The Cline case “illustrates momentum for overturning the abuses of Roe. Multiple cases are advancing toward the Supreme Court as it has signaled its willingness to consider the impact of its unrestricted abortion policy on women and their unborn children,” said AUL’s Dr. Charmaine Yoest.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (11-04-13) – “It’s not surprising that the U.S. Supreme Court found it necessary to deny hearing the appeal in Cline v. Oklahoma Coalition for Reproductive Justice, despite the faulty interpretation of its state chemical abortion law by the Oklahoma State Supreme Court. It has not been the practice of the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a state court’s interpretation of its own law, even if that interpretation is incorrect. Because of the language used in the state supreme court ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court had fewer options. But the fact that the case exits at all is noteworthy,” said Americans United for Life President and CEO Dr. Charmaine Yoest.
“This case illustrates momentum for overturning the abuses of Roe, as multiple cases advance toward a Supreme Court that has signaled its willingness to consider the impact of its unrestricted abortion policy on women and their unborn children.”
Dr. Yoest continued: “Despite this decision in Cline, we are heartened by the trend we are seeing sweeping the nation. In 2013 alone, seven of eleven states considering similar laws passed regulations of chemical abortion. What’s more, we are seeing federal appellate courts upholding similar laws under federal precedent. The Sixth Circuit has already declared that Ohio’s regulation of chemical abortion is not an ‘undue burden,’ and just last week we saw the Fifth Circuit indicate that it will likely uphold a similar law in Texas. We are certain that the U.S. Supreme Court will eventually consider the safety and necessity of laws regulating chemical abortion, and the Cline case has paved the way by bringing the abortion providers’ dangerous misuse of abortion-inducing drugs to the Court’s and nation’s attention.”
“We are also encouraged by the state legislators who continue to pursue regulating chemical abortion. These state legislators are champions of life-saving legislation designed to protect women who otherwise would be vulnerable to the whims of a profit-hungry abortion industry that misuses dangerous abortion-inducing drugs.
“In particular, we applaud Oklahoma Representative Randy Grau and Senator Greg Treat, who worked tirelessly to pass life-saving legislation and kept the Cline case alive as it went through the courts.”
Oklahoma’s law, enacted in 2011, required that abortion-inducing drugs be administered only in the way approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration. It also required that the physician physically examine the woman prior to dispensing the drugs. In 2011, the FDA reported that at least eight women had died of severe bacterial infection following use of the RU-486 drug regimen, and all eight had administered the second drug in the regimen in a manner not approved by the FDA.
AUL filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of 79 Oklahoma legislators, representing the majority of both Chambers. The regulation was based on AUL model language.
Click here to learn more about how abortion harms women and girls, including the sometimes-deadly impact of chemical abortions.
