The Texas House Freedom Caucus announced they will prioritize the protection of Life from abortion during the 87th Legislature. But your support is needed to ensure the Legislature passes strong Pro-Life laws.
Three weeks into the Regular Session of the 87th Texas Legislature, the Texas House and Senate have met for less than a week in total. Because of the limited time legislators have been actually working, the Capitol has been empty.
But your support is enabling us to work hard. There are several important updates on Pro-Life legislative efforts.
Last week the Texas House Freedom Caucus announced their priorities for the legislative session. At the top of the list is “Sanctity of Life,” specifically:
- Vigorously pursue laws that save lives of pre-born babies, including the pre-born nondiscrimination act (PreNDA) and the “heartbeat” bill; present new challenges to overturn Roe v. Wade; further life-affirming cultural messages; fight for the abolition of abortion by all lawful, constitutional means. (RPT Platform 325, 326, 327, 328, and 329)
- Support end-of-life protections. (RPT 276 and 277)
- Protect sanctuary cities for the unborn (so-called “sanctity-of-life cities”)
We applaud the Texas House Freedom Caucus for focusing on these issues as critical for the session and prioritizing bills that will actually ban abortions and save lives. The Texas Abolition Strategy (TAS), Texas Right to Life’s top abortion-related priority for the session, is one omnibus bill comprised of the Preborn NonDiscrimination Act (PreNDA), Heartbeat, and Abolition. TAS is the gold standard for the session. We also support each policy individually and will work with the Texas Legislature to pass the strongest possible bill to stop abortions and save lives. We look forward to continuing to work with the members and caucus this session.
In his State of the State address earlier this week, Governor Abbott specifically urged Texas legislators to pass Pro-Life legislation banning discriminatory abortions that are motivated by the race, sex, or disability of the preborn child. This is exactly what PreNDA would do. Not only would PreNDA ban discriminatory abortions, but the bill would also ban late abortions that are still allowed in Texas on babies with a suspected disability. Texas lawmakers have fought against discrimination outside of the womb in an array of spheres, such as employment and housing, and now is the time to end discrimination inside the womb.
The last two policies within TAS, which are enforced at a later date, are straightforward: banning elective abortions when the preborn child’s heartbeat is detectable (at 12 weeks when the most commonly-used methods can detect a heartbeat) and finally ending every remaining elective abortion in Texas.
Find out more about TAS and the other Pro-Life priorities for the 87th Legislature here.
Both chambers will convene again on Tuesday, February 9. The next crucial development from the Legislature will be the release of House committee assignments from Speaker Phelan. You must remain informed on the 87th Texas Legislature so that you can defend Life in the Legislature with us when the time arrives. Check back here for more updates next week, and make sure to sign up for text alerts to receive real-time updates on legislative activity and to learn how you can be involved: Text “TXLEGE” to 56525.