The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court's temporary restraining order against Oklahoma's temporary elective abortion ban due to a technicality.The judges concluded that they could not challenge District Judge Charles Goodwin's action because it was only a temporary restraining order. Temporary restraining orders are meant to block certain government actions from taking effect until after a judge has fully considered the case and come to a decision. In the case of the Oklahoma ban, which was only written to continue until the end of this month, the time Goodwin spends making a decision could essentially block the executive order entirely.
Abortion clinics do not deserve to be the exception to Oklahoma's executive order, which actually bans all elective surgeries and minor medical procedures. Abortion clinics that continue to complete abortions during the COVID-19 outbreak are putting unnecessary additional strain on medical resources such as personal protective equipment which could be used by doctors treating patients with COVID-19.
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