The Oklahoma Supreme Court has a long record of blocking or overturning anti-abortion laws in the state. Tuesday, it did it again, unanimously ruling that Senate Bill 642 is unconstitutional.
The law mandated that in cases when abortion is performed on someone younger than 14, a sample of fetal tissue must be sent to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation. The idea behind that, supporters said, was to catch child rapists. But the law also included new rules on licensing and inspections. Foes of the law said these unrelated matters gave legislators an "all or nothing" choice in voting. The court agreed.
Barbara Hoberock reports:
The state’s high court found the measure, which had been put on hold pending the outcome of the court case, violated the state's constitutional requirement that bills contain one subject.
“We find that each of the four sections of Senate Bill 642 lack a common purpose and are not germane, relative and cognitive,” the opinion said. “Although each section relates in some way to abortion, the broad sweep of each section does not cure the single subject defects in this bill.”
Three other abortion-related topics were included in the law regarding minors and parental consent, inspection of clinics, and legal liability for abortion providers.
The Oklahoma Supremes have previously knocked down at least three state laws that attempted to restrict abortions, including one that outlawed medication (as opposed to surgical) abortions.