By: Lisa Bast

“I wasn’t going to give up”

When Cooper told the doctor she and her husband were pro-life and wouldn’t consider an abortion, the doctor was taken aback at her response.

“To us, it was such a kick in the gut,” Cooper said. “She saw no value in our son’s life. She saw only his problems.”

One woman’s opinion didn’t stop Cooper from seeking medical care for her son. She arranged to have an echocardiogram and blood work to uncover more information about his condition. The echocardiogram showed a small hole in her son’s heart.

Cooper said, “I wasn’t going to give up. I found a high-risk physician who was pro-life. I also saw my regular obstetrician as well. He was more willing to allowing my husband to accompany me to appointments, which was a relief.”

By: Steven Ardary

“Since 2021, abortions in Texas have essentially ceased. As a Christian and a conservative, I celebrate that tens of thousands of tiny Texans have been saved and that Texas has led the way in protecting life nationwide,” Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said after the bill’s passage. “SB 31, which is only designed to provide legal clarity for doctors in rare cases when a mother’s life is threatened, is supported by Texas Right to Life, Texas Alliance for Life, and other life groups. I thank Sen. Hughes for his continued passionate defense of life.”

By: Blaise Gainey

But HB 2197 saw recent pushback from even the state’s strongest supporters of abortion restrictions. Texas Alliance for Life — which describes itself as a “pro-life organization whose goals are to protect innocent human life from conception through natural death” — is one of them.

On Monday, the group’s X account posted a “legislative alert” advising followers to “oppose HB 2197, a bill to criminalize abortion for women— including the death penalty.”

Ahead of Tuesday’s scheduled committee hearing on the bill, Texas Alliance for Life called on individuals to submit written testimony urging lawmakers to reject the bill, which it said would “deter women from seeking help & make it harder to stop illegal abortion providers.”

By: Reyna Rodriguez

Executive Director of Texas Alliance for Life, Dr. Joe Pojman, also testified in favor of the legislation prior to its revisions, and cited data reported by the Department of Health and Human Services of the 151 abortions labeled under the “medically necessary” exception from the overturning of Roe through November 2024. Dr. Pojman stated, “No doctor has been prosecuted, sued, or sanctioned for any of those 151 abortions. No woman has lost her life for lack of an exception.”

By: Texas Alliance for Life

“Governor Abbott is absolutely right — no changes to the medical necessity exception language in the law are needed,” said Amy O’Donnell, Communications Director for Texas Alliance for Life. “These numbers continue to prove that Texas’ pro-life laws are working as Governor Abbott and the Legislature intended, saving unborn lives while allowing doctors to provide medically necessary abortions when a woman’s life or health is at risk.”