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AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Senate unanimously passed a bill Tuesday that would clarify medical exceptions to the state's near-total abortion ban. Senate Bill 31 by State Sen. Bryan Hughes (R-Mineola), dubbed the " Life of the Mother Act ," does not expand abortion access or change any exceptions to the law but aims to clarify the existing law.
It makes it clear when doctors can intervene to save a pregnant patient's life. "As difficult and as divisive as it is right to life as abortion issues can be, for us, for all Americans, for all Texans," Hughes said. "One thing that I think we all agree on is that the life of the mother must be protected in those rare situations with a life of the mother is at risk.
" Texas has some of the strictest abortion restrictions in the nation. Currently, doctors can only perform abortions if a woman's life is in danger or she's at risk of losing a major bodily function. Doctors who perform abortions can lose their medical licenses or face up to 99 years in prison or a $100,000 fine if they don't comply with the law, leaving many doctors afraid to perform the procedure .
SB 31 still requires patients to have medical emergencies, but it clarifies that doctors don't have to delay care if doing so would increase the pregnant woman's risk of death or loss of bodily function. It also reiterates that doctors can remove ectopic pregnancies or the remains of a fetus after a miscarriage. Broadening the definitions of those conditions strengthens protections for doctors treating them.
The bill would require doctors and lawyers to get training about the abortion law. The Texas Medical Board would offer the course. The bill clarifies that a doctor or lawyer can talk with a patient about a medically necessary abortion without fear of legal repercussions or being considered to be "aiding and abetting.
" "I want to believe this bill will make things better because it's hard to believe that things could be much worse," State Sen. Sarah Eckhardt (D-Austin) said. "I believe that placing more insurable discretion in the hands of doctors responding to medical emergencies will save pregnant patients' lives.
" The confusion and vague language in the abortion ban have led doctors to delay care until the patient's condition worsens and they are closer to death, or choose to pursue other procedures. More than 100 Texas OB-GYNs signed an open letter urging state lawmakers to make changes. "The sliver of hope this bill offers is that the dwindling number of Texas obstetricians and gynecologists who will still practice here will refine the circumstances that they find are dangerous to their patients' lives and major bodily functions and that the Texas courts will corroborate these refinements," Eckhardt said.
"Texas women will be reliant on Texas doctors and Texas courts. Texas women will not have a say. This bill drives these cases of a medical emergency into the health care liability covered by physician insurance, which is good.
" ProPublica has reported that at least three pregnant women in Texas have died as a result of not getting care, and multiple women have sued the state, saying they were denied abortions even though their lives were at risk because the law is too vague. Medical experts who the publication spoke to said their lives could have been saved if doctors performed abortions. "Because of cases like that, we all thought it important that the law be crystal clear," Hughes said.
"We don't want to have any reason for hesitation, and we want to make sure that doctors are trained on the law. The Texas Alliance for Life said 132 medically necessary abortions have taken place since Roe v. Wade was overturned in June 2022.
Notably, SB 31 doesn't expand abortion access, something several Democratic Senators who support the bill said they want. While they noted the Life of the Mother Act is a good step forward, they want to see more exceptions to the abortion ban, including in cases of rape, incest, and lethal fetal abnormalities. Senator Molly Cook (D-Houston), an emergency room nurse, said it "leaves Texans in the worst, most devastating situations without recourse.
" "Even with this bill, which I do think will save lives, we are forcing Texas mothers to risk their lives, to carry non-viable pregnancies or terminal fetuses all the way to term. Potentially having to give birth," Cook said. "What a tragic metaphor that is, to give birth to death.
In the meantime, we traumatize our healthcare workforce." There was concern from abortion-rights advocates that the bill would resurrect a 1925 Texas abortion ban statute that they worry paves the way to criminalizing people who get an abortion and anyone who "furnishes the means" for an illegal abortion. Texas's abortion funds, which are nonprofit groups that help pay for out-of-state abortions, feared that this would allow prosecutors to go after them specifically.
State lawmakers amended the bill after the committee hearing to clarify that a pregnant woman who gets an abortion could not be criminally charged. It also makes clear that it does not revive or reject that legislation. The Texas Senate also gave initial approval to Senate Bill 2880, which would increase the penalties for mailing abortion pills to Texas.
It would also allow Texans to file lawsuits against those who are mailing or trafficking abortion pills. The bill would hold manufacturers and distributors of abortion pills liable and include market share liability. The bill would also allow women and families to bring wrongful death and injury suits six years after being injured by abortion.
SB 2880 also opens up civil liability for anyone who possesses, distributes, or provides information on how to obtain abortions. There are exceptions for doctors treating a woman during a medical emergency, and pregnant women themselves are not liable. It would give more power to the Attorney General's Office to go after and prosecute abortion-related offenses.
OB-GYNs say a tiny fraction of patients suffer from "major" or "serious" adverse events after taking FDA-approved abortion pills like Mifepristone. Lawmakers still have to vote on SB 2880 one more time before it can be sent to the House for consideration. SB 31 goes over to the House immediately.
House lawmakers have their own abortion law clarification bill, HB 44, which is sitting in the House Public Health Committee..
