Amy O’Donnell’s Testimony on SB 394 on March 15, 2021

Texas Alliance for Life Communications Director Amy O’Donnell testified on behalf of SB 394, The Chemical Abortion Safety Protocols bill, authored by Senator Lucio on Mar 15th, 2021, in the Senate State Affairs Committee. We are pleased that SB 394 passed favorably from the committee on March 16.

Hello, my name is Amy O’Donnell. I am the Director of Communications for Texas Alliance for Life, a statewide non-profit committed to protecting innocent human life from conception to natural death.

I’m testifying today in favor of SB 394 to keep our state’s RU 486 safety regulations so that drug-induced abortions maintain adequate safety protections if the federal courts or the Biden Administration blocks the FDA’s regulations.

In 2013, thanks to then-Senator Dan Patrick, the legislature included in HB 2 crucial provisions to protect the safety of women undergoing drug-induced abortions, paving the way to these protections we seek to maintain today.

Drug-induced abortions are the second most common method of abortion, making up 40% of abortions in Texas.

Even under the best of circumstances, they result in a four-time higher complication rate for women than surgical abortions, according to a credible study published by the ACOG.

Under the FDA regulations and current state law, a woman must see a physician before obtaining chemical abortion drugs. This in-person visit is essential. A physician can ascertain whether her pregnancy is ectopic, whether she is RH negative, and how far the pregnancy is gestationally.

RU 486 ingested by a woman with an ectopic pregnancy could result in severe health complications like hemorrhaging or death. If an RH negative female were to take RU 486, it could render her infertile, raise risks of future miscarriages and other complications with future pregnancies. Gestationally, the Mifeprex regimen is considered safest within seven weeks since the woman’s last menstrual period, as the law in 2013 required.

It’s interesting to be sitting here today as a staff member of one of Texas’s most prominent pro-life organizations, advocating on behalf of women’s safety regarding chemical abortion drugs. Our goal, first and foremost, is to protect the sanctity of human life from conception to natural death. However, being pro-life means being pro-woman. We want to do what we can to protect the future health and fertility of women considering a drug-induced abortion even as we advocate for the protection of unborn lives.

Thank you for your time.