Bill to keep mail-order abortion pills out of Texas dies in Senate

Last month, the Texas Senate passed a bill intended to stop the deluge of illegal abortion pills being mailed into the state — yet the Texas House has failed to pass it, meaning countless women and preborn children could remain at risk.

KEY TAKEAWAYS: 

• The Texas Senate easily passed the Women and Child Protection Act to prevent abortion drugs from being mailed into the state.

• The bill stalled in the Texas House, where it missed the deadline to come to a full vote.

• Although it could be revived by Gov. Abbott in a special session, Texas Right to Life president John Seago says that is unlikely.

THE DETAILS:

SB2880/HB5510, known as the “Women and Child Protection Act,” would have expanded the 2021 Texas Heartbeat Act, which allows individual citizens to file lawsuits against anyone who commits an abortion after a preborn child’s heartbeat can be detected, typically at around six weeks, although the heart first begins to beat at about 21 days post-fertilization.

Despite the law, New York abortionist Margaret Carpenter was caught shipping abortion pills to women in Texas in December, and she was fined $100,000. Another three people have been arrested for committing illegal abortions and running a network of illegal abortion businesses in the Northwest Houston area.

The Women and Child Protection Act would have worked to halt the drugs from being mailed into the state, allowing lawsuits to be filed against people who did so.

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“These are the pills that are being mailed into Texas directly to women, often without instructions, certainly without doctors as before, and without follow-up care after,” Sen. Bryan Hughes, who authored the bill, said. “This is illegal in Texas, but is taking place, and we’ve thus far not been able to protect women.”

Texas Right to Life reported that the bill died in the House, leaving women and children vulnerable. According to Texas Right to Life, Chairman Ken King waited for the legislative clock to run out, so it would not survive between committees and would never make it to the House for a full vote.

“This is a significant failure from the House,” Texas Right to Life president John Seago said. “When you look at the opportunity this bill had, it seems like there was a deliberate effort to slow the bill down, if not to kill it.”

THE BOTTOM LINE: 

Though the bill is likely dead, there is a chance it can be revived. Governor Greg Abbott could call for a special session specifically to hold a vote on the Women and Child Protection Act, but Seago called this a long shot.