In 2011, Oklahoma passed a law banning the “off-label” use of abortion-inducing drugs in an effort to derail women's access to non-surgical abortion in the state. Regulations mandated by the law prohibit doctors from deviating from the Food and Drug Administration-approved label instructions, despite the fact that doctors have found that these drugs are effective at lower doses and later into a pregnancy than indicated.

Oklahoma's law "effectively bans all abortions using medication," according to lawyers for the Center for Reproductive Rights, the group behind the legal challenge. Around 17 percent of abortions in the United States are medication-induced, and drugs like RU-486 are particularly vital in states like Oklahoma, which has few abortion providers.

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A trial judge and the Oklahoma State Supreme Court both struck down the law as unconstitutional, but the state appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which agreed to review the case later this year. The ruling could have a major impact on the use of abortion-inducing drugs in Oklahoma, and the 15 other states that have passed nearly identical laws.

From Kate Sheppard at Mother Jones: