High court moves tentatively toward hearing case on abortion-inducing drugs

Jun 29 2013

The Supreme Court asked Oklahoma's Supreme Court to clarify a law that state judges had struck down as an unwarranted curb on medical practice and the right to abortion.

The New York Times: Supreme Court Takes Step Toward Hearing Abortion Case
The Supreme Court took a tentative step on Thursday toward hearing a case on the regulation of abortion-inducing drugs, asking the Oklahoma Supreme Court to clarify the meaning of a law that state judges had struck down as an unwarranted curb on medical practice and the right to abortion (Eckholm, 6/27).

Los Angeles Times: Supreme Court Tells Oklahoma To Review Abortion Pill Law
The Supreme Court told the high court of Oklahoma on Thursday to clarify a new state law restricting the use of the RU-486 abortion pill, setting the stage for a possible future ruling on how far states can go in regulating the practice of abortion. Legislators in several states, including Oklahoma, have passed laws to strictly regulate the practice of abortion. Among them are measures that require all women seeking abortions to undergo an ultrasound test. Oklahoma also adopted a law restricting the use of RU-486 (Savage, 6/27).

The Wall Street Journal: Abortion-Drug Case on High Court's Docket For Now
The high court hasn't previously considered what kind of rules on drug-induced abortions might pass constitutional scrutiny. In the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling and subsequent decisions modifying it, the Supreme Court has said women have a right to an abortion, while upholding certain state restrictions, such as waiting-period requirements (Radnofsky and Kendall, 6/27).

Reuters: U.S. Justices Show Interest In Oklahoma Abortion Pill Case
The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday said it could consider an Oklahoma case about a state law restricting use of the abortion pill mifepristone, or RU-486, but first sought clarification from the state's high court over the legislation. At issue is a law passed by Oklahoma in 2011 but never enacted due to legal opposition that bans the off-label use of drugs known to have abortion-inducing properties (Hurley and Clarke, 6/27).