Join Texans from across the state.
After three highly successful Pro-Life Lobby Days at the Capitol iin Austin in February, March, and April, Texas Alliance for Life is hosting one more. All are welcome. No experience is necessary. There is no cost.
This one-day events will train and equip participants to successfully advocate for critical pro-life bills and to take back information for their church or organization.
After a training session, participants will meet with and lobby their own state senator and representative through Capitol office visits. Personal visits generally have the greatest impact of all constituent communications.
There is one more Pro-Life Lobby Day: Wednesday, May 8
The Pro-Life Lobby Day runs from 12-4 PM. There are optional opportunities to watch the House in session beginning at 10 AM and the Senate at 11 AM from the galleries. Lunch is on your own in the Capitol Cafe before 12 PM. Also, the House Public Health Committee will meet and consider SB 303, the pro-life bill to help families protect their loved ones near the end of life. Participates will be able to register in favor of SB 303.
Please register in advance. For more information or to register, call 512.477.1244 or email Deirdre Cooper at deirdre@texasallianceforlife.org. Include your name, street address (so we can identify your state senator and representative), and phone number.
What
When
Training: 12-1:30 PM.
Lobbying: 1:30-3:30 PM.
Debriefing: 3:30 PM.
Where
Parking
Who
Cost
Issues and bills you will be trained on include:
- Helping Families Protect Loved Ones Near the End of Life. Texas law governing end of life care is in need of reform. SB 303 by Sen. Bob Deuell (R-Greenville) and Rep. Susan King (R-Abilene) is a strong pro-life bill that will change current law to: prevent secret DNAR (“Do Not Attempt Resuscitation”) orders, prevent the denial of food and water, except in extreme circumstances, requiree doctors and hospitals to treat all patients “equally without regard to permanent physical or mental disabilities, age, gender, religion, ethnic background, or financial or insurance status,” and preserves conscience protections so physicians are not required to provide futile or harmful procedures indefinitely.
- Restoring Parents Rights by Reforming the Judicial Bypass. Texas has a highly successful law requiring physicians to get the written, notarized consent of parents before performing abortions on minor girls, 17 years of age and younger. In the six years since that law went into effect, abortions on minors have dropped 27%. However, current law allows a judge to issue a court order for a secret abortion without parental consent. That court proceeding, called the judicial bypass, has many loopholes that undermine parents’ rights. HB 3819 by Rep. Stefani Carter (R-Dallas) reforms the judicial bypass process to substantially restore parents’ rights.
- Defunding Planned Parenthood. Last session the Legislature shifted public funds away from Planned Parenthood by as much as $29 million per year. However, more needs to be done, especially if the Affordable Care Act is fully implemented in Texas.
Improving Abortion Facility Safety Standards. Sen. Dan Patrick (R-Houston) has authored SB 97 to require that physicians performing abortions with RU 486 and other abortion-inducing drugs to follow FDA safety regulations, which is not currently the case in Texas. Physicians should be required to have hospital privileges near the place they perform abortions. SB 1198 by Sen. Larry Taylor(R-Friendswood) and HB 2819 by Rep. Cindy Burkett (R-Mewquite) do this. The law should protect women from being coerced into abortion.
- Human Cloning, Embryonic Stem Cell Research, and Adult Stem Cell Research and Treatment. Already three bills have been introduced and heard in committee that address these critical issues.
- Other Issues.
=> Legislative Process. You will learn how bills become law and how to be part of the process from your home, including tracking bills and receiving email alerts.