It’s a Wrap!
The 86th Legislature of Texas has adjourned sine die, so let’s take a look at what pro-life measures passed:
HB 16 – The Texas Born-Alive Infant Protection Act – by Rep. Jeff Leach, sp by Sen. Lois Kolkhorst
This bill, waiting on the Governor’s signature, requires a hospital transfer for infants born alive, provides for a whistleblower hotline, and ups the penalties for doctors who don’t comply to a fine of at least $100,000, and makes the offense a third-degree felony. While critics and the media describe babies surviving abortion as “extremely rare,” and point out no live births have been reported since 2013, they fail to note that the state began collecting and reporting this data only after four employees came forward to describe the horror in a Houston abortion facility. You can read about Gosnell-like horrors described by employees of Houston abortionist Douglas Karpan here: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2325786/Douglas-Karpen-Second-house-horrors-abortion-clinic-investigated-Texas.html. And speaking of Gosnell, who can forget his house of horrors or that he is serving a life sentence in prison (in part) for snipping the necks of babies born alive. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4149332/Baby-killer-doctor-Kermit-Gosnell-says-release-imminent.html And who can forget Gov. Northrup’s description of how an infant surviving abortion is to be treated? https://twitter.com/CalebJHull/status/1090657473218920448?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1090673337058111488&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.breitbart.com%2Fpolitics%2F2019%2F01%2F30%2Fgov-ralph-northam-aborted-infant-saved-if-mother-and-family-desired%2F And last, you may want to read this mother’s description of what abortionists at Planned Parenthood reportedly said to her after she changed her mind and refused to continue with an abortion on her 22 week old son. https://www.liveaction.org/news/planned-parenthood-break-babys-neck-born-alive/?fbclid=IwAR0s5vYAxzNRBIHEU2LyMjByW-df-ub975b2dG2r7rzr1LwA79CLofwuzbE SB 22 – Banning contracts between local governments and abortion providers – by Sen. Dr. Donna Campell, sp by Rep. Candy Noble It only took three sessions and a 9-hour debate on the House floor, but SB 22 is on its way to Governor Abbott, who has long supported the measure. While the City of Austin did manage to beat the ban by renewing its sweetheart deal (a prime location lease for $1/year) with Planned Parenthood for 20 years, many other local contracts with Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers will not be renewed. Already Planned Parenthood is warning that clinics will close. We can only hope. SB 24 – A bill to curb abuses in the Informed Consent process—by Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr., sp by Rep. Chris Paddie. This bill which hasn’t gotten a lot of media attention, will require abortion facilities to personally offer the state’s excellent Women’s Right to Know booklet to women considering abortion. Currently, most women are discouraged from taking the booklet, are told that it’s full of lies, and thus denied important information about their child’s development, the risks of abortion to themselves and resources available to help them choose life. The bill also prohibits abortion doctors, who are allowed to deliver the information by telephone to women who live further than 100 miles from the abortion facility, from using conference calls in lieu of private conversations that allow women to ask questions of the doctor. This bill is expected to be signed by Governor Abbott.
In addition to the three bills that passed, the Alternatives to Abortion fund which supports over 200 pregnancy resource centers across the state was increased to a whopping $79 million per biennium, a big win for life. While we wish the Trigger Ban and other measures had fared better, the reality is that much of the bandwidth of this session’s 140 days was eaten up by contentious, must-pass measurers regarding Harvey relief, school finance and property tax reform. It is also important to note that a number of the measures filed (Pre-Non Discrimination Act, the Heartbeat Bill for examples), had no path to victory in the courts as we continue to see in the Supreme Court’s most recent ruling last week. Strategy and perseverance remain the critical cornerstones to reining in the scandal known as Roe v. Wade.
