McGirt v OK’s impact on abortion

As Governor Kevin Stitt signed multiple anti-abortion laws, many Oklahomans are left wondering how far can the state’s laws reach across the state.

McGirt v Oklahoma is a case that went before the United States Supreme Court regarding what authority state’s have in what is defined as “Indian Country.”

How could McGirt v Oklahoma potentially impact abortions that might take place in Oklahoma? Well, it’s not necessarily right to just assume that abortions would be easily accessible on tribal lands.

Stephanie Moser Goins is a Senior Attorney at Ball Morse Lowe, and has a certificate in American Indian Law.

Moser Goins said, “First of all that requires an assumption that any particular tribe or tribal government… that there’s going to be the political will amongst its citizen for its tribe and its tribal government to facilitate abortion providers within Indian Country.”

“The Hyde Amendment would likely prevent the use of federal funds, which would rule out provisions in Indian Health Clinics and IHS operations,” Moser Goins added.

With the leaked Supreme Court draft that could potentially overturn Roe v Wade, Moser Goins added, “That might open the door to incorporation of something called the Assimilative Crimes Act, which basically allows the Feds to borrow state law as long as it doesn’t expressly conflict with… when there is not a federal statute on point… it allows them to incorporate state law for that purpose.”