A trigger law in Texas has gone into effect on Thursday that bans nearly all abortions in the state.
Performing an abortion in the Lone Star State is now a felony punishable by up to life in prison. It leaves exceptions to save the life of the mother (via The Texas Tribune):
The trigger law criminalizes performing an abortion from the moment of fertilization unless the pregnant patient is facing “a life-threatening physical condition aggravated by, caused by, or arising from a pregnancy.” The statute specifically prohibits prosecuting a pregnant patient who undergoes an abortion.
Violations of the law are punishable by up to life in prison. The statute also says that the Attorney General “shall” seek a civil penalty of not less than $100,000, plus attorney’s fees.
Dr. Ingrid Skopm M.D., with the pro-life organization the Charlotte Lozier Institute clarified that “nothing in the new Texas pro-life law is in conflict with standard medical guidance, nor would it prevent me from providing the same care I have always provided women facing potentially life threatening complications.”
“I’ve practiced medicine in Texas for over 25 years, delivered more than 5,000 babies, and cared for countless women through difficult and sometimes traumatic pregnancies. There have been many times I’ve needed to provide emergency treatment to save the mother’s life, but there has never been a situation where I have needed to intentionally kill the child to save a mother’s life,” she added. “The purpose of an induced abortion is to produce a dead baby, and that’s not medical care.”
Texas Rep. Chip Roy told Townhall that the idea that life begins at conception is "fundamental" and that unborn Americans deserve to be protected.
"Today marks the first day in almost 50 years that Texans' voices are no longer silenced by an overreaching Supreme Court on the fundamental question of when life begins and demands protection.
State law, once again, protects and acknowledges the fundamental truth that life begins at conception and that the smallest of our fellow Texans deserve the same legal protection as the rest of us.
God bless Texas, and God bless our children."
Last month, the Texas Supreme Court allowed the pre-Roe v. Wade law restricting abortion to resume after pro-abortion organizations challenged it.
Almost exactly one year ago, a Texas law banning abortions after fetal heartbeat detection took effect. This was challenged by Whole Woman’s Health and the Biden administration at the Supreme Court ahead of the Dobbs case. In June, Dobbs paved the way for Texas and several other states to pass trigger laws outlawing the procedure and putting abortion clinics out of business.
In Texas, abortion provider Whole Woman’s Health made the decision to pack up its clinics and move to New Mexico, where abortion laws are lenient, after the Dobbs ruling. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which is the Mississippi clinic at the center of the Dobbs case, sold its building and will also move to New Mexico. Louisiana’s last three abortion clinics are closing their doors, but have not publicized where the clinics will relocate.
This piece has been updated.