By: ARYA SUNDARAM
SB 24 states that a physician must hand the patient a hard copy of the materials – an important clarification, according to Joe Pojman, the executive director for the Texas Alliance for Life. Current law says the information must be provided in a conversation or online.
By: W. Gardner Selby, Staff Writer
Joe Pojman of the Texas Alliance for Life, mindful that Republicans retain House and Senate majorities despite Democratic gains in November, said: “We still have the votes to get things done. The trick is to show this is still the will of the state — and I think it is.”
But Texans want abortion to remain legal and protected, said Yvonne Gutierrez of Planned Parenthood Texas Votes. Gutierrez noted a July Quinnipiac University poll indicating that voters by a wide margin back Roe vs. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision supporting a woman’s right to an abortion — though 51 percent of Republican respondents disagreed with the decision.
More recently, a University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll in February found 66 percent of Republicans and 15 percent of Democrats said abortion laws should be “more strict.”
The alliance and Texans for Life have prioritized a proposal not singled out by Patrick that would be triggered if the Supreme Court overturns abortion’s legality. Senate Bill 2160, authored by Sen. Angela Paxton, R-Plano, and House bills by Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake, would bar abortion except to save a woman from impairment or death. Both await hearings.
By: State Rep. Brooks Landgraf
In 2016, the Texas Alliance for Life recognized me with the “Courageous Defense of Life Award” and the people of Odessa and beyond have my promise that I will continue to defend life at every turn.
By: Lauren McGaughey
Joe Pojman, executive director of the anti-abortion group Texas Alliance for Life, pointed out that 10 percent of Patrick’s 30 priority bills would restrict abortion. Notably, one of the anti-abortion bills is being carried by a Democrat. Sen. Eddie Lucio of Brownsville wants women to receive information about adoption and “the characteristics of an unborn child” before receiving an abortion.
“We do not agree with Empower Texans,” Pojman told The News. “Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick continues to be extremely committed to the life issue. We are impressed and pleased at his dedication to passing substantial pro-life bills, as he has been in previous sessions.”
By: Audrey Morton
Texas Alliance for Life Executive Director Joe Pojman said while loved ones might want to interventions to be done to save the patient’s life, the opposite could happen.
“The purpose of this is so that no physician is forced by law to provide interventions that will harm or possibly hasten the death of a patient,” said Pojman.
He said the goal of the law is to get patients, families and doctors talking about end of life decisions.
Pojman said the law is very rarely used, but is to protect the conscious of medical providers.
“The district court in Houston dismissed the case because the mother really didn’t have a case that could be brought,” said Pojman.
He said multiple pro-life groups, religious organizations and disability rights groups support the law.
By: Enedelia J. Obregón | Senior Correspondent
The Texas Catholic Pro-Life Day began with two Masses to celebrate the Gift of Human Life before gathering with other pro-life groups from other denominations for a march and rally at the Texas Capitol organized by the Texas Alliance for Life.