Texas House passes contentious ‘heartbeat bill’ restricting abortion
The bill would ban abortions as early as six weeks into a pregnancy and let private citizens sue abortion providers or anybody else who knowingly “aids or abets” an abortion in violation to the ban.
The Texas State Capitol in Austin, Texas on Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021. (Lynda M. González/The Dallas Morning News)(Lynda M. González / Staff Photographer)
UPDATED on May 6, 2021 at 11:25 a.m. to reflect the House’s final passage.
AUSTIN Texas lawmakers are one step closer to passing a contentious bill that would ban abortions the moment a fetal heartbeat is detected.
Texas heartbeat bill banning abortions at 6 weeks gets initial approval from House Madlin Mekelburg, Austin American-Statesman
The Texas House on Wednesday gave initial approval to a bill that would effectively ban most abortions by outlawing the procedure once a fetal heartbeat is detected, typically before a woman is aware she is pregnant.
Abortion rights advocates have called the bill one of the most extreme abortion restrictions proposed in the state to date, and emotions were running high as lawmakers debated the measure on the House floor.
Standing at the front of the chamber, surrounded by a handful of other Republican women, Rep. Shelby Slawson, R-Stephenville, opened the debate by sharing a story about her mother, who was given a “dim prognosis” about her pregnancy and advised by doctors to have an abortion.
Texas Republicans pushing abortion ban after 6 weeks
by Jim Vertuno, The Associated Press
Posted May 5, 2021 4:36 pm EDT
Last Updated May 5, 2021 at 4:44 pm EDT
AUSTIN, Texas Texas would ban abortions after as early six weeks before many women know they are pregnant and allow private citizens to enforce the rule through civil lawsuits against doctors and others under a measure given preliminary approval by the GOP-dominated state House on Wednesday.
The move would have Texas join about a dozen other Republican-led states to pass so-called “heartbeat bills” which have been mostly blocked by federal courts.
A similar version has already passed the state Senate, and any differences will have to be negotiated before the bill goes to Republican Gov. Greg Abbott. The governor has suggested he would sign it into law.
A member of the House gallery listens to legislators speak during a debate on an abortion bill being considered on the House floor on May 5, 2021. Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune
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Texas lawmakers are poised to enact sweeping restrictions on access to abortions, prohibiting the procedure before many women know they are pregnant, and opening the door for a potential flood of lawsuits against abortion providers.
The House on Wednesday gave initial approval to a priority “heartbeat” bill passed by the Senate earlier this spring, which was authored or sponsored by nearly every Republican senator and more than 60 members of the House.
The Texas House on Wednesday gave initial approval to a bill that would effectively ban most abortions by outlawing the procedure once a fetal heartbeat is detected, typically before a woman is aware she is pregnant.
Abortion rights advocates have called the bill one of the most extreme abortion restrictions proposed in the state to date, and emotions were running high as lawmakers debated the measure on the House floor.
Standing at the front of the chamber, surrounded by a handful of other Republican women, Rep. Shelby Slawson, R-Stephenville, opened the debate by sharing a story about her mother, who was given a “dim prognosis” about her pregnancy and advised by doctors to have an abortion.