By: Billy Gates, Jennifer Sanders
“It’s making a strong statement that we think that the unborn child, whose heart is beating, and even before, should be protected by the state of Texas,” said Joe Pojman, Ph.D., executive director of Texas Alliance for Life.
By: Edgar Sandoval and Dave Montgomery
Joe Pojman, the executive director with the Texas Alliance for Life, an anti-abortion advocacy group, said the new law would face difficult legal challenges, but it nonetheless left him optimistic about the direction of the anti-abortion movement. He pointed to the growing number of states and localities that have passed restrictive measures.
By: NIKI GRISWOLD
The makeup of the court has anti-abortion advocates like Joe Pojman optimistic.
“We think we have more votes on the Supreme Court, more justices who are willing to take a fresh look at the Roe v. Wade precedent and possibly untie the hands of the legislature so they can begin to protect unborn babies from abortion,” said Joe Pojman, executive director of Texas Alliance for Life.
“I think it’s not just possible, I think it’s reasonably likely that Roe v. Wade will at least be significantly eroded, if not completely overturned. There may very well be a five justice majority to do that now,” said Dale Carpenter, a constitutional law professor at Southern Methodist University.
This legislative session, lawmakers passed bills increasing abortion restrictions in the state, including one that would ban abortions as early as six weeks, which is before most women know they are pregnant.
It’s set to go to the Governor’s desk, where Abbott says he will sign it into law.
“Acting through our elected officials, Texas has shown itself to be a very pro-life state,” said Pojman. “We think that an unborn child is worthy of protection, and that is the right and the responsibility of the state of Texas.”
By: Melanie Barden
Thursday—the Texas Senate gave final approval for a controversial bill known as the “Heartbeat Bill.”
“It’s a bill that would protect unborn children in the womb from abortion beginning when the heartbeat is detected which is around 6 weeks,” says Joe Pojman with the Texas Alliance for Life.
Pojman says the bill is a novel concept—not just for Texas but the entire country.
There are no criminal penalties for performing abortions after a heartbeat is detected.
But it gives people the right to sue or file civil litigation against physicians who perform the procedure after that time frame.
Critics say the time frame isn’t long enough– as some women don’t know they’re pregnant that early on.
“I think the authors of the bill would argue the unborn child is still a person regardless of whether the mother knows the unborn child or not,” says Pojman.
The final bill includes several amendments including in situations of rape and incest—the person who impregnates someone cannot sue a doctor.
Amendments also specify doctors’ rights to defend their practice decisions in court.
The bill is now headed to Governor Greg Abbott’s desk where he’s signaled he’ll sign it in the coming days.
However, legal challenges are expected.
By: Maggie Glynn
But pro-life groups said there are clinics that can help.
“We have more than 200 pro-life pregnancy resource centers and all those services are free, and their goal is to make women have alternatives to abortion. Our goal is that no woman would seek an abortion because she has no alternatives,” Joe Pojman, executive director of Texas Alliance for Life said Wednesday.
By: Jessica Lea
Despite the fact that many pro-lifers are celebrating the passing of the ordinance, there are some who argue it is an ineffective strategy for fighting abortion. Dr. Joe Pojman of the Texas Alliance for Life told the Avalanche-Journal that even though he applauds the efforts of those who have fought for the ordinance, he believes it will simply lead to a lot of expense and energy until it is finally determined to be unconstitutional. “A local ordinance or a state law that bans abortions immediately is not going to stop abortions,” he said. “It has been tried many times and none of those work. We need more votes on the Supreme Court who are willing to take a fresh look at Roe v. Wade.”