OKLAHOMA CITY — Despite a legal threat and opposition from physicians, Oklahoma lawmakers are forging ahead with a measure that would make it illegal for women to abort a pregnancy because their unborn child has a genetic abnormality like Down syndrome.

On Tuesday, House lawmakers overwhelmingly voted to advance the Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act of 2017, which not only outlaws those abortions, but fines the physicians who knowingly perform them up to $100,000. Doctors could also be stripped of their medical licenses.

Mothers, meanwhile, could be forced to travel out of state to abort pregnancies involving genetic abnormalities.

Julie Burkhart, founder and CEO of Oklahoma City’s South Wind Women’s Center, just one of three abortion clinics in the state, said the measure will certainly face a legal challenge if it becomes law.

“It’s interesting that the bill is drawn so that it only impedes access for one group of people, and frankly, folks who have fetal abnormalities are in desperate situations themselves,” she said. “So it really works to penalize women, their partners, their families for just trying to make good decisions for themselves.”

State Rep. George Faught, R-Muskogee, who authored the legislation at the request of an anti-abortion group, shrugged off litigation concerns. He noted that several other states have successfully adopted similar measures.

“I think it will help them (families) make an informed decision,” Faught said, noting that not all prenatal medical tests are accurate, and there’s always a chance a child believed to have an abnormality could be born without one.

The state already has a law on the books that prohibits abortions solely because of gender. This new measure takes the effort to “save lives” one step further, he said.

“I know several families that have Downs (syndrome children),” he said. “They would certainly never trade that child because that child expresses to them just the unconditional love.”

Everyone probably knows someone who has Down syndrome, but most Oklahomans don’t know the families who struggle with even more rare genetic abnormalities like anencephaly — a rare birth defect where an infant is born without parts of a brain or skull, said Rep. Emily Virgin, D-Norman.

Those infants die within hours of being born, Virgin said.

“What this bill does is tell that woman that she no longer has a choice,” she said. “She must carry that baby to 40 weeks or whatever is considered full term. She and the father of that baby don’t get a choice to end that pregnancy and end their anguish and end the depression and the unending mental health issues that come with having a pregnancy that results in a such a devastating effect.”

The measure is also being opposed by the Oklahoma State Medical Association, which represents the state’s medical doctors.

“We oppose (it) as an unwise intrusion into the relationship between patients and their physicians,” said spokeswoman Leslie Gamble in an email.

State Rep. Cory Williams, D-Stillwater, said he’s stared into the devastated eyes of families who are struggling to keep a roof over a disabled child’s head.

“This bill isn’t really an act of mercy,” he said. “In some respects, it’s actually an act of hate because we consistently fail to put our money where our emotions are. Let’s not force someone to have a child that has absolutely no viability.”

Burkhart said most of the unborn babies ultimately aborted because of genetic abnormalities result from planned pregnancies and were wanted by their parents.

“Emotionally, it just seems to be different for women who want to carry to term and have something go wrong,” Burkhart said.

She said doctors and counselors involved in the abortions need to know why a mother is aborting a pregnancy in case there’s a need for genetic testing. In some cases, parents also want to memorialize the pregnancy with handprints and footprints to ensure they have a token of the baby they lost due to genetic complications.

“Once again, it would put us in a very precarious situation,” Burkhart said. “We would not be able to ask if a person had a pregnancy with a fetal abnormality. There is just not a sound way in which our physicians could practice without fearing some sort of prosecution.”

But the measure has also garnered its share of passionate supporters, including state Rep. John Bennett, R-Sallisaw, who said protecting life is the most important issue that lawmakers tackle at the Capitol.

“Abortion offends God!” he shouted. “It’s plain and simple. Abortion is never a mere personal choice, but a great offense against God and his creation.”

Janelle Stecklein covers the Oklahoma Statehouse for CNHI’s newspapers and websites. Reach her at jstecklein@cnhi.com.