February 28, 2017
Dear Honorable Members of the Texas Legislature,
In light of the refusal of the Supreme Court of the United States to uphold reasonable safety standards to protect maternal health set by the State of Texas in Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt, Texas must redouble efforts to protect the most vulnerable lives, blazing a trail for the Pro-Life movement.
The next legislative step in establishing the state’s interest in “potential life” of the unborn child is to ban one barbaric type of second trimester abortions known as dismemberment abortions. This state interest has been explicitly recognized by the Supreme Court in Roe v. Wade and in subsequent abortion-related cases such as Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which affirmed that “the state…may express profound respect for the life of the unborn’ by regulating abortion.”
Therefore, we, the undersigned, respectfully urge the passage of the Dismemberment Abortion Ban during this 85th Session of the Texas Legislature.
Senate Bill 415 and House Bill 844, the Texas Dismemberment Abortion Ban, outlaw the barbaric and inhumane procedure that ends the life of a living, conscious preborn child by ripping her from limb to limb. The goal of this violent procedure, like other abortion procedures, is to deliberately end human life. This is distinct from medical procedures to save the life of the mother in rare severe medical emergencies.
Seven states have already banned this gruesome practice (Alabama, Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and West Virginia.), and several more are considering the legislation in their 2017 sessions. As a Pro-Life state, Texas must join these states in protecting the preborn from a torturous death.
Failure of the Texas Legislature to protect the preborn during this 85th Session will result in the untimely end of thousands of lives before the beginning of the 86th Session of the Texas Legislature. We respectfully request that you and your office become involved in the passage of this vital measure.
Thank you for your consideration.
Cindy Asmussen, Ethics & Religious Liberty Advisor, Southern Baptist Convention of Texas
Gary Bennett, Chairman, Center for the Preservation of American Ideals
Trayce Bradford, President, Texas Eagle Forum
Marjorie Dannenfelser, President, Susan B. Anthony List
JoAnn Fleming, Executive Director, Grassroots America – We the People PAC
Jim Graham, President, Texas Right to Life Committee, Inc.
Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director, Priests for Life
Tony Perkins, President, Family Research Council
Kristie Rutledge, President, Corpus Christi Right to Life
Jonathan Saenz, President, Texas Values Action
Eric Scheidler, Executive Director, Pro-Life Action League
David Stevens, MD, MA (Ethics), CEO, Christian Medical Association
Carol Tobias, President, National Right to Life Committee
Jared Woodfill, President, Conservative Republicans of Texas
