The Texas legislature just took another step to protect life. While the state already has several pro-life laws on the books, now, they’re guarding against an out-of-state threat: mail-order abortion pills.
On Wednesday, Texas passed House Bill 7, which allows private citizens to sue individuals or entities, such as doctors, manufacturers, distributors, or shipping companies, who provide or mail the abortion pill to Texans from out of state — even if that other state has laws allowing chemical abortion. For anyone found to be in violation, the law imposes a minimum penalty of $100,000. As state Senator Bryan Hughes (R) put it, the bill “is about protecting little unborn babies and their moms.”
Women who use chemical abortions to end their pregnancies are not subject to lawsuits under this legislation, but Rep. Jeff Leach (R), author of the House version of the bill, noted in a debate that if a parent of a pregnant minor called a clinic outside of Texas to ask about mail-order abortion pills, they could be sued. Now, HB 7 is on its way to Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s (R) desk, where he is expected to sign it.
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Mary Szoch, director of Family Research Council’s Center for Human Dignity, told The Washington Stand, “Texas has proven time and time again that it is a state that will do everything in its power to protect the vulnerable — especially the unborn.” She added, “Abortionists have been defying Texas law by mailing abortion drugs into the state — a practice that is incredibly dangerous for women and has resulted in multiple women needing serious medical attention.”
In fact, this law in Texas is only one part of a much broader fight against chemical abortion. Pro-lifers are calling out the drugs for what they are: dangerous and unregulated — especially when it comes to mail-order abortion. FRC has laid out several dangers concerning the abortion pill. In a letter sent to President Donald Trump late July, FRC, alongside Baptist leaders from 22 states, wrote that “mail-order distribution of the abortion drug mifepristone … now accounts for more than 60% of all U.S. abortions.” The letter continued, “[T]his dangerous drug has caused serious adverse events in nearly 11% of users and poses grave risks to women — especially when dispensed without in-person screening or ultrasound evaluation.”
Their requests for President Trump were simple: “1.) Restore and strengthen FDA safety protocols for mifepristone, including an ultrasound requirement; 2.) Direct the FDA to reevaluate the drug’s approval; and 3.) Instruct the Department of Justice to enforce the Comstock Act, to protect states’ rights to uphold pro-life laws. … Women, unborn children, and the rule of law urgently need your leadership.”
The debate over chemical abortion has been fierce, and it only continues to intensify. On Thursday, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary RFK Jr. testified during a Senate hearing. While the conversation covered many aspects of the Trump administration’s health agenda, chemical abortion had a glaring moment front and center.
During the hearing, Senator Steve Daines (R-Mont.) explained, “The FDA has steadily stripped away safeguards related to this drug, no longer requiring a doctor’s prescription, no follow-up visits, no adverse event reporting, and now allowing it to be sent through the mail.” FRC agreed, urging, “The FDA safety standards for mifepristone need to be restored and strengthened,” and the organization has a petition open to signing to help make that happen.
As Szoch further explained to TWS, mail-order abortion drugs are often used maliciously. “Sometimes abortionists mail to abusers who sneak the drug in a woman’s drink without her knowledge,” she warned. “Sometimes they send them to a woman who has no idea of the risk if she ingests the drug. Every time, the abortionist who sends the drug does so knowing that if something goes wrong — if the woman has a life-threatening complication — there will be nothing that abortionist can do to help her.” This is true across all of America, but as Szoch noted, “Texas has decided enough is enough.”
“Now,” she concluded, “residents can bring a lawsuit against the manufacturers of the drug or the distributors of the drug. Abortionists are going to learn what anyone with common sense already knew — you don’t mess with Texas!”
LifeNews Note: Sarah Holliday is a reporter at The Washington Stand, where this originally appeared.
