Two Oklahoma mothers are challenging state abortion laws in a new lawsuit filed Wednesday. The women are suing state leaders after they were denied access to an abortion for their effectively nonviable pregnancies and forced to seek care outside of the state.
The lawsuit, filed by the Center for Reproductive Rights, challenges two state abortion bans. Oklahoma’s abortion laws are some of the strictest in the nation. The state’s only exception is to preserve the life of the mother.
Currently, this doesn’t include fatal fetal conditions, where a pregnancy is likely to end in miscarriage or stillbirth or, in the event of live birth, the infant will not survive with or without medical support. The lawsuit – which also includes two OB-GYNs and the Oklahoma Call for Reproductive Justice – argues these bans violate pregnant Oklahomans’ rights to life and liberty, substantive due process and equal protection.
The lawsuit states that, in a March 2023 ruling, the Oklahoma Supreme Court recognized Oklahomans’ right to life-preserving abortions. Plaintiffs are seeking the same constitutional protections by asking the court to prevent these abortion bans from applying to pregnant Oklahomans who have received a fatal fetal diagnosis.
“What we are fighting for is Oklahomans’ ability to get to decide in those situations what is best for themselves and for their families,” said Caroline Sacerdote, a senior staff attorney at the Center for Reproductive Rights. “And, when they decide that what is the best for themself is to terminate the pregnancy, they should be able to get that care in their communities.”
Some of these conditions are fairly common. Trisomy 18, where the fetus has an additional copy of a chromosome, occurs in one of every 2,500 pregnancies, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Studies estimate that anencephaly, where a fetus’s brain and skull do not develop as expected, happens in one in 1,000 pregnancies.
Magon Hoffman’s daughter, Lottie, had anencephaly. Hoffman, the lawsuit’s lead plaintiff, found out she was pregnant with her second daughter in September 2022 after she went through fertility treatment. She was excited.
But at 14 weeks, Hoffman said she woke up heavily bleeding. She later learned she had placenta previa, a condition where the placenta covers the opening of the cervix. Hoffman was basically on bed rest for weeks.
In December 2022, Hoffman learned of Lottie’s diagnosis at her anatomy scan. A maternal-fetal medicine specialist gave her two options: carry to term and deliver in Oklahoma – risking Hoffman's health and watching her daughter die – or leave the state to terminate the pregnancy.
Hoffman made an appointment for abortion care in New Mexico, where her insurance would not cover the procedure. After travel, lodging and childcare, she had to pay $3,000. In the following months, Hoffman struggled with anxiety and depression, and lost her job because of the time she took off for her abortion, the lawsuit said.
“Oklahoma turned the hardest day of my life into weeks of needless suffering on top of our grief,” Hoffman said in a statement. “I had to travel eight hours out of state to get care, far from my home, my family, and my support system when I needed them most. Oklahoma is failing families like mine. I’m bringing this case so Oklahomans can have the power again to make the best decisions for our families.”
Sheena Hamlin, a plaintiff, found out she was pregnant with her daughter, Ellie, in July 2024. But after a routine, 21-week anatomy scan, her doctor discovered “multiple unusual findings.” Hamlin was referred to a maternal-fetal medicine specialist for a more thorough ultrasound. Additional testing found Ellie was “not compatible with life.”
The specialist told her Ellie likely had a lethal condition that caused a “sac-like protrusion of the brain through an opening at the back of the skull,” kidney cysts, scar tissue in the liver, and the presence of extra fingers and toes. They said Ellie would likely die before she was born.
If Hamlin continued the pregnancy and Ellie survived until birth, her lungs would be severely underdeveloped, causing her to suffocate almost as soon as the umbilical cord was cut, the lawsuit said.
Hamlin paid $4,000 out of pocket to travel to Illinois to access abortion care just before Thanksgiving. The lawsuit states she wished she could have accessed care in Oklahoma with close family nearby.
“These laws do nothing to protect mothers and families; they only bring us pain,” Hamlin said in a statement. “I’m not a fighter by nature, but I will fight like hell to protect my children, my family, and families like mine from ever having to go through what we did.”
The lawsuit’s defendants include Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, Oklahoma County District Attorney Vicki Behenna, Oklahoma Commissioner of Health Keith Reed, Executive Director of the Oklahoma State Board of Medical Licensure and Supervision Sandra Harrison, and Executive Director of the Oklahoma State Board of Osteopathic Examiners Steven Mullins.
The Center for Reproductive Rights has filed several lawsuits challenging medical emergency exceptions under state abortion bans in Texas, Idaho and Tennessee. The Texas Supreme Court did not clarify exceptions, an Idaho state court ruling broadened the medical exception for patients, and the Tennessee case is still being litigated.
Sacerdote said, since Roe v. Wade was overturned, the center has used such lawsuits to show “that abortion bans are incredibly cruel” and that even when exceptions exist, they “do not work in practice.”
“We really are seeking recognition here that people have basic rights in the Oklahoma Constitution,” Sacerdote said. “We know that the state is trying to insert itself between patients and their doctors, and we know that doesn't work. So we are fighting to make people's rights a reality on the ground.”
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