Oklahoma’s state Supreme Court unanimously struck down a state law requiring abortion providers to have hospital admitting privileges.
The court said Tuesday that the law creates an undue burden on a woman’s access to abortion. The U.S. Supreme Court six months ago struck down a similar Texas law that required abortion clinics to meet the standards of ambulatory surgical centers.
The Center for Reproductive Rights sued Oklahoma over the law, which Republican Gov. Mary Fallin signed in 2014.
“Such requirements serve no medical purpose and have been denounced by leading medical groups, including the American Medical Association and the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists,” the abortion rights group said Tuesday.
Anti-abortion groups have said that such laws are needed to protect women’s health. Groups have pointed to the conviction of former abortion provider Kermit Gosnell for murdering three infants born alive during attempted abortions to prove that regulation of abortion clinics is lax.
The Oklahoma court’s decision comes less than six months after the Supreme Court ruled a similar Texas law unconstitutional.
