Oklahoma Mother’s Lawsuit Joins Dozens of Others Across the Nation 

Three years ago, Magon Hoffman was sitting in a New Mexico clinic, desperate for healthcare Oklahoma wouldn’t give her. 

She needed an abortion but, under Oklahoma’s strict ban, couldn’t receive one despite her daughter having a fatal fetal diagnosis. 

Hoffman contacted advocacy groups when she was diagnosed, wondering whether leaving the state for an abortion was lawful. 

“I remember being so scared just to call any random lawyer and thought, what if they don’t agree?” she said. “What if they rat me out? I just remember it truly feeling like a bit of a witch hunt.”

Eventually, she got that guidance. While waiting at the clinic, a lawyer called and reassured her that what she was doing was legal. But the feeling of being hunted and scared to even call a lawyer or therapist felt crazy to Hoffman. 

“Nobody should be made to feel this way,” she said. 

At the clinic, providers asked her check-in questions such as, “Are you safe?” “Is there anyone that’s forcing you to be here?” “Is there anyone who’s going to retaliate if they find out you’re here today?“

“I just remember literally feeling like I was leaving my body, like, who has been in this chair?” she said. 

Hoffman’s husband waited in the car, and her mother stayed home to care for their 3-year-old daughter. They had spent thousands of dollars driving to New Mexico and paying for the procedure. All she could think about were the unsupported women who had been and could be in her position. 

Mothers in Oklahoma who receive fatal fetal diagnoses still can’t receive abortions in the state unless their lives are in danger. If their lives aren’t in danger, the law requires they carry the pregnancies and give birth to stillborn children or watch their babies die shortly after birth. 

As soon as she got home, Hoffman spoke with representatives from the American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma. She recalled them telling her they already had five active cases against the state and if they went well, they wouldn’t need a case with a lead plaintiff. 

Hoffman continued to push for her case, and after years of working with the Center for Reproductive Rights, she filed her lawsuit on September 16. 

“I don’t want it to be me,” she said. “But if it needs to be, then I will do that.”

Similar Lawsuits 

Since the Dobbs decision, the number of lawsuits against states with strict abortion bans has steadily increased. The Center for Reproductive Rights has challenged abortion bans in 11 states since the decision.

Caroline Sacredote, lead attorney for Hoffman, said this is one effect of banning abortion care. 

“This lawsuit, like other cases, shows the real-world examples of what happens when abortion is banned,” Sacredote said.

Cases similar to Hoffman’s were filed in Idaho, Tennessee and Texas in 2023. 

In Idaho, the Center for Reproductive Rights filed Adkins v. State of Idaho. The lawsuit’s lead plaintiff, Jennifer Adkins, was 12 weeks pregnant with her second child when her baby was diagnosed with multiple life-threatening conditions. She had to travel to Oregon with her husband to receive an abortion. 

Two years later, the court broadened the ban’s exceptions for dire pregnancy complications, so doctors have more clarity on when they can perform an abortion. But fatal fetal conditions were not included in the ruling. 

The Center for Reproductive Rights filed a lawsuit on behalf of five plaintiffs in Tennessee. The lawsuit argues that Tennessee’s medical condition exception is unclear and leaves physicians fearing criminal liability if an abortion is necessary. 

The case is still active, and in 2024 the court ruled to temporarily block the ban so women with pregnancy complications and fatal fetal diagnoses can receive abortions and their providers don’t have to fear disciplinary action. 

In Texas, the center, representing a plaintiff who testified she had to give birth and hold her baby as it died in her arms just four hours later, filed a lawsuit asking the court to clarify the scope of the medical emergency exceptions under its abortion ban. The Texas Supreme Court upheld the ban.

The attorneys in Hoffman’s case argue that it’s unconstitutional to force women to remain pregnant in dire circumstances. 

Janet Levit, executive consultant for abortion rights group Repro46, said sections two and seven of article two in Oklahoma’s Constitution are used to litigate the constitutionality of the bans. 

Article two, section two states, “All persons have the inherent right to life, liberty, the pursuit

of happiness, and the enjoyment of the gains of their own industry.”

“It’s unconstitutional for us to not have this exception,” Levit said. 

Other Oklahomans Affected 

Hoffman isn’t alone. Another Oklahoma mother, Sheena Hamlin, also received a fatal fetal diagnosis but couldn’t get an abortion and joined Hamlin’s lawsuit.

Representative Jim Olsen, who worked on the 2022 bill that would have made performing an abortion illegal, held firm on his belief that abortions should not be administered unless the life of the mother is threatened.

“I don’t need this lawsuit to prove to myself that what happened to my family was wrong. I just, down to my bones, I know that what we went through was wrong.”Magon Hoffman

Olsen said fatal fetal diagnoses are often correct. 

“But on occasion, that baby is born healthy,” he said. “And wouldn’t it be a tragedy to have ended that life based on a diagnosis?” 

Olsen said the Center for Reproductive Rights wants abortion to be available widely.

“This is a crack in the door, and they want to kick the door wide open,” he said.

He added that his focus is on maintaining the respect and value of human life. 

“We never have the right to take someone else’s life,” Olsen said. 

The Oklahoma Constitution provides women the right to an abortion when their lives are threatened, but the line for when doctors can intervene isn’t definitive and there are no other exceptions. 

Hoffman and Hamlin aren’t the only women who sued the state. In December 2023, the Center for Reproductive Rights filed an administrative complaint with the Department of Health and Human Services against an Oklahoma hospital on Jaci Statton’s behalf. 

Statton was diagnosed with a partial molar pregnancy. Her baby developed a tumor that could have resulted in severe bleeding, cancer, and Statton’s death. 

She went to Oklahoma University Medical Center, where providers refused to give her an abortion. Then she went to Oklahoma Children’s Hospital, where staff told her to wait in the parking lot until her blood pressure climbed high enough to be life-threatening. Only then would they be able to give her an abortion.

“Certainly we can factor in that that is a traumatizing experience for the mother,” Olsen said. “But we have to think about everyone’s rights. Including the baby’s right to life.” 

Looking Forward

“I don’t need this lawsuit to prove to myself that what happened to my family was wrong,” Hoffman said. “I just, down to my bones, I know that what we went through was wrong and that we should not have had to go through that.” 

She recalled her husband having to research the proper way to bring their daughter’s remains back to Oklahoma from New Mexico. 

“Watching him do that was another level of hell that I would never want anybody else to go through,” she said. 

During her battle with Oklahoma’s medical and legal system, Hoffman considered moving to a different state. When she became pregnant again in 2024, that option became more serious, but then she had a moment of clarity. 

“You know what?” Hoffman said. “No. They don’t get to dictate me not feeling safe and welcome here. I decided not only was I going to fight, but fight for Oklahoma.”

Hoffman has been fighting since 2023. Getting the lawsuit filed was a struggle and she almost stepped away when it became too difficult. Now she’s made peace with the fact that it may take some time before she receives justice. 

“Just the thought of even one family, down the line, not having to go down the path that we did, that would be worth it for me,” Hoffman said. “But I also think if this case loses, then it forces politicians in our state to highlight how cruel they’re willing to be to families. So I don’t really see a path that isn’t what I would consider to be a success.”

Brenna Witchey is a reporting intern at Oklahoma Watch. Contact her at bwitchey@oklahomawatch.org.

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