Oklahoma judge upholds law banning common abortion procedure

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – An Oklahoma judge has upheld a ban on a common second-trimester abortion procedure in what abortion rights proponents decried as a “rogue” decision that will threaten the reproductive rights of women across the state.
Oklahoma County District Judge Cindy Truong ruled from the bench Friday following arguments over the ban approved by the state’s Republican-controlled Legislature in 2015. The bill would prevent the use of instruments used in certain dilation and evacuation procedures commonly performed in the second trimester.
The law had been stayed while it was being challenged by the Center for Reproductive Rights, an abortion rights group. The group says that similar laws have been blocked from taking effect in Alabama, Arkansas, Kansas, Kentucky, and Texas.
Oklahoma’s Republican Attorney General Mike Hunter praised the ruling.
A spokeswoman for the group says that they plan to appeal.