Several abortion bills pre-filed in Texas | Spectrum News 1

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By: CHARLOTTE SCOTT

As written, the bill would not require a pregnant person to file a police report or provide forensic evidence. Alvarado said it’s because many women don’t report abuse in the first place. But since no record would be required to obtain an abortion, anti-abortion advocates see this as a way to create a loophole so any woman could have the procedure.

“Women could claim rape or assault or incest where, in fact, that has not happened. And it creates a potential loophole in an exception that we don’t support that would allow women to lie to receive abortions. We would hope that no woman would do that, but it does leave that door open,” said Amy O’Donnell, the director of communications for Texas Alliance for Life.

Seth Chandler, a law professor at the University of Houston, said this is where the legal waters get murky.

“Without any proof that the sexual assault occurred, in the sense of not having to file a police report or have a criminal prosecution for the assault, again, I suspect that pro-life forces are going to object to that on grounds that basically all that has to happen is for the woman to allege that the sex was nonconsensual and therefore constitutes an assault,” Chandler said. “And so I think when people get down to the nuts and bolts of trying to define these exceptions, there’s going to be quite a battle.”

Illegal ‘Pill Fairies’ Aiding At-Home Abortions as Safety Concerns Rise | THE EPOCH TIMES

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By: Janice Hisle

Sometimes the drugs are sent through the mail, concealed in non-medical packaging; they also may be delivered in person with the help of volunteers who live in the United States.

Amy O’Donnell, Texas Alliance for Life spokeswoman, told The Epoch Times: “That’s a horrible name that they’re using, to bring these drugs into our state illegally that can harm women or even take their lives— and there’s nothing ‘magical’ about that. It’s an atrocity.”

O’Donnell’s group and others have been urging federal action recently, following news media reports highlighting the abortion-pill networks.

In a strongly worded Oct. 25 letter to Congress, Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life Action, wrote: “In January, the Pro-Life Generation expects the House and Senate to take on this issue with the seriousness it deserves, rather than settling for show votes on easily agreed-upon legislation that does not significantly reduce the number of abortions or protect women from a predatory abortion industry.”

Study finds Texas births up, abortions down after fetal heartbeat law | The Washington Times

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By: Sean Salai

“Texas is ready for this moment,” said Joe Pojman, executive director of Texas Alliance for Life.

Shawn D. Carney, founder and CEO of the international prayer campaign 40 Days for Life, said the report refutes the idea that women reject alternatives to abortion.

“The thousands of babies being born and not aborted will continue to go up and, in Texas, many pregnancy centers who are seeing an increase think that the current estimates are very conservative,” Mr. Carney said.

Several pro-choice groups declined to comment.

Texas Pro-Life Republicans Win Every Race After Democrats Promised to Beat Them for Banning Abortions | LifeNews.com

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By: Steven Ertelt

Texas Alliance for Life’s Executive Director, Joe Pojman also pointed out the huge pro-life victories in Texas.

“Texas remains a pro-life state. All statewide elected officials endorsed by our PAC prevailed by decisive margins, including Governor Greg Abbott, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, and Attorney General Ken Paxton. This was despite the well-funded efforts of their opponents to frighten voters by misrepresenting the effects of pro-life laws that Texas has recently passed,” he told LifeNews.

“That is especially true of various mischaracterizations of the Human Life Protection Act, HB 1280, which began protecting unborn children from abortion beginning at conception shortly after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Opponents falsely claimed the law prevents appropriate treatment of certain rare but serious complications from pregnancy that threaten the mothers’ lives, which we quickly refuted,” Pojman said. “Of special note are the results of the re-election campaigns of the House and Senate authors of HB 1280, Rep. Giovanni Capriglione (R-Southlake) and Sen. Angela Paxton (R-McKinney). We look forward to continuing to work with them and the many other pro-life legislators to protect innocent human life in Texas moving forward.”

“Thanks to largely successful election results in Congressional races, Texas will send to the U.S. House 26 pro-life members (out of 38) in 2023, up from 24 of 36 members,” Pojman noted.

When Does the Life of a Pregnant Texan Count Under the State’s New Abortion Ban? | Texas Monthly

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By: Peter Holley

Amy O’Donnell, a spokesperson for Texas Alliance for Life, another advocacy group that opposes abortion rights, pointed to the state’s existing health and safety code, in which ectopic pregnancies, pregnancies in which the fertilized egg implants outside the uterus, and miscarriages are not considered abortions. In other scenarios in which a pregnant patient’s life or health are at risk, O’Donnell and other like-minded activists say doctors can perform what they call a “separation” of an unborn child from its mother—terminology echoed in a fact sheet produced by the Charlotte Lozier Institute, a right-to-life organization based in Washington, D.C., that advocates for the idea that human life begins at conception. Like other anti-abortion advocates, O’Donnell argues that Roe’s reversal does not cause undue risk to pregnant women because the health conditions that would require abortion as a means of saving their lives or their long-term health are “very rare in modern science.” When those conditions do arise, she said, medical exceptions in the law adequately address those cases. “When a pregnant mother faces a life-threatening situation, an induced abortion that aims to kill the child is not the answer,” she said. “There are many ways to deal with this situation that do not seek to take the life of the child.”

Committee says Texas should keep judiciary bypass abortion rules | Spectrum News

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By: CHARLOTTE SCOTT

The recommendation to the full advisory committee is that “the rules governing judicial bypass should not be repealed.”

The subcommittee argues that judicial bypass is necessary because a pregnant minor might still face impairment or death unless an abortion is performed.

Amy O’Donnell is the communications director of the Texas Alliance for Life. She said because Texas law allows an abortion if the mother’s life is in danger, a judge’s permission is no longer necessary.

“There are no abortions taking place in the state of Texas, with the exception of a medical emergency situation,” O’Donnell said. “And because of that, there is no reason that a minor girl would need to seek a judicial bypass to obtain a procedure that is not legal in the state of Texas.”

Blake Rocap is the legal director with Jane’s Due Process, an organization that helps young people navigate parental consent laws. He said judicial bypass actually is still necessary for minors seeking an abortion.

“People under the age of 18 still have to get written notarized consent from their parent or guardian, or a judicial bypass, even if they have a life-threatening condition,” Rocap said. “The requirements on the physician in the emergency situation to perform the abortion are not the same as the requirements for parental notification and consent and what that looks like in emergency situation. They’re not the same. The physician has to comply with both of those things.”