Texas GOP censures U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales for not toeing party line | SAN ANTONIO REPORT

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By: Andrea Drusch

In an effort to highlight issues where he agrees with local Republicans, Gonzales joined the anti-abortion group Alliance for Life at Thursday’s press conference to voice opposition to proposed police reforms expected to appear on San Antonio’s municipal election ballot in May.

“Prop A is going down in flames — it is going to lose,” Gonzales said at the press conference. “… We have an army of conservative warriors that are ready to push back.”

Speaking to reporters after the press conference, Gonzales downplayed the threat of the censure.

“Not everybody likes me. … It’s the way life is,” Gonzales said. “You can’t allow these people that are detractors to prevent you from doing what you want to do, what you need to do, to represent the district, but you do have to take it seriously.”

“Something like this is an opportunity to unite us,” he said, gesturing to the people gathered in opposition of the police reforms charter amendment.

Walgreens speaks after being told there’s consequences for selling abortion pills by mail |News4SA

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By: Amanda Henderson

Walgreens’ decision further limits women’s abortions options in Texas.

It’s the news some are celebrating.

“We’re grateful to see that work having an effect where life is protected,” Amy O’Donnell with Texas Alliance for Life said.

Walgreens said they are not distributing mifepristone at this time.

“In Texas now that life is protected from conception on, it’s not legal for these drugs to be dispensed, either through Walgreens or through a physician for the purpose of a woman obtaining an abortion. We want to see women protected even as we work towards protecting babies,” O’Donnell said.

The letter was also sent to rival drug store chain CVS who has not yet responded.

3 abortion bans in Texas leave doctors ‘talking in code’ to pregnant patients | Texas Public Radio

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By: Selena Simmons-Duffin

Still, these laws are not as sweeping as some seem to think, law professor Sepper says, and none should apply in Miller’s case.

“First, all of them exempt the pregnant person,” Sepper explains. “Second, none of them apply outside the borders of Texas, so abortions performed in Colorado or California are not covered.”

Amy O’Donnell of Texas Alliance for Life, an anti-abortion rights group, concurs with Sepper’s interpretation of the law. “Our Texas Alliance for Life attorneys believe there is a constitutional right to interstate travel,” she says. “They believe that Texas will not be able to ban interstate travel for abortion, just as we cannot ban individuals from traveling to another state to participate in casino gambling, which is not legal in Texas.”

Why anti-abortion opponents could sink San Antonio’s police reform amendment | San Antonio Express News

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By: Molly Smith

Texas Alliance for Life immediately took the matter to the Texas Supreme Court. The group has a powerful ally in Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is urging the court to side with them.

It’s a large departure from the scrutiny given to marijuana decriminalization measures passed in other Texas cities, none of which are anywhere close to landing in front of a state court. These measures have proved popular, passing by as much as 85 percent.

“On the abortion question, this is a direct frontal assault to a primary political objective that Republicans have laid out,” said Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston. “It is as bold a political strategy to confront a Republican, conservative policy on abortion as we’ve seen.”

On ExpressNews.com: Anti-abortion group wants to weed out this measure in San Antonio’s Justice Charter amendment

The Justice Charter, also known as Proposition A, is the first citizen-led ballot measure in Texas to attempt to safeguard abortion providers since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down federal abortion protections last summer. It will be a test of the lengths the state’s powerful anti-abortion movement — and possibly Republican lawmakers — will go to prevent cities from making their own rules about abortion.

Judge Dismisses Anti-Abortion Lawsuit | The Dallas Express

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By: Noah DeGarmo

Amy O’Donnell, director of communications for the Texas Alliance for Life, told The Dallas Express, “It is unfortunate that Wendy Davis and the others mentioned in the suit would prefer to take innocent unborn babies’ lives and harm the hearts and potentially the well-being of mothers rather than put their time, energy, and resources toward supporting compassionate alternatives to abortion.”

“We applaud our pro-life legislators and Governor Abbott for prioritizing the care of women and their babies in Texas,” she added.

Pro-Life Group Files Petition to Stop San Antonio’s ‘Justice Policy’ Charter Amendment Election | THE TEXAN

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By: KIM ROBERTS

The Texas Local Government Code provides, “An amendment may not contain more than one subject.”

In its petition, Texas Alliance for Life acknowledges that courts have allowed cities to hold elections on proposals that make multiple amendments to a city charter, but note that all were dealing with a single subject.

However, in this case, the subject matters vary from marijuana possession to abortion crimes so that residents who may agree with one issue could disagree on another, but would be forced to cast only one vote for or against the entire proposal.

In its reply brief, the city made a procedural argument that the petition should have first been presented to an appellate court before coming to the Texas Supreme Court.

Regarding multiple subjects in the charter amendment, the city argued that it “plausibly read the proposed ‘Justice Policy’ charter amendment language as relating to one subject.”

It also asserted that petitioners Texas Alliance for Life and Morris are premature in their challenge, and instead should challenge the amendment after the election should it be approved by voters.