As state lawmakers weigh new restrictions on abortion, some Republicans are revisiting a longstanding taboo of not prosecuting pregnant people for seeking abortions in places where the procedure is banned, though the topic remains divisive among anti-abortion advocates. 

State restrictions have so far fallen just shy of imposing criminal penalties on people who seek abortions, instead targeting physicians, health care providers and anyone else who might help someone get an abortion. 

But that may be changing. A bill introduced Thursday in Oklahoma’s Senate would amend the state’s abortion restrictions, eliminating language that clarifies pregnant people are protected from prosecution. Under that bill, which has not yet been assigned to a legislative committee and has no co-sponsors yet, pregnant people could face felony charges if they induce an abortion. The bill’s sponsor, state Sen. Warren Hamilton, did not respond to a request for comment.

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The legislation follows remarks made earlier this week by Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, who suggested that even without new legislation, his state has ways to prosecute people who take abortion medications on their own. Marshall indicated that he would prosecute people who self-administer medication abortions under the state’s chemical endangerment law, which was designed to protect children from controlled substances such as methamphetamine. A spokesperson from Marshall’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

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Medication abortion involves taking a dose of mifepristone, followed by a second drug, misoprostol, which is taken typically 24 to 48 hours later. Administering the medications on one’s own — a process known as “self-managed abortion” — is medically safe and endorsed by groups such as the World Health Organization, especially in places where abortion access is limited. Earlier this month, a regulatory change at the Food and Drug Administration allowed abortion pills to be sold at retail pharmacies. 

Since Roe v. Wade was overturned last summer, allowing states to ban abortion, increasing numbers of people have sought to obtain medication abortion pills from internet-based medical organizations such as the Europe-based Aid Access, or have accessed them in other states.

It is not clear if legislation like this bill could be used to prosecute people who take the first set of abortion medications in another state where the practice remains legal and then take the misoprostol regimen from home. 

The Oklahoma bill’s sponsor submitted a letter to the state attorney general this past fall seeking clarification as to whether the state’s existing laws already punished people who self-managed their abortions, citing an existing state law that explicitly prohibits self-managed abortion.