Six months in, “no end in sight” for Texas’ new abortion law | Texas Tribune

Visit Website

By: BY ELEANOR KLIBANOFF

Abortion opponents have cheered the decreased access to the procedure in Texas, while lamenting the fact that pregnant patients continue to find ways to terminate their pregnancies.

“We recognize that women in Texas can elect to go out of state for abortions, but it’s our hope that they will choose life and access the amazing programs that we have in our state to provide support and care for them and their child,” said Amy O’Donnell, chief communications officer for Texas Alliance for Life.

The state has invested heavily in the Alternatives to Abortion program, which funnels money to crisis pregnancy centers across the state.

Public Funding Is Pouring Into Texas’ Anti-Abortion Pregnancy Centers While Abortion Access Hangs in the Balance | Mother Jones

Visit Website

By: Mary Tuma

This may be precisely what abortion opponents in Texas have been working toward.

“With SCOTUS set to substantially modify or even overturn Roe this year, combined with [SB 8], abortion may not be on the table for women in Texas,” said Joe Pojman, executive director of Texas Alliance for Life, which champions expanding A2A. “The 54,000 women who received abortions in 2020 will not have that option available and they are going to seek alternatives. And thankfully, the A2A network keeps growing, so now there are more options for them. We are very happy about that—that is our goal.”

Rockdale panel discusses pro-life issues on Sanctity of Life Sunday | Southern Baptist Texan

Visit Website

By: Gary Ledbetter

Pojman is cautiously optimistic about an overturn of Roe, speculating that the Court has already decided what to do with Roe but likely won’t announce anything until the end of this session in late June. Depending on the outcome, so-called “trigger bills” can go into effect.

“Texas has passed a bill, the Human Life Protection Act, that protects babies from the point of conception, but it won’t go into effect until Roe is overturned,” he said. “It will be up to church-based ministries to take care of women who no longer have the option of going to Dallas and Austin for an abortion.”

He then noted a couple of advantages Texas has as a pro-life state, referring to $100 million the state has allocated to help mothers for the first three years after the birth of their children.

“This governor [Greg Abbott] is committed to life, to adoption. His daughter is adopted out of a church-based adoption center,” Pojman said.

He also responded to a question regarding a response if Roe is not overturned. “My hopes have been dashed many times,” he said. “But we continue to make progress. We’ll keep working. We’re not going anywhere. But I think we’ll get something from SCOTUS that is a step in the right direction.”

Arguments in Mississippi abortion case draw hundreds to Supreme Court, reactions from Texas leaders | Dallas Morning News

Visit Website

By: Emily Caldwell

Joe Pojman, executive director of Texas Alliance for Life, was outside the court Wednesday morning and said he was excited to see both younger and more female anti-abortion demonstrators.

“From our side, I was quite impressed and heartened to see a fewer percentage of the people who were people like me, who’ve been involved for decades, older people,” Pojman said. “There’s just a lot of younger people in their 30s and 20s and a lot of college students, and probably more women than men. I was very heartened by all of that.”

Pojman said that from listening to the oral arguments, it seems clear to him that this Mississippi case is not just about a 15-week ban — it’s about whether Roe should stand at all. Pojman said it’s hard to know what the justices are thinking, but that he can imagine a post-Roe future in Texas.

“I can definitely imagine a world in June of 2022, in which five and maybe six [justices] vote to overturn Roe vs. Wade, but I am not certain of that,” Pojman said. “But if that does happen, we have the trigger ban, The Human Life Protection Act, that will be ready to go into effect, and we also have tremendous resources for women with unplanned pregnancies that are available.”

Texas Abortion Law Complicates Care for Risky Pregnancies | The New York Times

Visit Website

By: Roni Caryn Rabin

Supporters of the law say their goal is to save the life of every embryo, regardless of the circumstances of conception.

“We never advocate taking a life of an unborn child unless it is necessary to protect the life of a woman,” said Joe Pojman, executive director of the Texas Alliance for Life.

Even in cases of rape or incest, “we don’t advocate for taking the life of an unborn child for the crime of the father,” he said.

The law’s supporters say that it provides sufficient leeway for physicians to act if a mother’s life or bodily functions are compromised, and they insist those cases are rare.

Pregnancy centers seek to help Texas women ‘in a rush’ to make decisions about abortion under SB 8 | Dallas Morning News

Visit Website

By: BeLynn Hollers

Pregnancy resource centers are considered alternative programs to abortion in Texas. Many receive funds from the state. In a interview with The Dallas Morning News last week, Joe Pojman, executive director of Texas Alliance for Life, noted that the Legislature this year increased the state budget for alternative to abortion programs by 25%, to $100 million.

“The goal of that program is to serve 150,000 women every year,” he said. “And the services that they provide to women with unplanned pregnancies continue for three years after the birth of the child.”

Those services include counseling, moral support, maternity clothes, baby clothes and diapers. But Pojman said they also include helping women fight substance abuse, getting out of abusive or sex trafficking situations, and job training.

The Legislature also passed the so-called Human Life Protection Act, a complete ban on abortion, beginning at conception, that would go into effect if the Supreme Court modifies or overturns previous rulings allowing abortion. Gov. Greg Abbott signed that so-called “trigger bill” in June, allowing Texas to join 11 other states with similar laws.