A Texas bill to clarify exceptions to the state's abortion ban clears a
key hurdle after rocky path
[May 22, 2025]
By NADIA LATHAN
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas lawmakers advanced a bill Wednesday to
clarify medical exceptions under one of the most restrictive abortion
bans in the U.S., putting the GOP-backed proposal on the brink of
reaching Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk.
The changes would not expand abortion access in Texas or list specific
medical exceptions under the state’s near-total ban, which took effect
in 2022 and only allows for an abortion to save the life of the mother.
It also would not include exceptions for cases of rape or incest.
But the proposal is still a pivot for Texas Republicans, who for years
have defended the ban as written in the face of legal challenges and
pleas for clarity from medical providers. Democrats, meanwhile, have
called the bill a positive step but also faced criticism from some
abortion-rights allies who raised doubts about what, if any, impact it
will have.
The bill passed 129-6 and needs only a final procedural vote before
reaching Abbott, who has signaled support for the measure. Lawmakers
debated for nearly an hour as Republican state Rep. Charlie Geren, a
co-author of the bill, fielded questions from several conservative
legislators who expressed concerns that it would expand abortion access.
"We do not want women to die of medical emergencies during their
pregnancies,” Geren said.
The bill would specify that doctors cannot face criminal charges for
performing an abortion in a medical emergency that causes major bodily
impairment. It also defines a “life-threatening” condition as one
capable of causing death.
Similar near-total abortion bans across the country have faced numerous
legal challenges and criticism from medical professionals who have said
that medical exceptions are too vague.
Moves to clarify medical exceptions
Lawmakers in at least nine states with abortion bans have sought to
change or clarify medical exceptions that allow doctors to perform an
abortion if the mother's life is at risk since Roe v. Wade was
overturned in 2022, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research
organization that supports abortion rights.
Supporters of these bills have said they have the potential to save
lives. Critics, including some abortion rights groups, have questioned
whether they make state abortion laws easier to understand.
In Kentucky, Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear earlier this year vetoed a
bill that GOP lawmakers touted as bringing clarity to that state’s
near-total abortion ban, saying it would not protect pregnant women.
Republican lawmakers later overrode his veto.
Last year, South Dakota released a video for physicians that outlined
examples of acceptable medical emergencies that received criticism from
abortion rights supporters for not being specific enough.
“I think these bills are trying to get at the reality that exceptions
are really hard to comply with," said Kimya Forouzan, principal state
policy adviser at the Guttmacher Institute.
Still, Texas Republican Sen. Bryan Hughes, an architect of the state's
abortion ban, said the new bill's goal is to avoid confusion among
doctors.
“One of the most important things we want to do is to make sure that
doctors and hospitals and the hospital lawyers are trained on what the
law is,” Hughes said.
[to top of second column]
|
Dr. Austin Dennard holds her son as she poses for a portrait at her
home in Dallas, Friday, May 2, 2025. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
 Navigating exceptions under bans
In 2024, the Texas Supreme Court ruled against a group of women who
say they were denied an abortion after experiencing serious
pregnancy complications that threatened their lives and fertility.
The court ruled that the state’s laws were clear in allowing doctors
to perform an abortion to save the life of the mother.
Dr. Austin Dennard, a Dallas OB-GYN, was part of the lawsuit and
testified how the state's near-total ban put her health at risk
after her fetus was diagnosed with a fatal condition. She eventually
left Texas for an abortion.
Dennard’s feelings are mixed about the bill, which does not list
specific medical conditions or include fatal fetal anomalies as
exceptions.
“What is broadly now known among practicing physicians in Texas is
that abortions are illegal,” said Dennard. “Undoing that broad
understanding is going to be difficult.”
Texas’ efforts underscore the challenges abortion opponents have had
to navigate regarding medical exceptions, said Mary Ziegler, a
professor at the University of California, Davis School of Law and a
historian of abortion politics in the U.S.
Judges have put enforcement of Utah’s abortion ban on hold in a case
over exceptions, for example, and they struck down two Oklahoma bans
over medical exceptions – though most abortions in that state remain
illegal.
For abortion opponents, Ziegler said, it’s tricky to craft
legislation that does two different things.
“Can you provide clear guidance as to when medical intervention is
justified without providing physicians discretion to provide
abortions they don’t think are emergencies?” Ziegler said.
Texas may advance other anti-abortion laws
Texas' ban prohibits nearly all abortions, except to save the life
of the mother, and doctors can be fined up to $100,000 and face up
to 99 years in prison if convicted of performing an abortion
illegally.
On Wednesday, the House passed a bill that prohibits Texas
municipalities from providing individuals resources to access an
abortion outside of the state.
Texas Republicans are also advancing efforts to make it a civil
offense to mail, deliver or manufacture abortion pills, expanding on
a 2021 law that allows private individuals to sue others whom they
suspect are helping a woman obtain an abortion.
Attorney General Ken Paxton's office has filed criminal charges
against a midwife for allegedly providing illegal abortions and is
also suing a New York doctor for prescribing abortion pills to a
Texas woman.
___
Associated Press writer Geoff Mulvihill in Cherry Hill, New Jersey,
contributed to this report.
All contents © copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved |
