The American flag and the Texas flag fly
outside the State Capitol building in Austin, Texas

 

The 89th Texas Legislature is currently convened in a regular session that runs from January 14 to June 2. Our Texas Legislature meets only once every two years for 140 days for a regular session.

Three critical pro-life bills have been filed for consideration. These bills do not compromise our existing strong Texas abortion ban law that protects both mothers and their unborn babies.

If these three bills are approved by the Texas Senate and House and signed by Governor Greg Abbott into law, they will become effective September 1, 2025.

1. LIFE OF THE MOTHER ACT to Help Doctors Treat Pregnancy Medical Emergencies

Senate Bill 31 and House Bill 44 Filed by Senator Bryan Hughes (R-Tyler) and Representative Charlie Geren (R-Lake Worth)

The Life of the Mother Act relates to “exceptions to otherwise prohibited abortions based on a physician’s reasonable medical judgment.”

The Life of the Mother Act:

  • Clarifies the exercise of “reasonable medical judgment” for a “medical emergency” that places the pregnant female at “risk of death” or “serious risk of substantial impairment of a major bodily function” and that in these situations:
    • the doctor is not required “to delay, alter or withhold medical treatment…if doing so would create a greater risk.”
    • the threat “need not be imminent or irreversible.“
    • a doctor must provide “the best opportunity for survival of an unborn child.”
  • Clarifies removing an ectopic pregnancy or a dead, unborn child due to miscarriage is not considered an abortion.
  • Clarifies communications between physicians, healthcare providers and attorneys “do not constitute aiding and abetting” an abortion.
  • Requires free continuing medical education for doctors through the Texas Medical Board and continuing legal education for attorneys through the State Bar of Texas to increase their understanding of Texas abortion laws, including the exceptions based on a “medical emergency”.

 

(Read SB31 HERE)

2. WOMEN AND CHILD PROTECTION ACT to Target Illegal Abortion Pill Websites, Distributors and Accomplices

Senate Bill 2880 and House Bill 5510 Filed by Senator Bryan Hughes (R-Tyler) and Representative Jeff Leach (R-McKinney)

The Women and Child Protection Act is a comprehensive, groundbreaking bill to stop the illegal trafficking of dangerous chemical abortion pills into our state. Texas is the first state to target the abortion industry’s new deadly tactic to evade our strong abortion ban. More than 20,000 pills are ordered and sent illegally to Texas every year using online platforms in both the United States and foreign countries.

The Women and Child Protection Act:

  • provides tools to target the trafficking, distribution and facilitation of abortion-inducing drugs.
  • allows private citizens to bring legal action against abortion pill providers and internet service providers, social media sites and search engines that power these websites, including platforms like Facebook and PayPal.

 

In recent hearings before the Texas Senate for SB 2880, pro-life healthcare providers testified that pregnant women in Texas are receiving chemical abortion pills in the mail without instructions or follow-up care. They shared stories about women hemorrhaging at home and facing the disposal of their aborted baby’s remains.

“I see women suffering daily from the effects of incomplete chemical abortions,” said Whitney Freeman, Medical Services Director at Prestonwood Pregnancy Center, a Council for Life 2025 and past Beneficiary. (See Texas Tribune article HERE)

(Read SB 2880 HERE)

3. STOP TAX-FUNDED ABORTION TRAVEL ACT to Ban Local Governments from Funding Abortion Expenses

Senate Bill 33 and House Bill 1806 Filed by Senator Donna Campbell (R-New Braunfels) and Representative Candy Noble (R-Murphy)

The Stop Tax-Funded Abortion Travel Act states that “a governmental entity may not enter into a taxpayer resource transaction with an abortion provider, an affiliate of an abortion provider, or an abortion assistance entity.”

The policy builds on a 2019 Texas law that bans cities from directly funding abortions. After the measure was enacted, cities like Austin and San Antonio countered by covering travel expenses for out-of-state abortions, such as hotel accommodations and flights, rather than the procedure itself.

(Read SB 33 HERE)

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