Texas Insider Report: AUSTIN Texas The Texas Senate passed Senate Bill 5 today a pro-life bill strongly supported by Texas Alliance for Life to improve safety standards for women and unborn children at abortion facilities. The vote was 20-10.
We are pleased that the Senate has passed this common sense measure said Joe Pojman Ph.D. Executive Director of Texas Alliance for Life. We hope the House will also recognize the need to increase safety standards at abortion facilities across Texas. We believe the recent allegations against Houston abortion physician Douglas Karpen along with conviction of Kermit Gosnell highlight the urgent need for pro-life legislation to be passed quickly. We cannot allow these atrocities to continue for two more years when we have the opportunity to address them right now.
Gov. Rick Perry added a pro-life agenda to the call of the special session and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst worked to assure this bill was considered in the Health and Human Services Committee and on the Senate floor. Sen. Glenn Hegar (R-Katy) authored Senate Bill 5 to require abortion facilities to:
- Increase abortion facility safety standards to the level of ambulatory surgical centers to shut down Gosnell-like abortion providers in Texas
- Require the 18000 RU-486 abortions performed each year be done according to FDA safety standards and
- Require physicians who perform abortions to be qualified to treat life-threatening complications after botched abortions.
The Texas Legislature which meets for 140 days every two years ended on Monday May 27. Perry called a special session to begin less than an hour after the Legislature adjourned. The special session will last at most until Tuesday June 25.
