A Texas bill to ban mail-order abortion drugs passed a state Senate committee Thursday with bipartisan support.
Sponsored by pro-life Democrat Sen. Eddie Lucio, D-Brownsville, the bill passed the Texas Senate Health and Human Services Committee in a 5-0 vote. It now moves to the full state Senate for consideration.
“Thank you Sen. Lucio for carrying this important pro-life bill,” Texas Alliance for Life responded in a post online.
State Senate Bill 4 would prohibit abortion groups from selling or providing abortion-inducing drugs by mail or other delivery services. It would require physicians to provide the abortion drugs in-person to the mother after performing an examination and obtaining her voluntary and informed consent.
Additionally, the bill would add new requirements to state laws that require abortion facilities to report abortions and abortion complications to the state.
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Texas and other states are seeing an increase in the sales of abortion drugs, which are used to abort unborn babies up to 10 weeks of pregnancy. The numbers may grow even more after President Joe Biden’s administration stopped enforcing a long-standing safety regulation earlier this year and allowed them to be sold through the mail without the woman ever seeing a doctor in person.
In the bill, Texas lawmakers pointed out the serious risks of abortion drugs, including “uterine hemorrhage, viral infections, abdominal pain, cramping, vomiting, headache, fatigue and pelvic inflammatory disease.”
A recent analysis of complications data from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration showed 20 women died and thousands experienced complications after taking the abortion drugs between 2000 and 2019.
Other research also has found significant complication risks. A 2009 study “Immediate Complications After Medical Compared With Surgical Termination of Pregnancy,” in Obstetrics and Gynecology found a complication rate of approximately 20 percent for the abortion drugs compared to 5.6 percent for surgical abortions.
Texas lawmakers are in a special legislative session called by Gov. Greg Abbott. One of the governor’s priorities for the session is the pro-life bill.
“The 87th Legislative Session was a monumental success for the people of Texas, but we have unfinished business to ensure that Texas remains the most exceptional state in America,” the Republican governor said in a statement. “I look forward to working with my partners in the Legislature to pass this legislation as we build a brighter future for all who call Texas home.”
Texas lawmakers passed several pro-life laws already this year, including legislation to prohibit abortions once an unborn baby’s heartbeat is detectable. However, the abortion industry is suing to block the law.
Several other states also passed laws this year to protect unborn babies from dangerous abortion drugs. These includes laws to inform women of the life-saving abortion pill reversal treatment in Indiana, Louisiana, Montana, South Dakota and West Virginia, and regulations on abortion drugs that protect mothers and unborn babies in Arizona, Arkansas, Indiana, Ohio, Oklahoma and Montana.
ACTION ALERT: Contact Texas state lawmakers to urge support for this pro-life bill.
