Yesterday, one of Texas Right to Life’s priority bills had a hearing in the House State Affairs committee. Texas Right to Life has heard an outcry from post-abortive women who testify that they were forced by their parents, boyfriends, husbands, or others to abort their unborn children. In the case of pregnant minors, many young girls do not know their rights and that even their parents may not force them to undergo this dangerous procedure that hurts women and kills the unborn. HB 2828 by Texas State Representative William Callegari (R-Katy) outlaws coercing or forcing a woman into seeking an abortion and puts several informational mechanisms at abortion clinics to make a woman aware of her rights against coercion.
At the hearing, several of Texas Right to Life’s friends from pregnancy centers all over Texas came to testify before the committee to share stories of either their personal experiences in dealing with coerced abortions or from clients who had come to their pregnancy centers who were being pressured to have abortions. We also invited Chris Ward, a Harvard Law School graduate and attorney from a prestigious law firm in Austin, who testified on the constitutionality and legal need for HB 2828.
Chairman Callegari closed, emphasizing that coercion is real, current Texas law is not sufficient, and HB2828 would protect women and save unborn children. We thank Chairman Callegari for his courageous stand for life yesterday. This is the first step for this bill to become law. The bill was left pending in committee, and we expect it to be voted out for floor debate sometime next week.