By: Scott Simon, Olivia Aldridge
I talked to Amy O’Donnell, who represents the anti-abortion group called Texas Alliance for Life.
AMY O’DONNELL: House Bill 7 adds another level of protection, another layer of protection on, just to help ensure that we’re doing everything we can to stop chemical abortion drugs from harming women and children in Texas.
By: Alejandra O'Connell- Domenech
“It is already illegal to traffic abortion drugs in Texas under the Human Life Protection Act, and our priority remains enforcement of that and other laws,” said Amy O’Donnell, communications director for Texas Alliance for Life, an anti-abortion group.
“The revised version of HB 7 provides another tool against illegal abortion-by-mail while including vital protections for women.”
O’Donnell added that the organization supports the revised version of the bill since it now protects women’s privacy by barring the disclosure of personal or medical information in court filings and prohibits some abusers from being able to sue, including people accused of domestic violence or of impregnating a person through sexual assault.
By: J. David Goodman
The bill initially divided anti-abortion activists. Some were concerned that it would invite “bounty hunters” to file suits aimed at “profiting from the death of an unborn child to whom they are entirely unconnected,” said Joe Pojman, the executive director of the Texas Alliance for Life, in testimony at a House hearing on Friday.
But Mr. Pojman’s group backed the final House version of the legislation after new language was inserted saying that unrelated plaintiffs would only be able to keep $10,000 — with the remaining $90,000 going to a charity of the plaintiff’s choice, as long as the person filing the lawsuit did not have a direct connection or a financial stake in it. The revised bill also does not allow suits to be brought by domestic abusers or by men who committed sexual assault resulting in a pregnancy.
“We are united,” Amy O’Donnell, a spokeswoman for Texas Alliance for Life, said of the anti-abortion advocacy groups.
By: Sean Salai
“Cities should be promoting the extensive network of resources Texas offers to support women facing unplanned pregnancies, including life-affirming services through pregnancy centers, maternity homes and adoption agencies,” said Amy O’Donnell, a spokeswoman for Texas Alliance for Life.
By: Emily Brindley
Joe Pojman, founder and executive director of the Texas Alliance for Life, said his focus is on shoring up alternatives to abortion, potentially with more state funding.
Neither Seago or Pojman expect to see efforts to restrict Texans from traveling out-of-state for abortions. Pojman in particular said a travel ban would be unconstitutional.
According to Seago, while there are policies on the table to prevent minors from being taken for out-of-state abortion care without parental approval, he and other abortion opponents are not seeking to restrict adults’ travel.
By: Louis Knuffke
Joe Pojman, director of the pro-life Texas Alliance for Life, criticized the Find Out PAC for attempting to “legislate from the bench” to push its abortion agenda after defeats in the legislature.
Referring to the abortion lobby group, Pojman told the American-Statesman in a recent interview, “They lost in the Legislature, so now they’re trying to get the court to legislate from the bench, and I think they’re misrepresenting that issue to voters. This PAC is lobbying the wrong body.”
Texas Alliance for Life and Texas Right to Life have both endorsed the Republican slate of state Supreme Court justices.