Elyssa DeDios (Left), Dusty Deevers by State of Oklahoma’s Legislative Service Bureau, Photo Division (Top), Warren Hamilton by Oklahoma Senate (Bottom)
CV NEWS FEED // Oklahoma Republican Sens. Dusty Deevers and Warren Hamilton are advocating for stricter enforcement of the state’s abortion ban, which permits the procedure only in cases of rape, incest, or to save the life of the mother.
In a recent press release, the senators claimed that despite the ban, which went into effect in 2022, a significant number of abortions are being obtained annually in Oklahoma, KOCO 5 news reported.
“…[A]s much as I desperately wish there were zero abortions in Oklahoma, zero ‘reported’ abortions is not the same thing as zero abortions,” Deevers said. “Data shows that roughly 3,274 self-managed abortions are legally performed annually in Oklahoma in addition to 4,000 abortions committed by Oklahomans driving to other states.”
Self-managed abortion refers to an abortion conducted outside the conventional medical system, typically using abortion pills purchased online and delivered by mail.
On Jan. 8, Deevers filed the Abolition of Abortion Act, which seeks to criminalize self-managed abortion by eliminating its current designation as an exception under Oklahoma’s homicide laws. The bill contains exceptions, including in the case of mothers who are coerced into an abortion, spontaneous miscarriages, and procedures to save the mother.
Deevers and Hamilton argue that the existing ban fails to prevent Oklahoma women from seeking abortions in states where the procedure remains legal or through means such as purchasing abortion pills online.
“3,274 little human beings are murdered annually on our watch,” Hamilton said. “As legislators, this fact should grieve us and stir us to continued action. We must keep fighting the good fight to protect the most innocent among us.”
According to the senators, although Oklahoma formally prohibits self-managed abortion, Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond indicated in 2023 that he would not enforce this statute, in response to the recently enacted pro-life laws.
