Texas Senate approves two abortion bills
Tissue restrictions, certain procedures focus of legislation
AUSTIN — High-profile legislation that would restrict the use of fetal tissue from elective abortions and prohibit so-called dismemberment abortions was approved Wednesday by the Texas Senate.
Sen. Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown, said his Senate Bill 8 is designed to prevent the sale of fetal tissue from abortions. He said the move was spurred by videos of Planned Parenthood workers discussing tissue sales, which stirred a national controversy.
“Abortion is a human tragedy at every imaginable level, and it’s unconscionable to think that anyone in this world would seek to profit from that pain,” Schwertner said. “The people of Texas simply will not stand for unborn children being torn apart, monetized and traded like some sort of perverse commodity.”
Establishing a state ban on the sale of fetal tissue was a priority for both Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and was supported by prominent pro-life organizations including Texas Right to Life, the Texas Alliance for Life, the Texans for Life Coalition, and the Texas Catholic Conference, along with conservative GOP groups.
The second measure, Senate Bill 415 by Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, would prohibit abortions in which the fetus is dismembered. The procedure is illegal in seven states but not in Texas, supporters said.
“This is abortion by means of torture,” said Sen. Donna Campbell, a New Braunfels Republican who, like Schwertner, is a doctor. “We are a civilized society. This is a barbaric procedure.”
Both bills were approved in votes that crossed party lines after lengthy debate. Schwertner’s bill was approved on a final vote and will now go to the House for consideration; Perry’s bill was tentatively approved, with final passage — usually a formality — expected within days.
Though there is support in the GOP-controlled House for both measures, abortion rights activists and Democrats have promised to try to derail them from being approved there.
“These anti-abortion bills would prevent doctors from using their best medical judgment when treating their patients and would put patients’ health, safety and lives at risk,” Heather Busby, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Texas, said in a statement. “Every woman’s pregnancy experience is different, and doctors need all options available to treat their individual patients. Politicians should leave the practice of medicine to physicians.”
Similar bans in Alabama, Kansas, Louisiana and Oklahoma have been put on hold due to legal challenges.
Patrick, though, applauded the Senate’s votes.
“Texans count on us to ensure that the sanctity and dignity of life is protected,” he said after Wednesday’s Senate session ended.
“In the wake of discovering the notorious Planned Parenthood videos last year, in which employees were caught callously discussing the procurement of aborted baby body parts, the Texas Senate is taking aggressive steps to criminalize these despicable acts. They have also taken an unshakable stand against partial birth abortion.”
The release of the secretly recorded and heavily edited videos by an anti-abortion group last year spurred GOP efforts in Texas and across the U.S. to defund Planned Parenthood. Investigations by 13 states into those videos have concluded without criminal charges, and Planned Parenthood officials have denied any wrongdoing.