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Oklahoma County District Judge Noma Gurich on Friday allowed an anti-abortion group to join a lawsuit challenging a controversial abortion law.

Gurich allowed American Victims of Abortion to intervene in the suit challenging a law that requires a woman seeking an abortion to have an ultrasound within an hour of the procedure and have its results explained to her.

Last year, Gurich put the law on hold pending the outcome of the legal challenge.

The case was filed by Reproductive Services in Tulsa and Norman physician Larry A. Burns following the Legislature’s override of former Gov. Brad Henry’s veto of House Bill 2780, which created the ultrasound law.

Attorney General Scott Pruitt’s office is defending the state.

Teresa S. Collett, a special assistant attorney general, said Pruitt’s office is enthusiastic about defending the rights of women to have accurate information.

American Victims of Abortion is a national project of the National Right to Life Committee. Oklahomans for Life, the state affiliate of the National Right to Life Committee, lobbied for the passage of HB 2780.

Gurich denied the motion of the Justice Foundation’s Operation Outcry and three Oklahoma women to intervene in the case. The Justice Foundation works to enforce laws protecting women’s health. It does business in Oklahoma through Operation Outcry, which provides information about the impact of abortions on women, men and families.

Samuel Casey, an attorney representing those seeking to intervene, said 75 percent of women who see ultrasound images change their minds about having abortions.

Suzanne Stolz, an attorney for the Center for Reproductive Rights, which represents the plaintiffs, argued against letting additional parties enter the lawsuit, saying it would delay the case, among other things.

Following the hearing, she said she was disappointed with the ruling but didn’t think it would affect the outcome of the case.

“We believe the court will find the law unconstitutional,” she said.

Source: BARBARA HOBEROCK World Capitol Bureau

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