By Dave Andrusko
Oklahoma County District Court Judge Bill Graves
Having lost one challenge last week against a protective Oklahoma law, the Center for Reproductive Rights (as promised) filed an emergency motion Monday with the Oklahoma Supreme Court, asking the court to put on hold the state’s law requiring clinics to have an abortionist with admitting privileges in a nearby hospital. The law is scheduled to go into effect November 1.
Last week Oklahoma County District Court Judge Bill Graves, in a terse four-page ruling, held that SB 1848 could take effect. Judge Graves, clearly, was not happy with abortionist Larry Burns whom CRR says performs nearly half the abortions in the state.
For example, after holding that Burns did not have standing to sue on behalf of his patients, Judge Graves noted that Burns had taken his sweet time applying for admitting privileges.
After outlining the chronology, Graves wrote, “This means Plaintiff waited 77 days before applying for admitting privileges. If he has not heard back from all of the places to which he has applied, it is his own fault and there is no violation of due process.”
Graves also noted that SB 1848 does require Burns himself to have a admitting privileges, just someone on the premises. “Plaintiff has not testified or demonstrated that he has made any attempt to locate or hire a physician with admitting privileges who can be on the premises when abortions are performed.”
Two of the grounds on which CRR filed its appeal to the Oklahoma Supreme Court are that SB 1848 violated the “single subject” rule and that it is an unconstitutional delegation of legislative authority to hospital boards.
Judge Graves’s 21-word conclusion cut to the chase: “This Court finds that Plaintiff has not shown that he is likely to succeed o the merits as to these claims.”
As NRL News Today reported last week District Judge Robert Stuart upheld HB 2684, also scheduled to go into effect November 1 [http://nrlc.cc/1rxA7Sv].
HB 2684 was passed after the Oklahoma Supreme Court affirmed District Judge Donald Worthington’s decision striking down a 2011 law. The state Supreme Court ruled that the original 2011 law was so broad that it would ban all chemical abortion.
The new law requires the FDA protocol to be used when dispensing RU-486.