A bill targeting abortion-inducing drugs run by Oklahoma Republicans over the course of several years is headed to the governor’s desk.
House Bill 1168 would make it a felony to deliver or possess with the intent to deliver an abortion-inducing drug to someone who plans to use it to terminate a pregnancy.
Medications referenced in the bill include misoprostol and methotrexate, but it specifies this would not apply when they are prescribed for other uses, including chemotherapy or treating an ectopic pregnancy and spontaneous miscarriage. The measure also states that its text should not be construed to impact contraception access.
The penalty for “trafficking” or “attempting to traffic” these drugs would be up to $100,000 in fines, ten years in prison or both.
Bill author Sen. David Bullard, R-Durant, said the intent is to reduce self-managed medication abortions by targeting how pills enter the state. Republicans also said this could prevent women from being forced to have abortions in sex trafficking situations.
“If we actually can stop the trafficking of those pills coming in with the intent to murder unborn children, then, absolutely, we save lives,” Bullard said.
Republicans argued against the safety of these medications, saying they harm women and fetuses.
“We are starting to learn more and more about the dangers of this medication,” Bullard said. “I also think that we have to have the conversation on the mental health of the woman as well.”
Mifepristone first received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2000. A combination of mifepristone and misoprostol is FDA-approved for use up to 10 weeks gestation.
Data from the FDA show an estimated 7.5 million women have used mifepristone to terminate a pregnancy from September 2000 to the end of 2024. Of those, 36 women died. The FDA notes that adverse events “cannot with certainty be causally attributed to mifepristone" because of certain information gaps.
Sen. Carri Hicks, D-Oklahoma City, said medications like misoprostol “are not rare or fringe.”
“They are widely used in legitimate medical care, including miscarriage management,” Hicks said. “This bill risks creating confusion and fear among patients and providers alike. When doctors hesitate, when pharmacists question, when patients delay care, that is when outcomes worsen.”
Critics of the measure also questioned how it would be enforced and what evidence would be necessary to prove intent. Bullard said enforcement will fall on “anyone with a law enforcement jurisdiction within the state of Oklahoma.”
“If somebody were to try and bring in large amounts of it, it's going to be difficult to prove on some levels that you have an individual that went out of state and brought it into the state,” Bullard said. “But, primarily, the evidence that you're going to have is if they have, are caught with it, bringing it across state lines.”
In past years, when this legislation was run, an Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics spokesperson said enforcement would not fall under its jurisdiction because the pills are not controlled substances. They said law enforcement would likely have to rely on things like broken packages and tips from sources in other states identifying someone who is delivering the pills.
Several Republicans praised the legislation, calling it the most important and meaningful legislation they have seen.
“No matter what we do in this building, there still will be abortions, illegal abortions,” said Sen. Brian Guthrie, R-Bixby. “But this, this is a step in the right direction.”
Sen. Warren Hamilton, R-McCurtain, argued the legislation isn’t enough, calling it “weak.” Hamilton has signed on to legislation that would adjust the state’s definition of homicide to include abortion and allow mothers to be prosecuted. He and Sen. Darcy Jech, R-Kingfisher, voted against the measure.
“We all know what the right thing to do is. Every one of us campaigned on pro-life things, on abolitionist things, but we all said the same thing: we want to end abortion,” Hamilton said. “We could do that. This bill does not make that happen.”
Several democrats debated against HB 1168, saying the language is vague and targets everyday Oklahomans.
“It is solely to make a statement, and that statement is we do not trust women to work with their doctors and their health professionals, and we're going to investigate what's going on with them,” said Sen. Julia Kirt, D-Oklahoma City.
The measure passed the Senate with a vote of 37-10.
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