Are Oklahoma lawmakers pursuing the criminalization of parents who travel out of state seeking gender-affirming care for their children?

While the 2023 signing of SB 613, recently upheld by a federal court, prohibits most forms of gender-affirming care for minors in Oklahoma, the law does not ban traveling out of state for gender-affirming care.

Though Oklahoma lawmakers could propose such laws in the future, they would almost certainly face significant constitutional barriers, including the fundamental right of American citizens to freely travel between states, which explicitly includes the right of citizens of one state to all the privileges and immunities of citizens in other states. Laws that criminalize interstate traveling for medical care would directly infringe that right.

In Idaho, where abortion is banned at all pregnancy stages, a similar law that criminalizes aiding minors in getting an abortion without parental consent was quickly met with a federal lawsuit challenging its constitutionality, though it was recently ruled mostly enforceable despite the lawsuit’s ongoing status.