Effects of Supreme Court decision on abortion in Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas

by Sara Ritsch
Staff Writer

In the biggest abortion case in over 20 years, Texas’ widely replicated regulation of abortion clinics was struck down today, Monday, June 27, 2016. The regulations involved in House Bill 2 limited women’s access to abortions in the state, influencing surrounding state legislatures.

The two requirements given to abortion clinics regulated them with surgical center provisions that had significant cost – nearly impossible to achieve. Construction alone was the most expensive; that, maintenance and licensing would cost up to $1 million to uphold. Planned Parenthood looked for any possible way to make that money in order to provide safe and legal abortions in the state.

Texas is among 10 states with similar admitting privileges requirements. The requirements are in effect in Missouri, North Dakota and Tennessee and are currently on hold in Alabama, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Wisconsin, according to the Center for Reproductive Rights.

Planned Parenthood of Central Oklahoma (PPCO) Interim President and CEO Laura McQuade commented on this Texas Supreme Court victory. “This is a monumental day for reproductive rights, reproductive health access – it is historic. Not only by the vote itself, but by the content of the decision, which is broad and sweeping in nature. It is an emotional day, that we are finally here.

“This is easily the most important decision facing reproductive health access in more than 20 years. It is emotional, it’s joyful, it’s historic...to know we can be on the forefront of ensuring access to [safe and legal] abortion to women in these three states,” Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri.

“The Supreme Court cemented what we have always known – that admitting privileges and ASC requirements are medically unnecessary and their sole intent is to restrict access to abortion services, not to protect the health and safety of patients.

“Leading health organizations like the American Medical Association (AMA) and American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) agree and vehemently oppose these regulations that have been a cornerstone of a slow and steady effort to chip away at a person’s right and ability to choose safe, legal abortion.

“PPCO will now look closely at our local laws and swiftly form a legal plan to ensure they never go into effect in Oklahoma...Because those restrictions have been a barrier to providing abortion services in Oklahoma City, the elimination will allow expansion of services more readily. We are currently down to one provider in OKC – there is one independent provider in Tulsa as well, but only two in the entire state of Oklahoma.”

McQuade also said, “This ruling does not sweep away other aspects of ‘trap regulations’...that have been active in Missouri since 2007, so the same laws we have been dealing with in the state of Missouri. We are currently looking to invalidate these restrictions. Those two laws have been instrumental in making Missouri a one-provider state.

“We have been fighting desperately to maintain abilities to provide abortion – the main hurdle was when the University of Missouri, under intense duress, withdrew admitting privileges for the provider in Columbia – [this impacted] Planned Parenthood and independent providers’ ability to provide access to safe and legal abortion.

“In Kansas, these two regulations we enjoined by a court in 2011. We have not been required to adhere to them in Kansas, which has enables us to keep access in Kansas City and to expand in Wichita. We will make sure they never go into effect in Kansas.”

When asked whether McQuade and Planned Parenthood will expect backlash in the legislature, she said, “We do not expect a decision to lessen the vehement of our opponents. But we are on more constitutional grounds this morning than yesterday.”

The Gayly – 6/27/2016 @ 12:17 p.m. CDT