Published

July 07, 2025

AUSTIN, TX — The Texas Health and Human Services Commission has released its Induced Termination of Pregnancy (ITOP) report through April 2025, reporting hundreds of medically necessary abortions performed under Texas law’s life-of-the-mother exception. This brings the total reported number to 203 medically necessary abortions in Texas during the 34 months following the Supreme Court’s decision to end Roe v. Wade in Dobbs v. Jackson.

 

Each abortion represents a rare and tragic case where a pregnancy posed a threat to the mother’s life or a serious risk of substantial impairment of a major bodily function. Notably, no doctor has been prosecuted, sued, or sanctioned for any of those abortions. No woman has lost her life for lack of an exception in the law.

At the same time, reported elective abortions have remained at zero each month since the Human Life Protection Act took effect in August 2022.

Pro-life Gov. Greg Abbott recently signed SB 31, the Life of the Mother Act, authored by Sen. Bryan Hughes (R-Mineola) and sponsored by Rep. Charlie Geren (R-Ft. Worth), during the most recent legislative session. SB 31 creates Continuing Medical Education (CME) for physicians who treat pregnant women and Continuing Legal Education (CLE) for attorneys working in hospital settings on how the life-of-the-mother exception functions under Texas law. SB 31 also harmonizes the exception language across all pro-life statutes to align with the Human Life Protection Act. Passage of SB 31 was a top priority for Texas Alliance for Life.

Under the Human Life Protection Act passed in 2021, an unborn child is protected from elective abortion from the moment of conception. However, the law explicitly permits physicians to perform an abortion when, using reasonable medical judgment, they determine that a pregnancy endangers the mother’s life or could cause a serious risk of impairment of a major bodily function.

“These latest reported numbers offer continued reassurance that the law is working — protecting unborn children from elective abortion while allowing doctors to provide medically necessary abortions for women facing threats to their life or health during a pregnancy,” said Amy O’Donnell, Communications Director for Texas Alliance for Life. “SB 31 ensures that physicians treating pregnant women and attorneys advising them understand what the law allows, so that no woman is denied care due to fear or confusion.”

“SB 31 will build confidence for the professionals responsible for making critical decisions in medical cases involving threats to pregnant women’s life and health,” O’Donnell added. “Proper education will assure that Texas women receive timely care.”

CONTACT:
Amy O’Donnell, Communications Director
512.477.1244 (o)
amy@texasallianceforlife.org

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