After the last session of the Legislature enacted an abortion ban that would make it a felony to provide abortions — except to save the mother’s life — Texas went from thousands of aboveboard abortions per month to August 2022 of 3 life-saving abortions. Doctors say the law is so unclear they have to wait until a patient is near death to determine whether an abortion will save a life.
Voters have an opportunity to repeal the 2021 ban if Lege passes either of two identical bills from Sen. Sarah Eckhardt, D-Austin, and Rep. James Talarico, D-Austin. To go along with them, Talarico’s filed another bill that would amend the Texas constitution — awaiting voter approval — so Lege can’t pass laws that limit access to abortion care for patients who have consulted with their doctors.
More progressively, Senate Bill 123 from Sen. Carol Alvarado, D-Houston, would create several exceptions for fatal fetal abnormalities or protect the physical and mental health of pregnant women — all based on Physician’s best medical judgment.
Meanwhile, Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, offered a rape exception bill that some Republicans say they will sign. House Bill 979 would allow abortion of pregnancies resulting from sexual assault, as defined by the penal code. The problem here may be law enforcement — the act states that the state does not require criminal convictions or forensic evidence. Republicans might argue that would create too big of a loophole so anyone seeking an abortion could claim they were beaten. But the alternative—requiring the person who was raped to prove it was pregnant—is not only unfeasible, it’s unconscionable. Then again, the same goes for forcing them to become pregnant, and the state is already doing it.
Meanwhile, Rep. Jared Patterson, R-Frisco, has HB 787 to prevent businesses from getting tax breaks when they help employees get abortions, including by subsidizing travel. The witch hunt that would open up to any business that involves out-of-state travel is pretty dire, Howard said, “and a lot of businesses are genuinely worried about the government getting too involved here.” Another bill (HB 61) would prohibit municipalities from paying with Abortion-related travel expenses.
Oh, and did you know that teens are not allowed to take birth control pills without parental consent?To address this outstanding issue at a later stageroe Texas Rep. Ana-Maria Ramos (D-Richardson) and Sen. Nathan Johnson (D-Dallas) have introduced legislation that would give minors the ability to consent to reversible contraception. Rep. Nicole Collier, D-Fort Worth, has narrower HB 682, which would allow minors to consent to contraception only if they are the mother of the child. Well, talk is better than nothing.
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