The Texas state House gave given 2nd reading approval to a bill ban abortions once an unborn baby’s heart begins beating. After a lengthy debate, the House approved the bill on an 81-63 vote.
HB 1515, the Texas Heartbeat Act by Representative Shelby Slawson (R-Stephenville), would prohibit abortions after a baby’s heartbeat is detectable. The 2nd reading passage of the heartbeat abortion ban comes after the Texas Senate approved similar legislation. The heartbeat bill, state Senate Bill 8, passed on third reading in March.
Sponsored as well by state Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, the bill would require abortionists to check for an unborn baby’s heartbeat and prohibit the abortion if it is detected. It would create criminal penalties for abortionists who violate the measure.
Click here to sign up for pro-life news alerts from LifeNews.com
“This bill says for the little baby inside her mother’s womb, if there is a heartbeat detected, that little baby will be protected,” Hughes said.
Commenting on the House’s favorable vote, Texas Right to Life Senior Legislative Associate Rebecca Parma told LifeNews: “This is a historic day for the state of Texas. The House has taken bold and wise action to protect innocent preborn children in the womb.”
“When passed into law, the Texas Heartbeat Act will abolish elective abortions as early as six weeks, when the preborn child’s heartbeat is detectable by the most common methods,” the pro-life group added. “The Texas Heartbeat Act is novel in approach, allowing for citizens to hold abortionists accountable through private lawsuits. No heartbeat law passed by another state has taken this strategy. Additionally, the bill does not punish women who obtain abortions.”
LifeNews depends on the support of readers like you to combat the pro-abortion media. Please donate now.
The Texas Heartbeat Act will receive a final procedural vote tomorrow and then return to the Texas Senate for approval with amendments. The Senate originally passed the Heartbeat act on March 30. After the Senate approves again, the Texas Heartbeat Act will be sent to pro-life Governor Greg Abbott, who is expected to sign it into law.
On the Senate side, State Sen. Eddie Lucio, a pro-life Democrat who Planned Parenthood attacked with a racist campaign last year, defended the legislation against criticism from other Democrats, according to the Morning News.
When state Sen. Nathan Johnson, D-Dallas, slammed the bill as a “mockery,” Lucio responded: “For you to use the word mockery, it offends me… If anything, to stand for abortion really makes a mockery of the sanctity of life.”
Here’s more from the Chronicle:
Texas lawmakers are convinced they’ve engineered a bill that can withstand legal challenges.
Instead of the state enforcing the law, State Sen. Bryan Hughes said his bill will allow any Texan to file a civil suit against a doctor or any person who “aids and abets” a woman who gets an abortion after a heartbeat is detected in the fetus. So it would not be the state enforcing the abortion ban, a key sticking point in past abortion restrictions that federal courts have repeatedly found to be unconstitutional.
Instead, the Hughes bill leaves enforcement up to private citizens.
However, a spokesperson from the ACLU of Texas hinted that they will sue if the bill becomes law. The pro-abortion legal group slammed the bill as an unconstitutional infringement on women’s rights and a violation of civil rights in the Texas Constitution.
The other pro-life legislation that passed Monday includes a bill to ban abortions completely if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, another to prohibit abortion drugs from being delivered by mail, legislation to prohibit local governments from funding abortions and abortion-related activities with taxpayer dollars, a bill to prohibit abortions for fetal anomalies after 20 weeks, another to require a third party to offer informed consent and resources to mothers seeking abortions, and a multi-action pro-life bill that would, among other life-saving measures, ban abortions after six weeks when an unborn baby’s heartbeat is detectable.
A number of states have passed heartbeat laws in recent years, but all have been banned from enforcing them due to legal challenges by abortion activist groups. States with heartbeat laws include Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Ohio and Tennessee. South Carolina also passed a heartbeat law in February.
Americans support strong limits on abortion. A 2019 Hill-HarrisX survey found that 55 percent of voters said they do not think laws banning abortions after six weeks – when an unborn baby’s heartbeat is detectable – are too restrictive. Gallup polls also consistently have found that a majority of Americans think all or most abortions should be illegal.
Some pro-lifers have renewed hope that the U.S. Supreme Court will uphold an abortion ban and overturn Roe v. Wade. Others, however, are hesitant because of concerns about losing the court battle and being forced to reimburse pro-abortion groups for their legal fees.
Though a majority of the justices are Republican appointees, Chief Justice John Roberts has sided with the liberal justices on a number of occasions.
In 1973, the Supreme Court took away the states’ ability to protect unborn babies from abortion under Roe v. Wade, and instead forced states to legalize abortion on demand. Roe made the United States one of only seven countries in the world that allows elective abortions after 20 weeks.
