House bill would outlaw trafficking of chemical abortion pills

OKLAHOMA CITY — Members of the Oklahoma House have approved a bill that would outlaw the trafficking of chemical abortion pills.

House Bill 1168, by Rep. Denise Crosswhite Hader, R-Piedmont, would create a felony trafficking offense for anyone who knows or has reason to know that another person intends to use an abortion-inducing drug and knowingly delivers such a drug to that person or who possesses the drug with intent to deliver it.

Crosswhite Hader said the legislation only addresses those who intend to distribute these drugs to others, not those who are accessing these drugs for themselves. Anyone convicted of trafficking or attempting to traffic abortion-inducing drugs could face a fine of up to $100,000, up to 10 years in prison, or both, the same penalties as current law applies to those performing an illegal abortion.

This act does not apply to a pharmacist or a manufacturer or distributor acting lawfully in the usual course of their business or profession, she said. Nothing in this act may be construed to prohibit preventive contraceptives used in accordance with manufacturer instructions.

Crosswhite Hader said her goal is to protect women’s health. She said there are numerous reports of women being given these drugs by non-medical professionals who do not understand what the medications can do to a woman if administered incorrectly.

“I’m concerned that a woman given these drugs to take in isolation could die by herself, and they could keep her from being able to carry to term a pregnancy at a later date should that be desired,” she said.

She said even more alarming are reports that only the second drug in a two-drug sequence are being given in some instances. The first drug is intended to stop the growth of the pregnancy. The second is to evacuate. To give the second drug without the first presents a greater danger to the woman, she said.

The bill now moves to the Senate for consideration.