Carceral System

Carceral System

The carceral system includes all of the policies and institutions that the state uses to define criminal activity and punish people for engaging in it.

For decades, Oklahoma imprisoned women at the highest rate in the nation. Incarceration has a far-reaching impact on women and their families, affecting overall health, access to care, and increasing the risk of trauma and further justice-involvement over generations.

Learn how Metriarch partners are making Oklahoma a safer, healthier place for women.

We track legislation that affects women’s health in Oklahoma. Here’s a peek at recent proposals with an impact on the carceral system.

HB 2248 (2025)

HB 2248 creates pilot programs for substance use prison diversion in rural areas.

HB 2990 (2024)

HB 2990 raises domestic abuse criminal penalties, including violence against a pregnant woman.

HB 3002 (2024)

HB 3002 adds unborn child (fetus) to the definition of criminal battery.

HB 3013 (2024)

HB 3013 treats abortion medication like an illegal drug and criminalizes trafficking.

SB 145 (2025)

SB 145 requires breastfeeding provisions for lactating inmates.

SB 1470 (2024)

SB 1470 reforms the sentencing guidelines for survivors of domestic violence.

SB 1557 (2024)

SB 1557 allows previous domestic violence crimes as admissible evidence in relevant cases.

SB 156 (2025)

SB 156 expands the penalty for false accusation to equal the crime accused.

SB 1729 (2024)

SB 1729 bans nearly all abortion and allows murder charges against someone who receives an abortion.

SB 1835 (2024)

SB 1835 reforms the sentencing guidelines for survivors of domestic violence.

SB 594 (2025)

SB 594 reforms the definition of “failure to protect” a child from harm.

SB 607 (2025)

SB 607 permits the use of statements by abuse victims as evidence in certain circumstances.

SB 884 (2025)

SB 884 penalizes aiding or performing an abortion as murder.