A Texas bill to block abortion pills has died for now
Senate Bill 2880, a top priority for the state's abortion opponents, would have targeted people who manufacture, distribute, mail or otherwise provide abortion medication in Texas. It would have enabled private citizens to sue people who distributed or provided abortion pills in Texas for a minimum of $100,000. Backers said the bill was meant to hit organizations such as Aid Access, an abortion telehealth provider that helps people in states with abortion bans who want to terminate their pregnancies.
But despite clearing key legislative hurdles — the bill passed the state's Republican-led Senate in April and received approval from a House committee Friday evening — SB 2880 was not scheduled for a floor vote in Texas' House of Representatives. Tuesday is the deadline for Senate bills to receive a vote in the House; the bill's omission means it will not make it to the governor's desk before the legislative session ends this week.
'It's very disappointing to see that it likely won't pass this session,' said Ashley Leenerts, legislative director of Texas Right to Life, which helped craft the bill and lobbied heavily for its passage.
SB 2880 seemed poised to pass. The bill's Senate sponsor, Republican Bryan Hughes, chairs his chamber's influential state affairs committee, which oversees legislation affecting state policy and government. The bill had also been reviewed and approved by staff for Gov. Greg Abbott, Leenerts said.
'This has been Texas Right to Life's top priority since the session began,' she said. 'We're going to keep working and do our best. But it did seem like there had been support from leadership in the House, Senate and governor.'
Components of the bill could move forward as amendments to other legislation or if Abbott, who opposes abortion, calls a special legislative session this summer. But multiple activists from Texas Right to Life said they are unaware of bills that could serve as an amendment vehicle for SB 2880's abortion medication restrictions. Abbott has also not indicated that he will summon the legislature back for a special session.
John Seago, the head of Texas Right to Life, would not comment directly on the possibility of a special legislative session, but added, 'There's still a small window for other opportunities for this policy to get passed, and we're going to continue to push those.'
'We're the most stubborn, we're the most non-compromising pro-life group in Texas,' Seago said.
About 1 in 5 abortions are now done through telehealth, with half for patients in states with bans on the procedure or restrictions on telehealth. The practice is a safe and effective way to end a pregnancy that does not require someone to visit an abortion clinic. The providers prescribing and sending medication are from states such as New York, Massachusetts and California, whose 'shield laws' protect them from out-of-state prosecutions.
SB 2880, modeled after a six-week abortion ban it erected in 2021, aimed to put a stop to the practice by threatening providers with financially ruinous lawsuits.
Abortion opponents in other states have voiced frustration that the prevalence of telemedicine abortion has seriously undercut their efforts to ban the procedure. Though a dozen states have banned abortion almost entirely, the number of abortions in the country has not fallen — thanks in no small part to the growing share of people who now get abortions through the mail.
Abortion opponents have pushed for restrictions on medication abortion — and on telehealth specifically — at the federal level and individual state governments. But so far, none have successfully halted the practice.
'The anti-abortion movement knows if they want to stop abortion in the future, they have to stop pills, but historically, that's a hard thing to do,' said David Cohen, a law professor at Drexel University who has helped craft state shield laws. 'It's a hard thing to do to stop a drug. That's partly why the anti-abortion movement is flailing.'
Even without legislation, Seago said his organization will continue to press for policies targeting medication abortion.
'There are things the attorney general, the governor's office, comptroller's office — there are things the Texas state government has power to do today that it has not done,' he said. 'We will continue to put pressure on those individuals. We don't sit on our hands for two years.'
And the issue of mailing abortions to states with bans may be ultimately settled in courts.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a civil lawsuit targeting a New York-based doctor for allegedly mailing pills to a patient in Texas. In Louisiana, state prosecutors have pursued criminal charges. Those cases are still making their way through the courts, and will likely involve legal challenges to the shield laws abortion providers have so far relied on.
The post A Texas bill to block abortion pills has died for now appeared first on The 19th.
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