Rejected for Oklahoma funding, an anti-abortion group helped rewrite state law
The Texas-based nonprofit Human Coalition lobbies for anti-abortion programs and gets millions of dollars in funding from other states.
Oklahoma bill would make it easier to prosecute fentanyl overdose deaths
House Bill 2941 would require first responders to alert police, a move critics say could deter 911 calls. The bill would make any detectable amount of fentanyl a cause of death in overdoses, strengthening homicide prosecutions — even against friends who share drugs.
Oklahoma mental health department fined nearly $1 million for noncompliance with consent decree
The state will continue to face monthly fines unless it significantly decreases wait times for people in the criminal justice system waiting in county jails for mental health treatment.
Oklahoma’s harm reduction law inches toward expiration
Harm reduction programs that supply overdose reversal drugs and clean syringes say that the state will see increases in overdose deaths and infectious diseases if they go away.
Cost-cutting efforts target public health, labeling some programs as wasteful
“It’s a perfect storm coming together to really threaten our ability to provide what is needed to keep communities safe and healthy,” one public health expert says.
In Enid, a fatal overdose highlights a lack of drug treatment options
There’s a shortage of drug treatment programs in Western Oklahoma. Many people don’t have transportation and the nearest provider is in another town.
Meet the new group in charge of millions in state money to help pregnant women after Oklahoma banned abortion
There’s no competitive bidding process through the state for pregnancy resource centers, faith-based groups and other nonprofits to get public money if they go through an organization like the Oklahoma Life Foundation.
Fentanyl deaths skyrocket in Oklahoma as jails, prisons and rural communities try to combat the drug
Fentanyl has proliferated so quickly because it’s cheaper to make than other drugs and can be mass-produced in a few hours.
