SCOTUS Poised to Enter Medical Abortion Ban Debate
The order issued by the justices was explicit in noting that the case had been granted review, so it is likely the Supreme Court will hear the case as soon as it has these answers. Once the Court receives the state court’s answers, it could still dismiss the case without a ruling. However, that seems unlikely since one of the reasons the Court likely accepted the case to begin with is because there is a split among lower courts on the validity of medication abortion restrictions with the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling to uphold a similar law. The order did state the justices would hold off on any “further proceedings” until after the state Supreme Court has responded.
Michelle Movahed, attorney with the Center for Reproductive Rights and lead attorney representing the challengers, welcomed the review. “We’re glad the Supreme Court took seriously our argument that the law is too broad,” Movahed told RH Reality Check. According to Movahed, the next step depends on the Oklahoma supreme court. The order issued by the U.S. Supreme Court did not provide a timetable for the Oklahoma court to respond, nor did it indicate when parties would be required to respond to the questions, and whether or not the court was required to hold a hearing.
Should the case proceed to a full-scale ruling by the Roberts Court, it could be a test of state authority to ban medication abortions and a good look at what remaining strength, if any, is had by Roe v. Wade. And that’s a prospect that could prove too tempting for the Court’s conservative majority to resist.