CV NEWS FEED // Texas Sen. Bryan Hughes, who authored the state’s Heartbeat Law, filed a bill March 14 that clarifies when a doctor is legally permitted to commit an abortion.
The Texas Tribune reports that Texas’ abortion laws already allow for doctors to commit an abortion when the mother’s life is at risk, but “doctors have said the vague language and strict penalties leave them uncertain of when they are actually free to intervene.” Doctors’ hesitation remains even though the Texas Medical Board, several court rulings, and lawsuits have dealt with this issue.
Hughes’ Senate Bill 31, referred to as the “Life of the Mother Act,” explains the abortion exemption applies for licensed physicians who use “reasonable medical judgement” when determining that the expectant mother’s life or health is seriously at risk. In the Texas House, Republican Rep. Charlie Green last week filed House Bill 44, which mirrors Hughes’ bill.
According to the Texas Tribune, the legislation states that doctors are not obligated to delay or withhold life-saving intervention so as to save the life of the unborn child. The legislation also states that –– as existing law already allows –– doctors may save the mother’s life in case of an ectopic pregnancy and may remove the remains of an unborn child who passed due to miscarriage. The legislation calls for the State Bar of Texas and the Texas Medical Board to undertake efforts to increase attorneys’ and doctors’ understanding of the abortion laws.
The legislation also states that it is not considered “aiding or abetting” of an abortion for a physician to discuss with a patient or lawyer topics related to an abortion exception. The Texas Tribune notes that HB44 is co-authored by pro-abortion Democrat Rep. Ann Johnson, from Houston.
“This is purely a medical exception bill that deals with pregnancy complication, but it really does, in my view, address the horrific stories that we’ve been hearing from women who have a pregnancy complication and have had treatment delayed,” Johnson said, according to the Texas Tribune.
According to the bills’ text, if passed and signed into law, the Life of the Mother Act would go into effect Sept. 1.
Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, a number of pro-life advocates have criticized doctors’ refusal to provide life-saving medical treatment for pregnant women out of supposed fear of prosecution.
In an August 2024 interview with WORLD, Texas Right to Life spokesman John Seago said he would consider it medical malpractice if a doctor refused to provide life-saving treatment in case of an ectopic pregnancy. As CatholicVote reported in 2024, two Texas women, Kelsie Norris-De La Cruz and Kyleigh Thurman, filed complaints alleging that their respective hospitals in the state refused to treat their ectopic pregnancies.
In a September 2024 article, the publication ProPublica claimed that Georgia’s pro-life law caused the death of Candi Miller, a woman who died after taking chemical abortion pills and a lethal combination of painkillers. ProPublica reported that in Miller’s family, there was hesitation to seek medical care post-abortion because of fear of prosecution.
In this and another instance where pro-life laws have been blamed for high-risk pregnant women’s deaths, pro-life leaders have argued that medical negligence, pro-abortion misinformation, and the dangerous effects of chemical abortion are the true causes, as CatholicVote previously reported.
Leah Sargeant, a senior policy analyst for the think tank Niskanen Center, warned in January of the dangers that can occur when medical negligence and misinformation about pro-life laws overlap.
“Exaggerated reporting,” she wrote, “of what the law allows or forbids doesn’t just endanger mothers like Candi Miller; it offers cover to doctors who offer subpar care to vulnerable mothers, and then hide their malpractice behind the false excuse of the law.”
>> Coalition calls for higher standards of health care, information for women and unborn children <<
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