Texas lawmaker introduces bill to clarify medical exceptions in state's abortion ban

Abortion-rights activists rally outside the Supreme Court, Tuesday, March 26, 2024, in Washington. The Supreme Court is hearing arguments in its first abortion case since conservative justices overturned the constitutional right to an abortion two years ago. At stake in Tuesday's arguments is the ease of access to a medication used last year in nearly two-thirds of U.S. abortions. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) (Jose Luis Magana/AP)

A Texas lawmaker who helped pioneer the state’s restrictive abortion laws introduced a bill on Friday to clarify medical exceptions allowed under the law, representing a pivot from Republican legislators who have defended the state’s abortion ban in the face of lawsuits and medical scrutiny.

The bill, introduced by Republican state Sen. Bryan Hughes, still requires that patients have a medical emergency for a physician to perform an abortion but strikes language that it be a life-threatening condition. The bill would also require doctors and lawyers to receive training about the law.

“We’ve learned in a number of cases where the physician was willing to treat the mom, but the lawyers for the hospital would advise against it,” Hughes said. “So one of the most important things we want to do is make sure that doctors and the hospital lawyers are trained on what the law is.”

Hughes' proposed legislation follows similar efforts by Kentucky lawmakers who added medical exceptions to their state’s near-total abortion ban on Thursday.

Texas law currently prohibits abortions except when a pregnant patient has a life-threatening condition. Doctors who are convicted of providing an illegal abortion can face up to 99 years in prison, a US$100,000 fine and lose their medical license.

Texas’ abortion laws are among the strictest in the nation and have survived multiple legal challenges since the overturning of Roe v. Wade from opponents who say the law is unclear about when medical exceptions are allowed.

Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the president of the Senate, has made the bill one of his legislative priorities, and Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s office said he’s open to supporting the legislation.

“Since the Dobbs decision, there have been 135 medically necessary abortions to save mothers’ lives in Texas with no repercussions for those physicians,” Abbott spokesperson Andrew Mahaleris said in a statement. “Governor Abbott looks forward to seeing any clarifying language in any proposed legislation from the legislature.”

For years, abortion rights advocates have criticized Texas’ abortion laws, which do not allow exceptions for cases of incest or rape, as too restrictive.

“No amount of attempted clarification from Texas lawmakers would suffice because abortion bans are dangerous,” said Ashley Gray, senior policy adviser for the Center for Reproductive Rights. “As long as you’re criminalizing doctors for providing care, patients will suffer.”

In 2024, the Texas Supreme Court said the state’s abortion laws were not too vague, ruling against a group of women who had serious pregnancy complications and were denied abortions. The Texas Medical Board has refused to list specific exceptions for doctors under the law.

Dallas mother Kate Cox was at the center of a separate lawsuit brought in 2023 for a similar issue after a court denied her permission to obtain an abortion after her fetus developed a fatal condition.

A group of more than 100 obstetricians and gynecologists across the state sent a letter in November to state officials urging them to reform the law after an investigation by ProPublica found three women had died after doctors had delayed treating their miscarriages.

Nadia Lathan, The Associated Press