Texas governor wants Legislature to crack down on abortion pills

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has called lawmakers back to Austin for a 30-day special session starting July 21, and one of the top priorities is stopping the flow of abortion pills into the state.

Abbott added the Woman and Child Protection Act (HB 2690) to the agenda after Texas Right to Life and 129 other pro-life leaders urged him to take action. Pro-life organizations say the legislation will help protect preborn children and their mothers, according to Life News.

“Thank you, Governor Abbott, for fighting for Texas mothers and babies during this special session,” Dr. John Seago, president of Texas Right to Life, said in a release. “We cannot ignore the greatest threat to vulnerable Texans today – tens of thousands of abortion pills illegally trafficked into our state.”

About 19,000 abortion pills are ordered online and brought into Texas each year, Texas Right to Life says.

Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, abortion supporters have focused more on mail-order drugs, making chemical abortion the most common abortion method nationwide; that’s especially true in states banning elective abortion.

If passed, the proposal Abbott supports would let Texans sue anyone who illegally ships or provides abortion pills. It would also give harmed women and their families the right to file wrongful death lawsuits. If the measure passes, the Texas Attorney General will have the power to prosecute violators.

“The Woman and Child Protection Act would make Texas the most aggressive state to go after the underground abortion industry, holding lawbreakers accountable for illegal abortions,” said Kimberlyn Schwartz, communications director for Texas Right to Life.

“Abortion advocates will try everything they can to delay this policy,” she added. “Texas Right to Life asks every Pro-Life Texan to contact lawmakers so they will quickly pass the Woman and Child Protection Act.”

Lawmakers failed to pass this measure during the regular session that ended in June, but they now have a second chance.

A recent study found abortion pills far more dangerous than previously thought. The drugs are 22 times more likely to cause complications than earlier FDA reports suggested, and more than one in 10 women who take them require emergency medical care.

A dozen states have banned abortion, including Texas. Another four ban it after six weeks, once the baby’s heartbeat can be detected.