TEXAS, USA — State Senator Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, acknowledges some doctors and hospitals in Texas have been spooked by the state’s abortion law and may not intervene if a mother’s life is in danger.
And on this week’s Inside Texas Politics, the Republican reminded Texans that lawmakers quietly passed legislation during the last session clarifying some exceptions.
HB 3058 allows an exception for physicians and healthcare providers who use “reasonable medical judgment” to intervene when a pregnant mother is suffering through an ectopic pregnancy, which is when a fertilized egg implants and grows outside the uterus, or a previable premature rupture of membranes, which can be a serious complication when the amniotic sac breaks before labor and the fetus likely wouldn’t survive outside the womb.
The law also provides protection for a pharmacist or pharmacy.
But because the state’s abortion law is enforced by private citizens who can sue anyone who has helped a woman obtain an abortion, it continues to have a chilling effect on doctors who don’t know when to intervene without risking their license, jail time and significant fines.
Sen. Hughes says lawmakers may need to do more next session.
“We may need to clarify that language just to make sure. We don’t want to give doctors or hospitals any excuse not to help those moms in those situations,” the Republican told us.
The Republican also says he doesn’t think a ban on in vitro fertilization (IVF) will be considered next session.
Protecting IVF, a popular fertility treatment for those who can’t conceive naturally, has been a top political issue for Democrats in the face of rising Republican opposition to the practice.
In June, the Southern Baptist Convention, the nation’s largest and most politically influential Protestant group, voted to oppose the use of IVF.
And it became a top topic nationally earlier this year after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that embryos were children.
That spooked IVF centers and supporters because of the common practice of discarding or destroying embryos.
But Sen. Hughes says Texas has always carved out IVF exceptions, even when passing pro-life bills.
“A ban on in vitro fertilization will not be going anywhere,” he said. “I don’t know if anyone is going to file one, but don’t expect that to move anywhere in the Texas Legislature.”
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