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Abortion in Texas

Abortion in Texas is illegal in most cases. There are nominally exceptions to save the mother's life, or prevent "substantial impairment of major bodily function", but the law on abortion in Texas is written in such an ambiguous way that life-threatening or harmful pregnancies do not explicitly constitute an exception.[1][2][3]

This has prompted expecting mothers with health complications to leave the state or forced them to give birth while jeopardizing their health.[1] The legal status of abortion in Texas is due to a trigger law passed in July 2021 that came in effect on August 25, 2022, as a consequence of the U.S. Supreme Court's 2022 decision Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturning Roe v. Wade.[4] The law makes no exception for pregnancies resulting from rape or incest.[1]

In May 2021, the Texas legislature passed the Texas Heartbeat Act (SB 8) that banned abortion after the detection of embryonic or fetal cardiac activity. This stage of development normally occurs after about six weeks of pregnancy, earlier than when most women know that they are pregnant.[5][6] This act relied solely on enforcement by private individuals through civil lawsuits, thus evading pre-enforcement challenges based on Roe v. Wade. Before the enactment of this law, elective abortions had been allowed up to 20 weeks post-fertilization.[7]

In August 2023, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed HB 3058 into law, allowing doctors to provide abortions in the case of an ectopic pregnancy or if a pregnant patient's water breaks too early, rendering the fetus unviable.[8] In December 2023, the Texas Supreme Court ruled that a pregnant woman whose fetus was diagnosed with a fatal condition and whose pregnancy posed a threat to her health could not be permitted to receive an abortion.[3] In July 2024, the Texas Supreme Court further upheld the state's criminalization of abortion.[9]

The cities of Austin,[10] Dallas,[11] Denton,[12] El Paso,[13] and Houston[14] have enacted resolutions instructing city officials to deprioritize enforcement of the state's abortion laws, but anyone violating the state's abortion laws in those cities remains subject to criminal prosecution by the district attorney (a county official) and civil penalties imposed by the state attorney general.

Anyone who aids or abets an illegal abortion in Texas can be sued for wrongful death.[15] In March 2023, a Galveston man sued three friends of his ex-wife for wrongful death after they helped her obtain illegal abortion pills that were used to terminate her pregnancy.[16] The lawsuit is currently pending in Galveston County district court.

  1. ^ a b c "Texas medical panel won't provide list of exceptions to abortion ban". AP News. March 22, 2024.
  2. ^ "Texas Supreme Court rejects challenge to state's abortion law over medical exceptions". Associated Press. 2024.
  3. ^ a b Goodman, J. David (December 11, 2023). "Texas Supreme Court Rules Against Woman Who Sought Court-Approved Abortion". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.
  4. ^ "Does Texas have trigger laws related to abortion?". Texas State Law Library. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
  5. ^ "Texas Planned Parenthoods Granted Restraining Order Against Anti-Abortion Group Over New Law". Houston Public Media. September 3, 2021. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
  6. ^ McCammon, Sarah (September 1, 2021). "What The Texas Abortion Ban Does — And What It Means For Other States". National Public Radio. Archived from the original on September 2, 2021. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  7. ^ "Texas Health & Safety Code § 171.044". statutes.capitol.texas.gov.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference :26 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Honderich, Holly. "Texas Supreme Court rejects abortion ban challenge". BBC.co.uk. Retrieved June 1, 2024.
  10. ^ Breslin, Maureen (July 21, 2022). "Austin City Council approves resolution to decriminalize abortion". The Hill. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  11. ^ Kekatos, Mary (August 3, 2022). "Dallas City Council committee passes resolution to limit impact of Texas abortion law". ABC News. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  12. ^ McPhate, Christian (June 29, 2022). "Denton City Council votes to approve resolution deprioritizing enforcement of abortion law". Denton Record-Chronicle. Denton Media Company. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  13. ^ Fischer, Fallon (August 8, 2022). "El Paso County leaders approve resolution to support individuals seeking abortion services". KDBC-TV. Retrieved September 28, 2022.
  14. ^ Rice, Jen (May 10, 2022). "Hidalgo, Dem commissioners pass resolution in support of abortion rights". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  15. ^ "Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code §§ 71.001 et seq". statutes.capitol.texas.gov. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  16. ^ Hutzler, Alexandra (March 11, 2023). "Texas man files wrongful death suit against 3 women he claims aided ex-wife's abortion". ABC News. Retrieved July 9, 2023.

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