Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s Extreme Anti-Abortion Agenda Moves Forward

March 29, 2021 — Today, the Texas Senate will hear some of the most extreme anti-abortion bills in the country. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is trying to fast track these bills through the Senate in order to advance his own extreme and dangerous political agenda.

The bills headed to the Senate floor include:

SB 8: A bill that would outright ban abortion at six weeks — before many Texans even know they are pregnant. SB 8 bans abortion without an exception for rape or incest, which makes it one of the most extreme bans in the entire country. This bill is one of Patrick’s top priorities.

SB 9: Known as a “trigger ban,” this bill would ban nearly all abortions if Roe v. Wade was overturned. This bill is one of Patrick’s top priorities.

SB 394: The bill is in direct conflict with current medical standards, including ACOG’s position on medication abortion and FDA labels. The bill would punish doctors for following professional standards of care and the evidence based practice of medicine.

SB: 650: This bill is a direct attack on the city of Austin which provides funding for practical abortion support services. This bill impacts low-income communities and Texans of color who benefit from Austin’s practical support services.

SB 802: This bill would put up another roadblock for Texans needing abortion care, by forcing Texans to call a hotline run by fake clinics. This bill would create another hoop for Texans to jump through to access essential health care.

SB 1173: Unconstitutionally bans abortion based on a person’s private decision-making and forces people to carry unviable pregnancies until they miscarry. These bans are so extreme—effectively banning abortion entirely before viability— they have been blocked by the courts when challenged.

SB 1647: This is an extreme and dangerous bill that would outright ban abortion in the state before many Texans even know they are pregnant. It would create frivolous and harassing lawsuits against doctors and anyone who helps patients access care

Statement of Dyana Limon-Mercado, Executive Director, Planned Parenthood Texas Votes

“Dan Patrick’s extreme political agenda is not what Texans need or want right now. In fact, the majority of Texans support access to safe, legal abortion. Texans believe that abortion should be accessible. Nobody should face fear, stigma, or unnecessary barriers when seeking out reproductive health care, including abortion care, and deciding on how to plan their families. Texans are still recovering from a deadly natural disaster in the middle of a pandemic while Dan Patrick and some in the legislature are wasting time trying to ban abortion, further jeopardizing people's well-being.

“These bills being moved forward by Dan Patrick are part of a nationwide, extremist strategy to ban abortion by pushing access to care out of reach. For decades, politicians have created medically unnecessary barriers to abortion care, while ignoring the health needs of Texans. The same politicians who have failed to pass Medicaid expansion, provide relief during the COVID-19 pandemic, or address one of the highest Black maternal mortality rates in the country, have instead, made reproductive health care virtually inaccessible, pushing it out of reach for people who need it. Texans deserve better.”

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Planned Parenthood Texas Votes (PPTV) is the nonpartisan policy, advocacy and political arm for the Planned Parenthood affiliates in Texas.

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