Twenty-one abortion laws were introduced in the Texas Legislature in 1997. Five were eventually implemented: TX SB 407 (1997), TX SB 1534 (1997), TX HB 1 (1997), YX HB 39 (1997) and TX HB 2856 (1997). TX SB 86 (1997) was voted on in plenary but was not adopted. [24] TX SB 407 allowed the Texas Department of Health and Human Services to immediately suspend the license of an abortion facility if the health and safety of people using the facility was threatened. This bill was introduced by Senator Harris on February 5, 1997 and passed by a vote on February 18, 1997. It then moved to the House of Representatives, where it was passed by a vote on April 18, 1997, before being signed into law by Governor Bush on May 1, 1997. [24] TX SB 1534 dealt with funding and indicated that no government funds could be used to directly or indirectly support abortion or abortion issues. The abortion language, introduced by Democratic Senator Barrientos on 20 March 1997, was introduced into legislation only during negotiations between the House of Representatives and the Senate, the amended version having been adopted by both houses in mid-May 1997. [24] TX HB1 stated that funds allocated to the Ministry of Health for family planning services could not be used, directly or indirectly, by the Ministry of Health or the organizations to which it provides money to support abortion services. This included a caveat that it was organization-wide, not just when it comes to specific institutions.
[24] Representatives McCall, Democrat Van de Putte, Democrat Gray, Democrat Greenberg and Republican Solomons introduced TX HB39 on January 28, 1997. Originally, the bill was amended by the Senate, the bill dealing only with genetic testing of the fetus without the consent of the mother and that the results of a subsequent genetic test cannot be used to force or coerce a woman to have an abortion. including an insurance company that threatens eligibility for health insurance. These amendments were then passed by the House of Representatives and the bill was signed into law by Governor Bush on June 20, 1997. [24] TX HB 2856 introduced new requirements for abortion clinics, clinic inspection procedures, and a clinic`s ability to advertise. He said the Texas Department of Health and Human Services must assign a unique number to each licensed abortion clinic, clinics must have that number in all promotional materials and create a toll-free number from 1 to 800 so that people can call and check the status of a clinic`s license at any time. Information about the toll-free number had to be provided to women using abortion services by the facility that offered it at the time of the appointment. The bill underwent some changes before being passed in the House of Representatives on 13 May 1997 and in the Senate on 26 May 1997 by a vote of 31 to 0.
It was signed by Governor Bush on June 19, 1997. [24] TX SB 96 received a vote in plenary, but was finally withdrawn from consideration on May 27, 1997 following a point of order. It would have required that minors who request an abortion without their parents` consent first approve the procedure by a doctor who is not in an abortion clinic and certify the need for an abortion because of physical, sexual or emotional harm caused by the continuation of the pregnancy. He also allegedly required minors to wait 48 hours before they could have an abortion after their doctor contacted their parents to inform the parents of the approval of the procedure. [24] This bill prohibits anyone acting under state law from interfering with a person`s ability to access abortion services outside the state. (Abortion services include the use of approved drugs to terminate a pregnancy and all abortion-related health services, whether or not they are provided at the same time or on the same day.) With $10,000 per abortion at stake, Coale said, there is a significant motivation for individuals to try to identify people who have had an abortion — and get them into the criminal justice system in the process.