Sponsored by: Rep. Jessica Farrar (D-Houston)
Summary: Texas law requires a 24-hour wait before a woman can have an abortion (regardless of whether the pregnancy is a result of incest or rape or if the fetus has severe abnormalities). The law also requires that a woman scheduling an abortion be given state-directed information on the potential father's duty to provide child support and the false claim that women have an increased risk of developing breast cancer after having the procedure. HB 684 would have exempted a woman from the 24-hour wait and the state-directed information before she could have an abortion if her fetus was found to have a severe fetal abnormality. HB 680 would have also exempted a woman from the 24-hour wait and the state-mandated lecture before she could have an abortion if the pregnancy was the result of incest or rape.
HB 684 would have exempted a woman from the 24-hour wait and the state-directed information before she could have an abortion if her fetus was found to have a severe fetal abnormality. HB 680 would have also exempted a woman from the 24-hour wait and the state-mandated lecture before she could have an abortion if the pregnancy was the result of incest or rape.
PPNT Position: Support — Waiting periods and directed "informed consent" lectures create state-mandated hoops through which doctors and patients must jump through in order for a woman to receive medical care and exercise her constitutional right to make private reproductive decisions. These requirements are cruel and unnecessary (and potentially traumatizing) for women who become pregnant due to sexual assault or with a severe fetal abnormality. These bills would have allowed women faced with difficult pregnancies and difficult choices to act on their decisions without an additional 24-hour wait or potentially traumatizing lecture. A woman faced with an unintended pregnancy due to rape or incest has already spent many hours agonizing over the fact that she may be pregnant, and she does not need to hear how her rapist is responsible for paying her child support. A woman with a much wanted pregnancy who finds out her fetus has a severe abnormality should not be forced to hear about normal fetal development or view pictures of how her fetus would look if it were healthy.
Support — Waiting periods and directed "informed consent" lectures create state-mandated hoops through which doctors and patients must jump through in order for a woman to receive medical care and exercise her constitutional right to make private reproductive decisions. These requirements are cruel and unnecessary (and potentially traumatizing) for women who become pregnant due to sexual assault or with a severe fetal abnormality.
These bills would have allowed women faced with difficult pregnancies and difficult choices to act on their decisions without an additional 24-hour wait or potentially traumatizing lecture. A woman faced with an unintended pregnancy due to rape or incest has already spent many hours agonizing over the fact that she may be pregnant, and she does not need to hear how her rapist is responsible for paying her child support. A woman with a much wanted pregnancy who finds out her fetus has a severe abnormality should not be forced to hear about normal fetal development or view pictures of how her fetus would look if it were healthy.
Latest Action: 5/12/2009 - HB 680 was left pending in House State Affairs Committee. 5/12/2009 - HB 684 was left pending in House State Affairs Committee.
5/12/2009 - HB 680 was left pending in House State Affairs Committee.
5/12/2009 - HB 684 was left pending in House State Affairs Committee.
Recorded Votes: None.
None.
