The Oklahoma Senate passed a bill that would criminalize the use of abortion-inducing drugs. House Bill 1168 would make it a felony to provide, or possess with the intent to deliver, drugs to women seeking to terminate a pregnancy. The law includes a fine up to $100,000 and 10 years in prison. The bill does make an exception for ectopic pregnancies or spontaneous miscarriage.
Republican Sen. David Bullard of Durant is a co-author of the bill.
"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.
Several Democrats argued against the bill, saying the medications are safe and approved by the FDA. The bill passed with a vote of 37-10 and now heads to the governor for approval.
Ozarks at Large transcripts are created on a rush deadline and edited for length and clarity. Copy editors utilize AI tools to review work. KUAF does not publish content created by AI. Please reach out to kuafinfo@uark.edu to report an issue. The audio version is the authoritative record of KUAF programming.
