The state of Oklahoma is imposing new rules that outlaw the distribution of abortion medications.
Under the new law, it is a felony to knowingly deliver or possess with the intent to deliver abortion-inducing drugs to someone planning to use them for an unlawful abortion.
Oklahoma enforces a near-total ban on abortions; however, it remains legal for its residents to travel out of state to receive treatment where abortion is legal.
The law exempts pharmacists, drug manufacturers, and distributors who legally manufacture, possess, sell, or distribute the medications for any lawful medical purpose within the usual course of their professional businesses.
Adjacent states, including Texas, Arkansas, and Missouri, enforce near-total abortion bans similar to Oklahoma’s.
The closest states to Oklahoma where abortion is legally protected are Kansas, New Mexico, and Colorado.
While Oklahoma’s new law focuses on criminal enforcement, the state of Iowa approved a new abortion law that threatens medical providers with civil liability and financial consequences if they do not dispense abortion drugs directly to a patient in a physical office, such as a clinic or hospital.
Under the new Iowa law, physicians are required to examine the patient in person and screen for signs of coercion or domestic abuse before prescribing.
Iowa physicians are also required to secure a signed FDA patient agreement form and written confirmation that the patient has been warned of gestational risks, potential sterility, and the psychological trauma of abortion.
“Oklahoma and Iowa have taken commendable measures to curb mail-order abortion drug access that has been circumventing pro-life laws,” Staver added. “Tragically, mail-order abortions kill thousands of precious unborn babies.”
The abortion pill consists of a combination of mifepristone and misoprostol.
Earlier this month, women nationwide were temporarily granted permission to obtain abortion-inducing pills at pharmacies or through the mail without an in-person visit to a doctor after U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito signed an order on May 4.
