A bill targeting abortion-inducing drugs passed the Oklahoma House floor on party lines with a vote of 77-19.
House Bill 1168 would allow drug trafficking charges to be imposed on someone who delivers or possesses with the intent to deliver an abortion-inducing drug to someone. Bill author Rep. Denise Crosswhite-Hader (R-Piedmont) worked on an identical measure last year, which passed out of the House but failed in the opposite chamber. She said this bill would cover someone taking action within Oklahoma.
The penalty for what it refers to as “trafficking or attempting to traffic abortion-inducing drugs” is a felony with up to $100,000 in fines, ten years in prison or both. Crosswhite-Hader said the bill does not cover people seeking out the drugs for themselves.
Abortion-inducing drugs referenced in the bill include things like misoprostol and methotrexate. The bill states that when drugs like this are prescribed for other uses, like treating an ectopic pregnancy or a spontaneous miscarriage, the definition wouldn’t apply.
HB 1168 also states that nothing in it may be construed to prohibit the use, sale, prescription or administration of preventive contraceptives. The bill has exceptions for a pharmacist, manufacturer or distributor of drugs or surgical supplies who lawfully manufactures, possesses, offers, sells or distributes, “in the usual course of that entity’s business or profession,” any drug, medicine or instrument intended for any lawful medical purpose.
“This is to stop the trafficking of those pills,” Crosswhite-Hader said. “What we're trying to do is save the physical and mental health of a woman who might be at her weakest, vulnerable spot, someone offering those to them or for their benefit or thinking it's even for her benefit – and so this is to stop that.”
Rep. Cyndi Munson (D-Oklahoma City) asked who is trying to access abortion medication in Oklahoma beyond those who need it and are being prescribed it. Crosswhite-Hader said an example that came to mind would be instances of human trafficking.
“The person that is profiting off her being trafficked, her being pregnant is going to slow them down from making a profit,” Crosswhite-Hader said. “So they would have a high motive for profit for themselves to keep her not pregnant, give her those pills, and whether, and again, if he's already trafficking her, he or she is trafficking her, he's not real concerned about her health, except for how she's profitable to him.”
Crosswhite-Hader was also asked how the bill would be enforced and if someone would have to provide a prescription signed by a doctor. She said cases would be investigated by law enforcement, and district attorneys would take up that issue.
A spokesperson for the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics told StateImpact last year that Crosswhite Hader called asking how the bureau detects controlled substances in the mail. They said drug dogs might detect them, or packages could break, leading to an investigation.
Because the pills included in the bill are not controlled substances, the spokesperson said enforcement wouldn’t fall under the bureau’s jurisdiction. 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.
Munson and Rep. Trish Ranson (D-Stillwater) debated against the legislation, with Ranson saying it makes abortion-inducing drugs sound illegal and dangerous.
“When we talk about this being a drug that could be trafficked and making it sound like it's illegal, then we're also saying that maybe the next step is maybe we shouldn't be using it at all,” Ranson said.
Munson referenced a 2023 survey conducted by members of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists – which included over 200 OB-GYNs in Oklahoma. It found that 79% of doctors feel unable to practice according to best practices and evidence-based medicine, and 75% cited “fear of repercussions” as a barrier to providing appropriate care.
“There's a reason we have to keep passing tax credits and various incentives to get people to practice medicine in Oklahoma and to go to some of the most difficult places in our state where people truly need help. They need access to health care,” Munson said. “I don't know why we can't see that it's because of bills like this.”
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