A Texas Republican state lawmaker’s bill would outlaw abortion, classify it as homicide, and make having an abortion or performing an abortion subject to the death penalty. The legislation also bans abortion as soon as the egg is fertilized.
State Rep. Bryan Slaton, who is also a minister, drafted the legislation with no exemption for rape or incest, The Texas Tribune reports. Ectopic pregnancies if they seriously threaten the life of the woman “when a reasonable alternative to save the lives of both the mother and the unborn child is unavailable” would be allowed.
“It is time for Texas to protect the natural right to life for the tiniest and most innocent Texans, and this bill does just that,” Slaton said. “It’s time Republicans make it clear that we actually think abortion is murder. … Unborn children are dying at a faster rate in Texas than COVID patients, but Texas isn’t taking the abortion crisis seriously.”
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled abortion is legal up until the point a fetus can survive outside the womb, usually considered 24 to 28 weeks. In Texas abortion is legal until 20 weeks, per the ACLU.
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