Recently concluded Texas regular session saw significant reforms to behavioral and maternal health | State of Reform

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By: Boram Kim

Texas’s Alternatives to Abortion (A2A) program will receive $140 million over the 2024-2025 biennium, a 40% percent increase from the current cycle.

Joe Pojman, PhD, executive director for the Texas Alliance for Life, told State of Reform the organization was pleased with the expanded support for the program, saying the passage of SB 24 will ensure its continuation now as the Thriving Texas Families (TTF) program.

“Now the [A2A] program is going to be [on a] statutory basis,” Pojman said. “The executive commissioner of HHSC will promulgate rules for a variety of things like outcome measures for how well the contractors are performing—according to what the department sees. It also more closely links [TTF] with other programs that the state has so it’s easier for those clients to access them. It’s more natural for the providers to link and refer the clients to [the Medicaid program].”

In first session after Dobbs ruling, Texas lawmakers provide more support for pregnant and parenting college students | The Texas Tribune

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By: Kate McGee

“What we like about these bills is that it sets the table for an understanding that students who are parents face different responsibilities,” said Amy O’Donnell with Texas Alliance for Life. “They have different weights on them, they have different pressures on them. They have to navigate different things than a student who is not a parent and there needs to be accommodations for them. There needs to be resources.”

No exceptions coming for Texas abortion ban, both parties say | KXAN

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By: Ryan Chandler

On Monday, however, Texas Alliance for Life said there is no need to change the law to accomplish that.

“Our laws are very clear,” Amy O’Donnell with the Alliance for Life said. “We have heard stories of doctors who say they need further clarification. And we believe that that clarification should come in the same way that it comes for doctors regarding other legislative laws that have passed that affect their practice, and that’s through the various boards that provide that clarification for them, as well as for nurses and for pharmacists. The laws do not need to be changed.”

Texas abortion ‘abolitionists’ want to punish women for abortions | CNHI NEWS

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By: Ali Linan

Joe Pojman, executive director of Texas Alliance for Life, one of the largest pro-life organizations in the state, said the organization “strongly supports” where Texas currently stands in its abortion laws. He added that recent statistics from the Texas Health and Human Services Commission Induced Termination of Pregnancy report found that abortions in the state have plummeted from thousands per month to zero elective abortions and a handful of abortions to protect the life of the mother.

“At no time in our work toward protecting life have we supported legislation in favor of prosecuting mothers,” Pojman said. “Women facing unplanned pregnancies need compassionate support and alternatives to abortion, not criminal prosecution.”

“It’s important now that we focus on maintaining our pro-life gains, expanding funding for the state’s alternatives-to-abortion program, and holding rogue DAs accountable who say they will not enforce Texas pro-life laws,” he added.

Governor Abbott Champions Protecting Unborn At Texas Rally For Life | Office of the Texas Governor

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The Governor also highlighted Texas’ comprehensive pro-life efforts to protect the life of both the child and mother, including providing more than $100 million for the Alternatives to Abortion program.

The Governor was joined at the rally by Texas Alliance for Life Executive Director Dr. Joe Pojman, Bishop Joe Vasquez, and other pro-life faith leaders, advocates, and elected officials. Hosted annually by the Texas Alliance for Life, the Texas Rally for Life brings together pro-life advocates, faith leaders, and elected officials from across the state to march to the Texas Capitol in support of every Texan’s fundamental right to life.

Abortion debate ramps up in states as Congress deadlocks | CBS NEWS

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By: BY JULIE ROVNER

Those measures could get lost in the shuffle of the state’s frantic 140-day, every-other-year session, if legislative leaders don’t consider them a priority. The state’s trigger law banning almost all abortions that went into effect last year “appears to be working very well,” said Joe Pojman, founder and executive director of Texas Alliance for Life, an anti-abortion group. In August 2022, three abortions were documented in the state, down from more 5,700 reported during the same month a year earlier, according to the most recent state data.

The top state House Republican said his priority is boosting support for new moms, for example, by extending postpartum Medicaid coverage to 12 months.

It’s “an opportunity for the Texas House to focus more than ever on supporting mothers and children,” said Republican House Speaker Dade Phelan.