By: By Emily Brindley and Nolan D. McCaskill
“It’s highly illegal in Texas,” said Joe Pojman, founder and executive director of Texas Alliance for Life. “It is the same offense as performing an illegal abortion in Texas.”
Legal experts have said the law isn’t so black-and-white, particularly because a number of other states have enacted shield laws that protect health care providers from other states’ abortion bans.
By: B.D. Hobbs
“To unfairly target pro-life advocates, while ignoring vandalism and violent acts against pregnancy centers in churches, and that’s not justice” said Amy O’Donnell, communications director at Texas Alliance for Life, “We’re very grateful to representative Chip Roy for seeking to protect peaceful pro-lifer’s from the weaponization of the FACE act so that they continue.”
It would be a long overdue, and welcomed change as 97% of FACE act prosecutions have been against pro-life advocates.
By: Daniel Perreault
“Just because you’re given a difficult diagnosis doesn’t mean that abortion is the only answer,” Cooper said.
Texas has some of the strictest abortion restrictions in the nation. Cooper, who works as a public policy analyst for Texas Alliance for Life, said she doesn’t want to see any expansion of the very narrow exceptions to the state’s near-total abortion ban.
“We don’t want our laws weakened to allow those children to be aborted,” Cooper said. “They deserve to be protected by law, and those mothers deserve to be supported.”
U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, who represents Texas, was slated to be the featured speaker with top billing at the rally, but couldn’t make it in person as the Senate has been working through the weekend to vote on President Donald Trump’s cabinet picks. Cornyn sent an audio message that organizers played at the rally. In it, he praised the abortion laws that are on the books in Texas.
“I can say without a doubt that Texas is the most pro-life state in the entire nation,” Cornyn said. “We have set an undeniable example of how to protect those who cannot protect themselves.”
In the early days of the 89th legislative session, there’s been a push among top Republican leaders to clarify when Texas doctors can perform abortions.
By: Emily Brindley
Joe Pojman, the founder and executive director of the Texas Alliance for Life, said his organization wants to focus on educating doctors and other health care workers about the abortion ban as it stands — without rewriting the law itself.
“We don’t think the law needs to be changed,” Pojman said.
Pojman pointed to the lack of guidance from medical groups, and faulted them for the ensuing confusion among medical providers. The Texas Medical Board did issue guidance in June, but did not list specific exceptions to the abortion ban.
By: Ben Johnson
Pro-life advocates greeted the taxpayer-funded website’s closure with enthusiasm. “Could this be the start of Making America Pro-Life Again?!” asked Kristan Hawkins of Students for Life of America. “Let’s go!” enthused the Texas Alliance for Life.
The website went offline the same day news broke that Cecile Richards, the CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America from 2006 to 2018, died at the age of 67 from a glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. During her 12 years leading the nation’s largest abortion business, “Richards increased the number of abortions Planned Parenthood carried out each year by almost 70,000,” wrote Mary Szoch, director of the Center for Human Dignity at Family Research Council.
By: Abigail Vaerewyck
Texas Alliance for Life is gearing up for their anti-abortion rally and march at the state capital next Saturday. The group’s communications director, Amy O’Donnell, says next weekend’s annual Texas Rally for Life, takes place on the Saturday following the anniversary of Roe v Wade.
“It’s an opportunity for pro lifers to come together and let the media and our elected officials know that Texans still value life,” said O’Donnell. She adds that this year they are expecting thousands of people to attend.