Today, in a hearing at the Texas Senate, Texas Right to Life unveiled the Texas Abolition Strategy (TAS), a prudent yet comprehensive and dynamic approach for abolishing elective abortion in Texas. TAS is the new benchmark for Pro-Life legislation at the Texas Capitol, outlining the path Texas must take to save lives immediately and ultimately overturn Roe v. Wade. With a 6-3 majority in the Supreme Court of the United States, now is the opportunity for Texas to once again lead the Pro-Life movement nationwide.
TAS combines three major Pro-Life policies into one bill to end elective abortion in Texas:
- Preborn NonDiscrimination Act (PreNDA): abolish discriminatory and the remaining late-term abortions.
- Heartbeat: abolish elective abortions after the preborn child’s heartbeat is detectable.
- Abolition: abolish every remaining elective abortion in Texas.
Within this one bill, the enactment dates for each of these policies is staggered, meaning all three policies would become law at the same time when the bill is passed and signed, but each policy would take effect at different times.
Abolishing abortion is the goal, and the Pro-Life movement must do so in a way that is both courageous and prudent. Texas should not sit on the sidelines and simply wait for Roe v. Wade to be overturned. Instead, Texas is strategically positioned to raise targeted legal questions to push the Supreme Court to overturn erroneous precedent.
The Texas Senate State Affairs Committee met today to “study and recommend ways Texas can further protect the lives of the unborn.” In recent years, Texas plummeted to 17th in state Pro-Life rankings, down from 4th in 2009. This precipitous fall means Texas must take decisive action by implementing a strategy that will eliminate elective abortion: TAS.
Since the 86th Legislative Session, the political and judicial dynamics have altered. With the election successes of Pro-Life Republicans and the losses of some pro-abortion Republicans, the Texas House has shifted to the right. Likewise, Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett—who is Pro-Life and committed to the original meaning of the Constitution—occupies the seat once held by pro-abortion Ruth Bader Ginsburg. 2021 could be prime for Pro-Life legislative and legal victories.
In 2017, the abortion industry committed 53,277 abortions in Texas. While this number has fallen significantly from over 100,000 in the 1980s, every abortion is still an ethical catastrophe. Texas Right to Life will not rest until all Texans are respected as creations of God and protected from fertilization until natural death. We expect the same from the Texas Legislature. During the 87th Legislature, we must directly ban elective abortions by passing the Texas Abolition Strategy.