By: CHARLOTTE SCOTT

As written, the bill would not require a pregnant person to file a police report or provide forensic evidence. Alvarado said it’s because many women don’t report abuse in the first place. But since no record would be required to obtain an abortion, anti-abortion advocates see this as a way to create a loophole so any woman could have the procedure.

“Women could claim rape or assault or incest where, in fact, that has not happened. And it creates a potential loophole in an exception that we don’t support that would allow women to lie to receive abortions. We would hope that no woman would do that, but it does leave that door open,” said Amy O’Donnell, the director of communications for Texas Alliance for Life.

Seth Chandler, a law professor at the University of Houston, said this is where the legal waters get murky.

“Without any proof that the sexual assault occurred, in the sense of not having to file a police report or have a criminal prosecution for the assault, again, I suspect that pro-life forces are going to object to that on grounds that basically all that has to happen is for the woman to allege that the sex was nonconsensual and therefore constitutes an assault,” Chandler said. “And so I think when people get down to the nuts and bolts of trying to define these exceptions, there’s going to be quite a battle.”

The result of all this is a broken system. America has one of the most permissive national abortion laws in the world: of 59 countries that allow abortion on demand, it is one of only seven that allow it after 20 weeks of pregnancy. Yet six states have only one clinic left and in a handful more women must travel hundreds of miles to find a clinic. This seems to intensify polarisation on the issue. Pro-life activists, who believe abortion is murder, focus on the regulations that the courts did not uphold. “People are frustrated…they’re trying to show the courts they’ve had enough,” says Joe Pojman, founder of Texas Alliance for Life. Abortion-rights activists and progressive lawmakers, meanwhile, are pushing hard in the opposite direction. At least seven states now have no laws governing when or for what reason a woman may have an abortion.

By: Andrea Zelinski

Not only did the court battle cost the state millions of dollars, but it also set back the anti-abortion movement by making it harder for states to pass certain regulations for abortion facilities without running afoul of the high court’s decision, said Joe Pojman, executive director of the Texas Alliance for Life which advocates for stiffer abortion regulations.

Anti-abortion advocates had miscalculated the leanings of the Supreme Court, he said. Since then, he said his group has resisted the urge to support far-reaching anti-abortion proposals in the Legislature in favor of others they believe would survive a federal court challenge.

Pojman said anti-abortion advocates need to think long-term if they want to overturn Roe v. Wade, which established legal precedent protecting a woman’s right to an abortion. The long-time activist said he is not confident the makeup of the U.S. Supreme Court is favorable to overturning Roe v. Wade — but it could be in a few years.

“We are telling our people that they need to stay focused on re-electing President Donald Trump because he has a track record of nominating justices who are possibly willing to take an honest look at Roe v. Wade,” said Pojman.

By: Lauren Caruba

Joe Pojman, executive director of Texas Alliance for Life, an anti-abortion group, said problems related to instrument sterilization were “inexcusable,” regardless of the clinic’s submitted corrective plan.

“We’ve very pleased that Whole Woman’s Health of San Antonio has closed permanently. It was not a well-run abortion facility,” Pojman said. “San Antonio does not need Whole Woman’s Health.”

By: Charlie Butts

Joe Pojman of Texas Alliance for Life tells OneNewsNow the laws are common-sense measures intended to protect both women and pre-born babies, such as requiring that only doctors can perform abortions; parental consent for pre-teen girls; and health codes for sterilizing surgical tools.

The hearing was held before federal Judge Lee Yeakel, who has not been friendly towards restrictive abortion laws and is expected to rule against Texas on many of its laws.

“We expect that the attorney general of Texas will appeal the case to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, which will give a very fair hearing and will uphold the constitutionality of all of our regulations,” Pojman predicts.

That is likely, he adds, because the U.S. Supreme Court has already upheld many of them.