In conjunction with the 2017 Pro-Life Scorecard for the Regular and Special Sessions of the 85th Texas Legislature, Texas Right to Life published a 2017 Pro-Life Heroes list and a 2017 Disappointments List, highlighting specific legislators. This article is part of an ongoing series to explain how specific elected officials earned the title as a Pro-Life Hero or a Disappointment.
Representative Stephanie Klick (R-Fort Worth) is one of Texas Right to Life’s 2017 Pro-Life Heroes, not only because of her perfectly Pro-Life voting record, but also because of her diligent work to advance Pro-Life legislation as author of two of Texas Right to Life’s priority bills during the regular session. Beyond merely carrying these bills, Klick also successfully added the Dismemberment Abortion Ban to another related bill, delivering the most significant Pro-Life victory of the regular session.
During the regular session, Representative Klick carried House Bill 4090, legislation that would have repealed the Texas Advance Directives Act (TADA), also known as “The Futile Care Law,” and “The Ten-Day Law.” TADA authorizes doctors and hospitals to remove medical treatment against the wishes of a patient, to completely disregard and override the patient’s medical decisions, as long as the doctor or hospital provides ten days’ notice to the patient or surrogate. If a transfer is not facilitated after 10 days, the physicians and hospital are completely legally immune to remove the life-sustaining treatment. HB 4090 would have eliminated the 10-day law and instead required a hospital to continue to provide life-sustaining treatment until transfer to another hospital is secured for the patient, mirroring the law in 11 other states. This bill was referred to the House Committee on State Affairs, where Byron Cook (R-Corsicana) killed the bill.
Most notably, Representative Klick also authored House Bill 844 during the regular session that banned the dismemberment abortion procedure through which a fully formed, live unborn child is torn limb from limb from his mother’s womb for profit. This top Pro-Life Legislative Priority for the 85th Legislature garnered overwhelming grassroots support and was backed by a bipartisan group of elected officials. Yet, this stand-alone bill also suffered the same fate as HB 4090 in State Affairs.
But Representative Klick worked around Straus and his RINO chairmen and successfully offered the Dismemberment Abortion Ban as an amendment to Senate Bill 8. Several attempts were made to weaken her amendment, including exceptions for cases of rape or incest and when the abortionist claimed that dismemberment was a safer option. However, relying on her medical background and principled Pro-Life convictions, Representative Klick diligently fended off these weakening attempts, ultimately leading to the amendment’s attachment onto SB 8, and consequently banning dismemberment abortion.
Representative Klick did not consider her job complete once the ban was signed into law. She strategized with the Office of the Attorney General about the court challenge to the ban mounted by various abortion clinics and abortionists. The full federal district court trial occurred the first week of November, and Judge Lee Yeakel is expected to rule on the constitutionality of the Dismemberment Abortion Ban soon.
In 2017, Representative Klick once again proved herself a champion for all Texans—born and unborn. She does not simply campaign as a Pro-Life candidate; she fulfills her promise to the voters of House District 91 by defending and advancing Pro-Life policies in Austin. Texas Right to Life is thankful for Representative Klick and proud to name her a 2017 Pro-Life Hero.
Click for Klick’s full scorecard to see the commentary and how she voted on each individual Pro-Life public vote scored by Texas Right to Life.