An Oklahoma County judge plans to let a new law take effect next month to restrict the use of certain abortion-inducing drugs, but is temporarily suspending any portion that subjects abortion providers to legal liability.
District Judge Robert Stuart issued his ruling Wednesday following a hearing on the law that was passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature earlier this year and takes effect Nov. 1.
An Oklahoma women's rights group and a Tulsa medical clinic that provides abortion services filed a lawsuit last month contending the law is an unconstitutional violation of a woman's right to choose to end her pregnancy and should be declared void.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs say they are considering an appeal.
The law prohibits off-label uses of certain abortion-inducing drugs by requiring doctors to administer them only in accordance with U.S. Food and Drug Administration protocol. A similar bill was signed into law in 2011, but that measure was declared unconstitutional by the Oklahoma Supreme Court.
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