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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
2nd Session of the 58th Legislature (2022)
HOUSE BILL 4327 By: Stearman
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to abortion; defining terms;
prohibition certain abortions; creating an exception;
enabling a private cause of action against abortion
providers; creating requirements; creating defenses
to action; specifying damages; prohibiti ng official
state claims; providing for codification; and
providing an effective date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLA HOMA:
SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new se ction of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 1-758 of Title 63, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A. As used in this section:
1. "Gestational age" means the amount of time that has elapsed
from the first day of a woman's last menstrual period ;
2. "Gestational sac" means the structure comprising the
extraembryonic membranes that envelop the unborn child and that is
typically visible by ultrasoun d after the fourth week of pregnancy;
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3. "Physician" means an individual licensed to practice
medicine in this state, including a medical doctor and a doctor of
osteopathic medicine;
4. "Pregnancy" means the human female reproductive condition
that:
a. begins with fertilization ,
b. occurs when the woman is carrying the developing human
offspring, and
c. is calculated from the first day of the woman 's last
menstrual period;
5. "Standard medical practice " means the degree of skill, care,
and diligence that an obstetrician of ordinary judgment, learning,
and skill would employ in like circumstances ; and
6. "Unborn child" means a human fetus or embryo in any stage of
gestation from fertilization until birth .
B. A physician may not knowingly perform or indu ce an abortion
on a pregnant woman.
C. This act shall be enforced exclusively through private civil
actions.
D. Any person, other than an officer or employee of a state or
local governmental entity in this state, may bring a civil action
against any person who:
1. Performs or induces an abortion in violation of this act;
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2. Knowingly engages in conduct that aids or abets the
performance or inducement of an abortion, including paying for or
reimbursing the costs of an abortion through insurance or otherwi se,
if the abortion is performed or induced in violation of thi s act,
regardless of whether the person knew or should have known that the
abortion would be performed or induced in violation of this act; or
3. Intends to engage in the conduct described by this act.
E. If a claimant prevails in an action brought under this
section, the court shall award:
1. Injunctive relief sufficient to prevent the defendant from
violating this act or engaging in acts that aid or abet violations
of this act;
2. Statutory damages in an amount of not less than Ten Thousand
Dollars ($10,000.00) for each abortion that the defendant performed
or induced in violation of this act, and for each abortion performed
or induced in violation of this act that the defendant aided or
abetted; and
3. Costs and attorney's fees.
A court may not award relief under this section in response to a
violation of this act if the defendant demonstrates that the
defendant previously paid the full amount of statutory damages in a
previous action for that particular abortion performed or ind uced in
violation of this act, or for the particular conduct that aided or
abetted an abortion performed or induced in violation of this act.
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F. A person may bring an action under this section not later
than the fourth anniversary of the date the cause of action accrues.
G. The following are not a de fense to an action brought u nder
this act:
1. Ignorance or mistake of law;
2. A defendant's belief that the requirements of this act are
unconstitutional or were unco nstitutional;
3. A defendant's reliance on any court decision that has been
overruled on appeal or by a subsequent court, even if that court
decision had not been overruled when the defendant engaged in
conduct that violates this act;
4. A defendant's reliance on any state or federal court
decision that is not binding on the court in which the action has
been brought;
5. Nonmutual issue preclusion or non mutual claim preclusion;
6. The consent of the unborn child 's mother to the abortion; or
7. Any claim that the enforcement of this act or the imposition
of civil liability against the defendant will violate the
constitutional rights of third parties .
H. It shall be an affirmative defense if :
1. A person sued under this act reasonably believed, after
conducting a reasonable investigation, that the p hysician performing
or inducing the abortion had complied or would comply with this act;
or
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2. A person sued under this act reasonably believed, after
conducting a reasonable investigation , that the physician performing
or inducing the abortion will comply with this act;
The defendant shall have the burden of proving an affirmative
defense by a preponderance of the evidence.
I. Notwithstanding any other law, this state, a state official,
or a district may not intervene in an action brought under this
section. This subsection does not prohibit a person described by
this subsection from filing an amicus curiae brief in the action .
J. A court shall not award costs or attor ney's fees to a
defendant in an action brought under this act.
K. A civil action under this s ection may not be brought by a
person who impregnated the abortion patient through an act of rape,
sexual assault, or incest.
L. A defendant against whom an action is brought under this act
does not have standing to assert the rights of women seeking an
abortion as a defense to liability und er that section unless:
1. The United States Supreme Court holds that the courts of
this state must confer s tanding on that defendant to assert the
third-party rights of women seeking an abortion in state court as a
matter of federal constitutional law; or
2. The defendant has standing to assert the rights of women
seeking an abortion under the tests for third -party standing
established by the United States Supreme Court.
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The defense under this subsection of this section is not
available if the United States Supreme Court overrules Roe v. Wade
410 U.S. 113 (1973) or Planned Parenthood v. Casey, 505 U.S. 833
(1992), regardless of whether the conduct on which the caus e of
action is based occurred before the Supreme Court ove rruled either
of those decisions.
SECTION 2. This act shall become effective November 1, 2022.
58-2-9989 KN 01/19/22