Texas Alliance for Life is a statewide organization of people committed to protecting innocent human life from conception to natural death. We were founded by me 33 years ago, and we have been doing that ever since.
My name is Dr. Joe Pojman.
I appreciate SO MUCH our board, our staff, our volunteers, all of you who support the mission of Texas Alliance for Life.
Our state has been in the news recently, have we not? Once the Texas Heartbeat Act went into effect on September 1, our office was deluged with media calls. Dozens and dozens. From across the state but far beyond. The New York Times, LA Times, Washington Post, National Public Radio. Texas has suddenly become very interesting. And media outlets abroad – Spain, France, Switzerland, Germany, Poland, Denmark, Ireland, and Japan.
They all want to know what’s going on in Texas.
Well, my answer is simple. Texas is protecting unborn babies whose heartbeats are detected from the tragedy of abortion. We have a responsibility to do no less.
And, this is a surprise to them. This is another point I make. Texas provides vast alternatives to abortions. Did you know that at the same time the Legislature passed the Texas Heartbeat Act, they passed a budget that increased funding for the state’s highly successful Alternatives to Abortion program to $100 million over the next two years. That Alternatives to Abortion program will serve 150,000 women with unplanned pregnancies each year. The goal is that women will have everything they need to successfully carry the baby to term, give birth, and keep the baby or place the baby for adoption. Services continue for three years after the birth of the child. Those services are provided at nearly 200 sites across the state – urban areas, suburban areas, rural areas. This was a major goal of Texas Alliance for Life and the groups we worked with. And there are hundreds of privately funded pregnancy centers, maternity homes, and church-based organizations to offer help.
Not surprisingly, the media have never heard of that before.
Nor have they heard of HB 1280, the Human Life Protection Act, a landmark bill passed by the Legislature and signed into law by pro-life Governor Greg Abbott this spring. Now, if you like the Texas Heartbeat Act, you will LOVE HB 1280. This law protects unborn babies from the tragedy of abortion throughout pregnancy, beginning at conception, fertilization, and it goes into effect when the Supreme Court overturns the terrible Roe v. Wade decision. Thank you, Governor Gregg Abbott, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, and Speaker Dade Phelan.
I think you can see why the Human Life Protection Act has been the top priority of Texas Alliance for Life.
But you say, Dr. Pojman, overturning Roe has been our dream for decades, but it may be on the horizon.
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case called Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that calls into question whether any law can protect unborn babies anytime before viability, whether that’s constitutional. Oral arguments before the Court will be made on December 1. Does anybody want to take a road trip? Let’s show the Supreme Court that Texas is pro-life! We can expect a decision by the end of the Court’s session in June or early July.
Now, can you imagine a Texas in which our state protects every unborn child from abortion? And where every pregnant woman knows she has all the resources she needs and never even considers abortion?
Texas Alliance for Life and the pro-life movement have huge challenges before us. We must educate all our elected officials, the media, and our entire state of three basic facts:
- First, the unborn child is a baby worthy of protection from abortion.
- Second, abortion hurts; it does not help women, and
- Third, our state provides vast resources for women with an unplanned pregnancy – alternatives to abortion.
I want to thank our Leadership Circle members, and I can’t thank you enough because without your financial support literally, we could do nothing.
Also, you Sustaining Members who help with our ongoing expenses and everyone who’s contributed time and money in the past year.
We live in a great state. And we will become even greater. Thank you.