Texas lawmaker wants constitutional amendment to forbid pro-life laws in the state

Texas State Rep. James Talarico announced that he has filed a resolution to put a state constitutional amendment on the November 2023 ballot to limit what laws the state legislature can pass in regard to abortion. The wording of the resolution would disallow the existence of any pro-life laws to protect preborn children from abortion in Texas.

House Joint Resolution 56 proposes a constitutional amendment that states the “legislature shall not pass a law that abridges an individual’s access to abortion care if the individual’s decision to access abortion care is made in consultation with a licensed physician.” Essentially, therefore, no preborn child would be protected from the violent death of abortion as long as the mother consulted with the physician who would financially profit from the abortion of that child.

The amendment, if passed, would make abortion legal on demand until birth in Texas, wiping out current Texas laws protecting preborn children from abortion.

URGENT: For every dollar given, 34 more people can be reached with the truth about abortion. Will you join us in this life-saving work as a monthly donor today?

At this time, preborn children in Texas are protected from abortion unless their mothers face a life-threatening emergency during pregnancy. However, induced abortion (the intentional killing of the preborn child) is never necessary to save a woman’s life.

Following the fall of Roe v. Wade in June, Vermont, California, and Michigan passed state constitutional amendments that claim abortion — the intentional killing of human beings — is a right. It is allegedly because of this that Talarico wants to do the same in Texas.

“Every poll shows that Texans overwhelmingly oppose a total abortion ban. The lives of women and girls across our state are endangered by this extreme law,” Talarico said. “Under my bill, Texans would decide for themselves whether to reinstate Roe v. Wade in our state.”

The Texas Trends Survey 2021, however, found that most adults support the Texas Heartbeat Act, which restricted abortion in the state to the first six weeks of pregnancy prior to the fall of Roe. In addition, the joint resolution that Talarico has proposed will need to receive two-thirds of the total membership of each chamber of the legislature in order to get onto the ballot for November 7, 2023. In the Senate, three readings of the resolution will be necessary before it can be adopted.

According to KXAN, the Republican majority in the Texas legislature means Talarico’s pro-abortion resolution is not likely to succeed at this time.