The regular Texas legislative session ends at midnight on May 31st, which means we’re somewhere in the middle of session. This is when everything is moving and through various stages in the House and Senate, so we figured we’d take a moment to catch you up on where we are in regards to reproductive rights legislation. You can use this previous post about the entire process to help you understand what’s going on.
The Good
HB 3369, the My Body, My Future bill, would completely repeal the parental consent requirement for Texas teens to access birth control. It was filed by Rep. Ana-Maria Ramos (HD 102) and has been assigned to the House Public Health committee. That means that we’re waiting to see if the committee will actually hear the bill.
HB 4389, the Abortion is Healthcare Act, is an omnibus (meaning contains several different measures in one bill) bill to repeal several different abortion restrictions in Texas. This bill was filed by Rep. Donna Howard (HD 48) and has also been referred to the House Public Health committee.
HB 1362 and SB 448 are the House and Senate versions of Rosie’s Law, a bill that would allow for Medicaid insurance coverage of abortion. Read more about it here. In the House the bill has been filed and referred to House Human Services committee; in the Senate it’s been filed and referred to Senate Health and Human Services Committee. It hasn’t had a hearing in either.
The Bad
SB 8 and HB 1515 are the Senate and House versions of legislation to ban abortion as early as 6 weeks, with a civil penalty that allows anyone to sue doctors, abortion funders, friends, and family members if they believe them to have helped someone access a banned abortion. This bill has passed the Senate and been referred to House Public Health committee. The House version has been heard by the House Public Health committee and as of today has not been voted on by the committee.
HB 1280 is a “trigger ban,” which means it completely bans abortion in Texas the moment Roe v. Wade is overturned by the Supreme Court. This bill has been heard by the House Public Health committee and as of this moment has not been voted on by the committee.
Other anti-abortion bills heard last week in House Public Health are HB 2313, HB 2337, HB 3218, and HB 3760.
HB 1173 and SB 650 are the House and Senate versions of legislation to ban local governments from providing municipal funding for practical support for people seeking abortion. Read more about SB 650 here. SB 650 passed the Senate and has been referred to House State Affairs to start the process of passing the House. HB 1173 has been heard in House State Affairs and is currently pending, awaiting a vote to leave committee.
HB 1171 is a bill to allow judges to appoint attorney or guardian ad litems for fetuses in judicial bypass hearings. Read more about this bill here. This bill has been heard by House Judiciary and Jurisprudence Committee, which passed it and sent it to Calendars Committee — which decides if and when a bill will then get heard on the House floor.
Things are changing rapidly in the lege, which means that as you’re reading this things may have changed on any of these bills. And this isn’t even all the bills regarding reproductive rights making their way through the legislature! Plus there are a bunch of bills attacking trans rights and voting rights, as well as bills to expand police accountability. Now that things are constantly changing at the lege, make sure you’re following @janesdueprocess on social media, as well as some of our friends:
