AG Pruitt files brief in review of abortion law

Attorney General Scott Pruitt

Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt on Tuesday filed a brief in support of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to review an Oklahoma abortion case.

The U.S. Supreme Court granted the Attorney General’s request to review the case after the state Supreme Court upheld a lower court’s ruling that the abortion law was unconstitutional. As part of the review, the U.S. Supreme Court asked the state Supreme Court to clarify whether the state law would ban the use of certain abortion-inducing drugs. “The U.S. Supreme Court grants such reviews in less than 1 percent of all cases. We’re grateful for the opportunity to address the court’s questions and defend the state’s ability to enact safeguards to ensure the well-being of Oklahoma women,” Pruitt said. “The Supreme Court is asking whether HB 1970 bans the use of all abortion-inducing drugs and the answer is no. The state was well within its constitutional authority to enact this measure to protect the health and safety of its citizens.”

House Bill 1970 requires physicians to administer abortion-inducing drugs in accordance with U.S. Food and Drug Administration protocol. Thousands of women have experienced life-threatening complications and at least eight women have died from the “off-label” use of abortion-inducing drugs, according to the FDA.

A similar law in Ohio has been upheld by the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.