Building a Culture of Life: Pro-Life Priorities for the 89th Session

State lawmakers meet every other year in Austin to pass new bills, shape the state budget, and make changes to existing policies. However, they only have 140 days to accomplish these goals. On January 14, the 89th Legislative Session will begin, offering a critical opportunity to move the Pro-Life cause forward. Texas Right to Life’s priorities for this session focus on three critical objectives: combating lethal abortion drugs, strengthening life-affirming family resources, and improving adoption.

Stop Lethal Abortion Pills and Strengthen Pro-Life Protections

Even with Texas’ Pro-Life laws, an estimated 30,000 preborn children’s lives are ended each year. Radical pro-abortion groups are smuggling deadly abortion pills into the state while Texas women seek out abortions in other states. These pills, shipped directly to mothers, pose serious health risks to women and take the lives of innocent children. Meanwhile, Austin is using taxpayer dollars to fund abortion-related services, directly undermining the state’s life-saving laws—and San Antonio plans to do the same.

The Legislature must take decisive action to:

Strengthen protections against the distribution and promotion of lethal abortion-inducing drugs; and
Prevent liberal cities from recklessly using taxpayer funds to pay for abortion logistics, such as travel expenses.

Safeguarding Texans from being forced to support abortion with their tax dollars is both financially responsible and morally imperative. By addressing these issues, the Legislature can help save countless precious babies and uphold the integrity of Texas’ Pro-Life laws.

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Support Families through Life-Affirming Resources

Texas must continue to stand with families and mothers facing unexpected pregnancies, especially those who receive a tragic, life-limiting diagnosis for their preborn child. Texas should:

Connect these families to specialized medical support that empowers them to cherish and nurture their child’s life, no matter how brief.

The Thriving Texas Families program is a cornerstone of this support. It reimburses non-profit pregnancy centers, maternity homes, and adoption agencies for providing critical social services during pregnancy and up to three years after birth. However, recent changes allow reimbursements to non-Pro-Life providers, threatening the integrity of this vital program. The Legislature must:

Ensure only life-affirming providers qualify for the Thriving Texas Families program.

Additionally, malicious actors continue pushing deceptive narratives, claiming that Pro-Life laws endanger mothers. These tragic misconceptions arise NOT from the laws themselves but from misunderstanding the protections within the law. Texas must:

Educate medical professionals on the realities of Pro-Life laws, especially regarding pregnancy complications, to ensure women receive proper and life-saving treatment.

Improve Adoption

Adoption remains a compassionate yet tragically underused alternative to abortion. Nationally, less than 1% of unexpected pregnancies result in adoption, while over 40% end in abortion. Social stigma and systemic challenges often deter women from considering adoption as a viable and loving choice. To empower mothers to choose adoption over abortion, Texas should:

Promote adoption as a life-affirming option through public education efforts;
Destigmatize adoption to shift societal attitudes; and
Provide comprehensive support for birth mothers to ensure they feel valued and supported throughout the adoption process.

By eliminating these barriers, Texas can make adoption a more accessible choice for women facing unexpected pregnancies.

The battle for Life is not over. With these priorities—stopping lethal abortion drugs, supporting families, and improving adoption—the 89th Texas Legislature can reaffirm Texas as a leader in the Pro-Life movement. Together, we can protect the vulnerable, support families, and continue building a culture of Life.