The law required parental consent before a minor could seek an abortion. The statute mandated that abortion providers be held financially liable for any post-abortion care if the procedure was performed on a minor without "parental consent or knowledge." The law did not limit the amount of damages for which a physician could be liable or the time in which he or she could be sued. The law also imposed liability regardless of whether the doctor provided proper medical care.

When asked to defend its position, the state officials suggested to U.S. District Court Judge Claire V. Eagan that she "read into the statute" any necessary language requiring medical emergency exceptions and a judicial bypass in order to render it constitutional. In short, the officials asked the court to pretend the law included these provisions when it clearly did not.

The majority of young women choose to involve their parents regarding their abortion decision. Oklahoma’s law, however, ignored the fact that not all young women come from supportive home environments. Some would face physical danger or risk being abandoned and homeless should they seek parental consent. Moreover, forcing parental consent for all minors disregards the difficulty faced by individual adolescents.

Friday’s decision is the result of a May 2002 hearing during which CRLP challenged the law, which was signed by Governor Frank Keating in June 2001.