‘They are a gift to us’: Abortion opponents gather at Capitol for Texas Rally for Life | Austin American Statesman

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By: Natalia E. Contreras, Madlin Mekelburg

“There’s no freedom more precious than life itself. I promised to protect the life of a child with a heartbeat, and we did,” Abbott told the crowd Saturday. “I am proud to join you in this fight to protect the sanctity of life in Texas.”

Demonstrators kicked off the rally at the intersection of East 13th and Brazos Streets and marched to the Capitol chanting, “We are pro-life!”

Speakers included the Rev. Joe Vasquez, Roman Catholic bishop of Austin; state Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake, and Joe Pojman, executive director of the Texas Alliance for Life.

Rally for Life advocates motivated on 49th anniversary of Roe v. Wade | KXAN News

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By: Grace Reader, Kaitlyn Karmout

On the 49th anniversary of Roe V. Wade, abortion opponents are feeling a bit more motivated.

“It could potentially scale back Roe v. Wade or overturn it completely,” said Amy O’Donnell, of the Texas Alliance for Life. “If that happens, then we will see life protected in Texas beginning at conception.”

O’Donnell is talking about the Mississippi Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case making its way through the Supreme Court. The case would prohibit all abortions, with few exceptions, after 15-weeks.

For months now, however, the Texas Heartbeat Act has banned abortions when cardiac activity is detected.

Biggest abortion protest in US could be last one under Roe | Fox 8 News

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By: Paul Weber Associated Press

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The largest anti-abortion rally in the U.S. returns Friday with thousands of expected protesters in Washington who feel within reach of their goal for the last 49 years: a sweeping rollback of abortion rights.

“My hopes have been dashed many times, but I have never felt like this,” said Joe Pojman, executive director of Texas Alliance for Life.

The March for Life, for decades an annual protest against abortion, arrives this year as the Supreme Court has indicated it will allow states to impose tighter restrictions on abortion with a ruling in the coming months — and possibly overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that affirmed the constitutional right to an abortion.

Rockdale panel discusses pro-life issues on Sanctity of Life Sunday | Southern Baptist Texan

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By: Gary Ledbetter

Pojman is cautiously optimistic about an overturn of Roe, speculating that the Court has already decided what to do with Roe but likely won’t announce anything until the end of this session in late June. Depending on the outcome, so-called “trigger bills” can go into effect.

“Texas has passed a bill, the Human Life Protection Act, that protects babies from the point of conception, but it won’t go into effect until Roe is overturned,” he said. “It will be up to church-based ministries to take care of women who no longer have the option of going to Dallas and Austin for an abortion.”

He then noted a couple of advantages Texas has as a pro-life state, referring to $100 million the state has allocated to help mothers for the first three years after the birth of their children.

“This governor [Greg Abbott] is committed to life, to adoption. His daughter is adopted out of a church-based adoption center,” Pojman said.

He also responded to a question regarding a response if Roe is not overturned. “My hopes have been dashed many times,” he said. “But we continue to make progress. We’ll keep working. We’re not going anywhere. But I think we’ll get something from SCOTUS that is a step in the right direction.”

A Plan Forms in Mexico: Help Americans Get Abortions | New York Times

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By: Natalie Kitroeff

Legal experts say such laws may be challenged after the F.D.A. decision, but for now, these state measures could discourage American doctors from sending pills to parts of the country with restrictive regulations.

“For the first time, Texas does have a way to protect women, through our criminal law, from people bringing dangerous abortion pills,” said Joe Pojman, executive director of the Texas Alliance for Life, an organization that helped craft the measure. “We’ll have to wait to see how well it is enforced in the coming months.”

Anti-abortion groups acknowledge that criminally punishing activists who distribute the pills, especially if they are from Mexico, may prove difficult. They would have to be caught and arrested in Texas, or extradited, experts say.

“Every constitutional right is now at risk”: Legal experts warn Supreme Court action on Texas abortion law could lead to copycats | Texas Tribune

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By: JAMES BARRAGÁN AND CASSANDRA POLLOCK

Still, even some groups aligned with the anti-abortion movement say they have concerns about the enforcement mechanism in the state’s law. Joe Pojman, executive director for Texas Alliance for Life, said the group — which is “very pleased with the effect of the law” — does have concerns that its enforcement mechanism could be used in future state laws that could involve the First Amendment.

“Because some state might try to pass a law that … might create a right for private citizens to sue anyone who talks to a woman entering an abortion facility,” he said. “That’s a frightening prospect to us. I don’t know of any state that’s considering it. But it seems like that would be possible if this type of citizen enforcement is allowed to continue.”