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§ 1-745.56. Affirmative defense

Oklahoma Statutes AnnotatedTitle 63. Public Health and SafetyEffective: May 25, 2022

Oklahoma Statutes Annotated
Title 63. Public Health and Safety (Refs & Annos)
Chapter 1. Public Health Code
Article 7. Hospitals and Related Institutions
C-11a. Abortion
Effective: May 25, 2022
63 Okl.St.Ann. § 1-745.56
§ 1-745.56. Affirmative defense
Currentness
A. 1. A defendant against whom an action is brought under Section 5 of this act1 may assert an affirmative defense to liability under this section if:
a. the defendant has standing to assert the rights of women seeking an abortion under the tests for third-party standing established by the United States Supreme Court, and
b. the imposition of civil liability on the defendant will result in an undue burden on a woman or group of women seeking an abortion.
2. The defendant shall bear the burden of proving the affirmative defense in this subsection by a preponderance of the evidence.
B. The affirmative defense under subsection A of this section shall not be available if the United States Supreme Court overrules Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973) or Planned Parenthood v. Casey, 505 U.S. 833 (1992),2 regardless of whether the conduct on which the cause of action is based under Section 5 of this act occurred before the Supreme Court overruled either of those decisions.
C. Nothing in this section or this act shall in any way limit or preclude a defendant from asserting the defendant's personal constitutional rights as a defense to liability under Section 5 of this act, and a court shall not award relief under Section 5 of this act if the conduct for which the defendant has been sued was an exercise of state or federal constitutional rights that personally belong to the defendant.
D. Nothing in this section or this act shall limit or preclude a defendant from asserting the unconstitutionality of any provision of this act as a defense to liability under Section 5 of this act.

Credits

Laws 2022, c. 321, § 6, emerg. eff. May 25, 2022.

Footnotes

1
Title 63, § 1-745.55.
2
See Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Org., 142 S.Ct. 2228.
63 Okl. St. Ann. § 1-745.56, OK ST T. 63 § 1-745.56
Current with emergency effective legislation through Chapter 257 of the Second Regular Session of the 59th Legislature (2024). Some sections may be more current, see credits for details.
End of Document