Abortion providers and rights groups sue Oklahoma over COVID-19 related suspension
Abortion rights groups announced a lawsuit on Monday against top Oklahoma officials challenging an order Gov. Kevin Stitt issued last week that placed a moratorium on most abortions in the state.
In a press release on Monday evening, state and national abortion rights groups and providers announced they filed a lawsuit seeking a temporary restraining order, and eventually a permanent injunction to stop the state from enforcing the governor’s order. The federal lawsuit, which was filed in the Western District of Oklahoma, argues the state’s order effectively bans abortion care in the state.
The Center for Reproductive Rights and Planned Parenthood Federation of America filed the lawsuit, which was brought on behalf of Trust Women Oklahoma City, Dr. Larry Burns, who is the medical director of a Norman abortion clinic, and Comprehensive Health of Planned Parenthood of the Great Plains.
The two-week suspension of nonessential and elective procedures, which Stitt on Friday clarified also applied to abortions, was enacted in an effort to reserve hospital resources and protective gear needed to handle an expected influx of COVID-19 patients. Stitt said the ban did not extend to abortions in which the mother’s life was in danger.
Read more: https://www.readfrontier.org/stories/abortion-providers-and-rights-groups-sue-oklahoma-over-covid-19-related-suspension/