His goal was to make abortion illegal, and establish laws that make anyone who performs an abortion guilty of homicide.
The petition would’ve prohibited contraception that causes the death of a fetus, but not the type that prevents fertilization.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma filed a challenge to Initiative Petition 406 last month.
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