Senators this session filed multiple abortion bans and restrictions that were set for hearings and passed by the Senate under Dan Patrick’s new rules. These bills would have banned medication abortion after 7 weeks, forced pregnant people to carry nonviable pregnancies to term, and forced pregnant people seeking abortions to call a biased, state-funded hotline before they could receive care. 

Senator Paxton, who famously left the state in February as people froze in their homes, authored or sponsored 10 bills attacking health care. Senator Donna Campbell also put her name on 10 bills, and Senator Eddie Lucio authored or sponsored 7 bills that would have restricted Texans’ bodily autonomy.

These Senators all voted against access to abortion at every opportunity, in committee and on the floor.
This means they voted for bills:

• Forcing people to carry non-viable pregnancies to term, 
• Allowing a person’s rapist to sue their doctor and if they had an abortion and anyone who helped them get the abortion,
• Requiring anyone who wanted an abortion in Texas to check in with an anti-abortion state contractor
• Denying Texans the benefit of scientific advancement and modern medicine by restricting access to medication abortion
• Making abortion a felony if the Supreme Court overturns the constitutional right to abortion

‡ Bad Bills * Good bills

While supportive senators such as Sarah Eckhardt, who authored the Senate version of Rosie’s law, and Nathan Johnson, who consistently voted against extremist bills and authored or sponsored bills expanding reproductive care, the Texas Senate was unfortunately under anti-abortion control. 

These Senators consistently voted against more restrictions and bans on abortion care, pointed out the harm caused by restrictions on abortion and tried to amend bills to make them less harmful.

In the House, not only did these anti-abortion members vote against reproductive health at every opportunity, they also dedicated their time to ensuring that people lost their right to bodily autonomy by putting their names on a truly shocking number of bad bills. 

Despite the fact that hundreds of lives were lost during the winter storm and tens of thousands have been lost to COVID, Representative Briscoe Cain authored or sponsored 22 anti-choice bills in the name of “protecting life.” 

Even though the majority of Texans think that abortion care is restricted enough, Representatives Stephanie Klick and Tom Oliverson pushed their extreme agendas by authoring or sponsoring 16 bad bills each. Even members who stayed relatively quiet on the floor were extreme behind the scenes — Representative Jared Patterson put his name on 24 bad bills instead of making sure the power stayed on in Texas.

The Texas House Committee on Public Health chaired by Stephanie Klick, passed six of the same extremist bills that the Senate did.  

And while the entire Texas House removed the ability for a rapist to sue, the following House members all voted for abortion to be a crime if the Supreme Court allows it, and for anyone other than a rapist to be a courtroom vigilante and sue a doctor clinic or anyone who provides assistance to a person getting an abortion.

‡ Bad Bills  * Good bills 

While the anti-abortion extremists mounted their attack, our champions in the House filed bills that had broad support. Representative Donna Howard authored or sponsored 8 bills that would have expanded access to care or promoted reproductive equity, including a bill that would have removed the tampon tax and a bill that would have protected clinic workers from harassment, both of which had anti-abortion authors or sponsors. Representative Zwiener, who stood up for reproductive health care in hearings and bravely shared her pregnancy story on the floor, also put her name on 5 bills to protect bodily autonomy.

Representative Howard introduced the Abortion is Health Care Act, which repealed Texas’ unnecessary and outdated abortion restrictions. Representative Ramos introduced the My Body, My Future Act that would allow teens to consent to their own contraceptive care, and Representative Cole introduced Rosie’s Law, which would allow abortion care to be covered by insurance, public or private.

Abortion rights supporters were able to keep many bad abortion bills off of the House floor and worked hard to minimize the harm of those that reached the floor. These House members had your back and your bodily autonomy in mind when they voted for access to abortion care. 

‡ Bad Bills * Good bills