Today, the Texas House of Representatives passed two crucial Pro-Life bills in what has become the strongest Pro-Life session since Roe v. Wade was decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Senate Bill 8, sponsored by freshman state Representative Shelby Slawson, and House Bill 1280 by state Representative Giovanni Capriglione, take necessary steps to protect life today and set the stage for an outright ban when Roe v. Wade is overturned by the courts.
SB 8, more commonly known as the Texas Heartbeat Act, bans abortion after a heartbeat has been detected. Currently, abortions may currently be performed in Texas up to 20 weeks into a pregnancy. With a fetal heartbeat potentially detected at six weeks of pregnancy, this marks a major advancement in the prohibition timeline. This change could lead to 10s of thousands of lives being saved over the next decade.
HB 1280 sets the stage for Texas to institute a prohibition on abortions upon the U.S. Supreme Court overturning its Roe v. Wade decision. The bill states that 30-days after the courts overturn the landmark case, Texas will immediately institute a ban on the practice of abortions. The ban will limit the procedure to being performed by licensed medical professionals and only in times of medical emergency or necessity to save the mother's life.
These bills have passed Second Reading in the House and are on a path to the Senate. If they concur on the Heartbeat Act, it will be sent to the Governor's desk to be signed into law. HB 1280 still has to go through the committee process before the chambers work to concur on the final bill text.
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