Magon Hoffman first learned she was pregnant in September 2022—about four months after Oklahoma’s total abortion ban went into effect earlier in May. She and her husband were “thrilled”: They had a daughter, and they wanted another child.
At about 14 weeks, however, Hoffman woke up heavily bleeding, called her doctor, and was taken in for an appointment the next day. She was sent home still bleeding—and proceeded to keep bleeding for weeks afterward. During her 17-week check-up, she thought something seemed off, but was reassured by the doctor. During her 19-week check-up, however, she was told her baby would have anencephaly—a neural tube defect where a baby is born without a skull, brain, or scalp.
Hoffman is now one of two women and two OBGYNs suing Oklahoma for denying abortion care when it was needed. As we’ve reported before, there are medical exceptions that can be used to protect the health of the mother—but the language and criminal implications of abortion bans can lead to substandard medical care.
“Oklahoma turned the hardest day of my life into weeks of needless suffering on top of our grief,” Hoffman said in a statement that was shared with Jezebel. “I had to travel eight hours out of state to get care, far from my home, my family, and my support system when I needed them most.”
“Oklahoma is failing families like mine. I’m bringing this case so Oklahomans can have the power again to make the best decisions for our families.” —our new client, Magon Hoffman, who’s suing the state over its abortion bans https://t.co/zGIlZ4eoGU
— Center for Reproductive Rights (@ReproRights) September 17, 2026
Sheena Hamlin, the other lead plaintiff in the case, found out she was pregnant in late 2024. At 21 weeks, she learned her baby “might survive birth,” the “lungs were so severely undeveloped that she would suffocate almost as soon as the umbilical cord was cut.” She and her husband agreed to terminate the pregnancy, and flew to Illinois to receive abortion care.
“It’s unthinkable the pain these families went through because of Oklahoma’s abortion bans,” Nancy Northup, president & CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, told Jezebel in a statement. “Forcing women to give birth knowing they won’t be bringing a baby home is pure cruelty.”
The 50-page lawsuit was filed by the CFRR on behalf of Hoffman and Hamlin, as well as two other doctors in the state that treated them.
Our lawsuit challenges two Oklahoma abortion bans, including the state’s 1910 “pre-Roe” total abortion ban. Under this ban, doctors face up to five years in prison and the loss of their medical licenses, just for helping patients access the urgent healthcare they need.
— Center for Reproductive Rights (@ReproRights) September 16, 2026
“My family knew immediately that getting an abortion was the right decision for us, especially so I could be here and healthy for my eldest daughter,” explained Hoffman. She’d gone to New Mexico to obtain an abortion, and afterward “struggled with anxiety and depression” as well as the “fear she experienced in being forced to seek care out of state.”
There’s no trial date set for the two women, and the filing comes the day after the family of Tierra Walker—who died because of Texas’ abortion ban—sued Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) and her providers for failing to treat her. Walker’s lawsuit is the first to be filed over an abortion-ban-related death.
“Every pregnant person should get to decide what is best for their family based on their own beliefs, values, and medical circumstances,” says Northup. “The government should have no place in that.”
