By: Mary Tuma

But TAL’s second priority, says its founder and leader Joe Pojman, is to prohibit “wrongful birth” lawsuits against physicians who withhold information from patients about fetal anomalies, another bill that didn’t pass last session. “These suits send the wrong message by saying society thinks a child born with a disability has less value than a child who is healthy,” says Pojman.

The discord between the two groups stems from TRL’s ties to well-funded conservative group Empower Texans, and from the group’s aggressive penchant for anti-choice bills that are sure to face legal challenges (“Deep Divisions in Texas’ Powerful Anti-Choice Movement,” April 6). Unlike TRL, Alliance for Life adopts a “prudent” approach to bills; for instance, it cautions against adopting bans at less than 20 weeks and is pessimistic about the 5th Circuit upholding the 2017 D&E ban. “Those laws do very poorly in federal court; there’s precedent against the law that’s strongly against us,” says Pojman.

By: SHAWN CARNEY & STEVE KARLEN

Topics We Cover On This Episode
[3:49] Shawn breaks down the background of Dr.Joe Pojman
[6:45] Why Dr. Joe loves the 40 Days for Life Podcast
[8:50] Dr. Joe debunks a few Pro-Life movement stereotypes
[11:39] How Dr. Joe successfully lobbied for Pro-Life legislation during a Pro-Abortion Administration
[15:39] How the legislative side of the Pro-Life movement impacts the Pro-Life movement as a whole
[18:17] All the ways in which the current political climate affects Pro-Life legislation
[21:14] How the spotlight of Pro-Life legislation hurts the abortion industry
[26:43] What America would look like if Roe v. Wade is overturned
[28:48] What motivates Dr. Joe to persevere in the effort to end abortion

By: Samantha Gobba

Joe Pojman, director of Texas Alliance for Life, told me he disagreed with Ezra’s opinion that the Texas law places an unconstitutional burden on women seeing an abortion.

“There are dozens of funeral services and burial services providers who have stepped forward saying they will work with any hospital to provide free funeral services or burial services,” Pojman said. “Judge Ezra did not give that significant weight in his opinion, unfortunately.”

In July, attorneys for the abortion providers suing the state agreed to a pre-trial court order that “they will not seek to introduce evidence concerning the monetary cost of compliance with the challenged laws, including the cost of collection, storage, transportation, and disposal of embryonic and fetal tissue remains.”

The stipulation came from evidence presented in court that showed the requirements would add between $.50 and $1.50 to the cost of each abortion.

“We have dozens of providers who are willing to help,” Pojman said. “Cost is not an issue. There’s just really no reason that this can’t go into effect. I think the plaintiffs’ main concern is that the state of Texas is recognizing the unborn child is a baby who has dignity that should be recognized.”

By: Chris Woodward

Joe Pojman, executive director of Texas Alliance for Life, says the law wouldn’t have hindered access to abortion. The office of the Texas AG agrees.

“This law did not at all impact a woman’s right to obtain an abortion,” adds Mateer. “What it dealt with was how do you take care of the remains from such an abortion. [For example], are you allowed … under current law to throw them in the trash, to show disrespect for the unborn? What this law did instead was say that you had to treat the unborn remains with dignity and respect.”

By: Jim Forsyth

Pro-life groups like the Texas Alliance for Life lobbied hard for the law, arguing that it was a way to add dignity to the procedure.

“We understand that the Supreme Court prevents Texas from making abortion substantially more difficult to obtain before viability, and this law does not do that,” said Joe Pojman Ph.D., Texas Alliance for Life Executive Director. “Regardless of whether this law goes into effect, the unfortunate reality is that abortion will remain readily available in Texas and will occur tens of thousands of times every year. This law merely requires that the dignity of the unborn child is recognized after abortion and that their remains are not treated as medical waste.”

By: Marissa Evans

Joe Pojman, executive director of Texas Alliance for Life, an anti-abortion group, said that he is not surprised by Ezra’s ruling but believes Paxton’s office defended the law well. He took issue with Ezra saying access to abortion would be hindered.

“Absolutely not true,” Pojman said. “If the law were to go into effect, abortion would remain regularly available.”