Oklahoma lawmakers want to criminalize spread of genital herpes, chlamydia, HPV and other STDs

OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma lawmakers are seeking to criminalize the spread of several more sexually transmitted diseases, a move critics say could turn nearly every resident into a felon.

House Bill 3098 adds chlamydia, Hepatitis B, genital herpes, trichomoniasis, and human papillomavirus (HPV) infections to the list of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) that are illegal to knowingly or recklessly spread. 

Anyone who does so would be guilty of a felony and could face between two and five years in prison. Previously only smallpox, syphilis and gonorrhea were on the list.

Rep. Toni Hasenbeck, R-Elgin, the bill’s House author, said she’s been studying domestic abuse. She said she heard from women who said men had knowingly infected them with several of the diseases. 

Some of the STDs cause infertility, liver damage and miscarriage, Hasenbeck said.

“This particular piece of legislation is about putting a man in jail who chooses to knowingly and willfully infect a woman with a sexually transmitted disease,” Hasenbeck said.

She said the measure is not designed to impede any health or outreach efforts designed to stem the spread of STIs. Health experts said Oklahoma ranks No. 11 for rates of chlamydia and in the top five for gonorrhea and syphilis transmission.

“I’m not judge, jury and executioner,” Hasenbeck said recently as Democratic lawmakers peppered her with questions about the proposed criminalization expansion. “I’m a lawmaker, and we had a hole in our statute that I am trying to repair to protect Oklahomans.”

She said her measure could encourage people to get testing and treatment, or to practice abstinence if they’re “that worried about going to jail.”

But Jeff Burdge fears the bill would do the opposite.

The bill will deter people from getting the necessary testing and treatment, which is going to increase the spread of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) because of fears that positive tests could open someone up to prosecution, said Burdge, a spokesman for H.O.P.E. Testing, a Tulsa-based nonprofit that provides education and low-cost testing for infectious sexual diseases.

He said 87% of Oklahomans will contract HPV in their lifetime, he said. No test exists to diagnose it in men, he said.

“That’s a bill that would potentially turn nearly every Oklahoman into a felon,” he said.

He said the bill doesn’t define “reckless,” opening the door to unnecessary prosecutions.

“Many Oklahomans aren’t even aware of what STIs are or how to best prevent them and what resources are available out there,” he said. “It’s not a good bill. Not well written. It’s not going to be good for the state.”

But he said the measure is part of a broader national trend attacking sexual health.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 34 states had criminalized HIV or STD exposure in 2023. Laws targeting HIV transmission are often outdated and increase stigma and may discourage testing, the agency reported. 

Rep. Mauree Turner, D-Oklahoma City, questioned why lawmakers are looking at additional criminalization instead of increasing access to health care or funding science-based research.

“You think the solution to that is criminalization, is putting people in prison, not making sure that we destigmatize health care so folks get access to it,” Turner said.  

The measure cleared the House and is awaiting a vote by the full Senate.