Abortion-Inducing Drug Ban Advances In Oklahoma Legislature
A bill that would make it a felony for non-medical professionals to deliver abortion-inducing drugs passed the Oklahoma House floor on party lines with a vote of 77-18.
Mothers would not be prosecuted for obtaining an abortion-inducing drug under House Bill 3013 from Representative Denise Crosswhite Hader (R-Piedmont).
Instead, she said the bill is meant to target people who provide these pills to mothers, whether that’s through sharing the medication or delivering it through the mail.
The penalty for what is being called “abortion trafficking” could be up to $100,000 in fines, ten years in prison or both.
“What we’ve talked about is that we stopped all abortions in here, and we don't have them,” Crosswhite Hader said. “What has stopped is surgical abortions. What has not stopped is chemical abortions.”
Requests for self-managed medication abortions have risen since Roe v. Wade was overturned and have particularly grown in states with total abortion bans, like Oklahoma.
The state, for example, saw a nearly 216% increase per week in self-managed medication abortions in Oklahoma through the telemedicine nonprofit Aid Access, according to a 2022 study.
Crosswhite Hader provided clarification on how the bill would be enforced if signed into law. She said she consulted with the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics, although enforcement wouldn’t fall under its jurisdiction.
The Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics Public Information Officer Mark Woodward told StateImpact Crosswhite Hader called him asking how the bureau detects controlled substances in the mail. He said drug dogs might detect them, or packages could break, leading to an investigation.
Because the pills included in the bill — misoprostol and methotrexate — are not controlled substances, Woodward said the enforcement of HB 3013 wouldn’t fall under the bureau’s jurisdiction.
He also said it might be trickier because drug dogs aren’t trained to detect those medications. 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.
Misoprostol and methotrexate help treat things like ulcers and arthritis, and the bill protects those uses. An amendment to the bill also protects contraceptives and medications like Plan B. Crosswhite Hader said intent in causing an unlawful abortion is what will define cases of abortion trafficking.
“If you look at the bill, in several places, it talks about intent. … Just like marijuana, we have some places where marijuana now in this state is legal, but we also have regulations where it's not legal, and that's where our law enforcement makes those differences,” Crosswhite Hader said.
Democrats like House Minority Leader Cyndi Munson (D-Oklahoma City) said this is another way to restrict access to abortion in a state that already prevents it unless it's to preserve a mother's life.
“This is why I keep coming back to the person seeking the medication because she can't get it under the care of a doctor unless it's under the law of what we have said is OK,” Munson said. “We're limiting again what a woman can do and how she can access care.”
Legislators Propose Measure To Attract Teacher Retirees
Lawmakers are looking for more ways to get teachers into Oklahoma classrooms.
House Bill 2320 would put a moratorium on the limit of post-retirement earnings for Oklahoma Teachers’ Retirement System participants.
That means retirees could double dip from their retirement payments and teaching salary if they choose to come back to the classroom.
Retirees would still need to wait at least 60 days from officially retiring to returning to teach.
Opponents say the bill could encourage teachers who have been holding off on retiring to go ahead and retire so they can double dip. That could strain the retirement system.
To address this concern, the bill’s author agreed to make the scope of the measure a three-year trial.
Bill To Create Oklahoma’s Survivor’s Act Passes State Senate
At the middle of Oklahoma’s legislative session, a bill that seeks to provide relief to criminalized survivors of domestic violence has advanced.
Senate President Pro Tem Greg Treat’s Senate Bill 1470 passed unanimously Thursday, the last day for bills to be voted on and passed to the opposite chamber.
The bill would create the Oklahoma Survivors' Act, which would allow defendants to provide evidence they were victims of domestic abuse within the year they committed a crime.
If the court finds the defendant was a victim of abuse during the relevant period and the abuse was a substantial contributing factor to the crime, their sentence could be reduced.
The bill revives proposed legislation from last year which was passed unanimously by the House but ultimately lost momentum in the Senate after language allowing for the sentencing reform to be applied retroactively was removed.
The bill moves on to be heard by the Oklahoma House of Representatives.
OSU, OU Men’s Baseball Face Big 12 Opponents This Weekend
The Oklahoma State men’s baseball team travels to Orlando, Florida to play UCF in their Big 12 season opener.
The matchup is scheduled for a three-game series this weekend, starting tonight at 5 p.m. central time.
The Cowboys currently have a 2-3 record on the road.
The OU men’s baseball team play TCU in Fort Worth, starting tonight at 6:30 p.m. for a three-game slate this weekend.
The Sooners are currently undefeated in Big 12 conference play with a 3-0 record.
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