Okla. Stat. tit. 63 § 1-756.2

Current through Laws 2024, c. 453.

Section 1-756.2 - Definitions

As used in this act:

1. "Abortion" means the use or prescription of any instrument, medicine, drug or any other substance or device intentionally to terminate the pregnancy of a female known to be pregnant with an intention other than to increase the probability of a live birth, to preserve the life or health of the child after live birth, to remove an ectopic pregnancy or to remove a dead unborn child who died as the result of a spontaneous miscarriage, accidental trauma or a criminal assault on the pregnant female or her unborn child;

2. "Abortion-inducing drug" means a medicine, drug or any other substance prescribed or dispensed with the intent of terminating the pregnancy of a woman known to be pregnant, with knowledge that the termination will with reasonable likelihood cause the death of the unborn child. This includes the off-label use of drugs known to have abortion-inducing properties, which are prescribed specifically with the intent of causing an abortion, such as mifepristone (Mifeprex), misoprostol (Cytotec) and methotrexate. This definition does not apply to drugs that may be known to cause an abortion, but which are prescribed for other medical indications, such as chemotherapeutic agents and diagnostic drugs. The use of such drugs to induce abortion is also known as "medical", "medication", "RU-486", "chemical", "Mifeprex regimen" or "drug-induced" abortion;

3. "Adverse Event", according to the Food and Drug Administration, means any untoward medical occurrence associated with the use of a drug in humans, whether or not considered drug-related. It does not include an adverse event or suspected adverse reaction that, had it occurred in a more severe form, might have caused death;

4. "Associated physician" means a person licensed to practice medicine in the state including medical doctors and doctors of osteopathy, that has entered into an associated physician agreement;

5. "Complication" means any adverse physical or psychological condition arising from the performance of an abortion which includes, but is not limited to, uterine perforation, cervical perforation, infection, heavy or uncontrolled bleeding, hemorrhage, blood clots resulting in pulmonary embolism or deep vein thrombosis, failure to actually terminate the pregnancy, incomplete abortion (retained tissue), pelvic inflammatory disease, endometritis, missed ectopic pregnancy, cardiac arrest, respiratory arrest, renal failure, metabolic disorder, shock, embolism, coma, placenta previa in subsequent pregnancies, preterm delivery in subsequent pregnancies, free fluid in the abdomen, hemolytic reaction due to the administration of ABO-incompatible blood or blood products, adverse reactions to anesthesia and other drugs, subsequent development of breast cancer, psychological complications such as depression, suicidal ideation, anxiety, sleeping disorders, death and any other adverse event as defined by the Food and Drug Administration criteria provided in the Medwatch Reporting System;

6. "Gestational age" means the time that has elapsed since the first day of the woman's last menstrual period, also known as "last menstrual period" or "LMP";

7. "Hospital" means an institution providing medical and surgical treatment and nursing care for sick or injured people, or institutions defined under Section 1-701 of Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes;

8. "Physician" means any person licensed to practice medicine in this state. The term includes medical doctors and doctors of osteopathy;

9. "Pregnant" or "pregnancy" means that female reproductive condition of having an unborn child in the mother's uterus;

10. "Provide" or "provision" means, when used regarding abortion-inducing drugs, any act of giving, selling, dispensing, administering, transferring possession to or otherwise providing or prescribing an abortion-inducing drug;

11. "Qualified physician" means a physician licensed in this state who has the ability to:

a. identify and document a viable intrauterine pregnancy,

b. assess the gestational age of pregnancy and to inform the patient of gestational age-specific risks,

c. diagnose ectopic pregnancy,

d. determine blood type and administer RhoGAM if a woman is Rh negative,

e. assess for signs of domestic abuse, reproductive control, human trafficking and other signals of coerced abortion,

f. provide surgical intervention or has entered into a contract with another qualified physician to provide surgical intervention, and

g. supervise and bear legal responsibility for any agent, employee or contractor who is participating in any part of procedure including, but not limited to, preprocedure evaluation and care;

12. "Reasonable medical judgment" means a medical judgment that would be made by a reasonably prudent physician knowledgeable about the case and the treatment possibilities with respect to the medical conditions involved; and

13. "Unborn child" means an individual organism of the species homo sapiens, beginning at fertilization, until the point of being born-alive as defined in Title 1 U.S.C., Section 8(b).

Okla. Stat. tit. 63, § 1-756.2

Added by Laws 2021 , c. 577, s. 2, eff. 11/1/2021.