Austin, TX – Last night the Texas Legislature passed HB 1280, a trigger bill that will ban all abortion in Texas if the Supreme Court dismantles the constitutional rights protected by Roe v. Wade. When signed by Governor Abbott, this bill would make abortion care a first-degree felony subjecting doctors to criminal, civil, and disciplinary penalties. 

This bill is so extreme it does not have exceptions for rape, incest, fetal anomalies incompatible with life, or for the mental health of the pregnant person. 

Avow Executive Director Aimee Arrambide issued the following statement: 

“The passage of HB 1280 last night is an affront to the will of the majority of Texans who overwhelmingly support access to abortion care. This is one of the most extreme trigger bans that would not only criminalize abortion care but has no exceptions for rape, incest, fetal anomalies incompatible with life, or the mental health of the pregnant person. 

The passage of this bill is particularly alarming in the context of last week’s Supreme Court announcement that they will consider the state of Mississippi’s 15-week pre-viability ban. This will be the first abortion case that the 6-3 anti-abortion majority will decide, and the possibility that they will ignore almost 50 years of precedent is terrifying.”