Texas Senate OKs effort to clarify medical exceptions under state's
abortion ban
[April 30, 2025]
By NADIA LATHAN
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Texas Senate approved changes Tuesday to the
state’s strict abortion ban that both Republicans and Democrats say
would clarify medical exceptions and has drawn support from women who
were told they could not end their pregnancies despite life-threatening
complications.
The unanimous passage of the bill in the GOP-controlled Senate — by a
31-0 vote — marked a rare moment of bipartisanship on an issue that for
years has roiled the state Capitol as Texas Republicans have defended
one of the nation’s most restrictive abortion bans and launched criminal
investigations into alleged violations.
Under Senate-passed changes, Texas' ban would specify that doctors are
allowed to perform an abortion if a patient is experiencing a
“life-threatening” condition capable of causing death, and "not
necessarily one actively injuring the patient.” The bill would also
require doctors to receive training on the revised law.
If approved by the state House and signed by Republican Gov. Greg
Abbott, the revisions would mark the first time Texas lawmakers have
modified language in the near-total abortion ban since it took effect
after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.
“We know there are cases where moms who should have been treated were
denied treatment,” Republican state Sen. Bryan Hughes said on the floor
of the chamber before the vote, urging lawmakers to adopt changes that
make the law "crystal clear.”
Texas' ban would still have no exception in cases of rape or incest and
the law would not spell out specific medical exceptions, which Senate
Democrats noted even as they said they would support it and predicted it
would save lives.
“I will vote for it, but this policy is no less cruel for being made
clear,” Democratic state Sen. Sarah Eckhardt said.
Republican lawmakers in Kentucky passed a similar bill in March that
added specific medical exceptions to the state's ban, which also
prohibits all abortions except in medical emergencies. Last year, South
Dakota released an instructional video for doctors to clarify the
state's abortion restrictions.
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Texas State Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, speaks during a news
conference at the Texas Capitol in Austin, Texas, June 7, 2023. (AP
Photo/Eric Gay, file)
 The Texas bill comes following years
of the state's abortion ban successfully navigating court challenges
and scrutiny from doctors and abortion rights advocates. The
advocates say the state's laws are too vague when defining what is
considered a “life-threatening condition.”
Hughes, who is one of the architects of the state's stringent
abortion ban, said he introduced the bill to “remove any doubt” that
doctors can perform an abortion when the mother's life is at risk.
Texas law currently prohibits all abortions, including in cases of
rape or incest, except in instances to save the life of the mother.
Physicians can face up to 99 years in prison and be fined up to
$100,000 if they perform an illegal abortion.
Several women challenged existing medical exceptions under Texas law
as too narrow. They called the new legislation a small step in the
right direction and would allow doctors to act more urgently.
Kaitlyn Kash, who was denied an abortion after experiencing serious
pregnancy complications, said at a news conference this month that
she was “cautiously optimistic” about the bill.
The Texas Supreme Court in 2024 said that the state's abortion laws
were not too vague, ruling against several women who were denied an
abortion after experiencing serious pregnancy complications. The
Texas Medical Board also declined to list specific medical
exceptions allowed under the law.
In March, Texas filed criminal charges against a Houston midwife for
allegedly providing illegal abortions, and the state is also suing a
New York doctor for prescribing abortion pills to a Texas woman.
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