GOP Rep in Texas Crafts Bill Allowing Death Penalty for Abortion
It’s safe to say that the already controversial issue of abortion just became more divisive.
A Republican state lawmaker in Texas has introduced legislation that takes a very hard-line stance on abortion, even to the point of charging women with homicide and permitting the death penalty if they have the procedure.
“House Bill 948 would ban and criminalize abortions at any stage, direct state officials to ignore ‘any conflicting federal’ laws, and would no longer exempt pregnancies as a result of rape, incest or fetal abnormalities,” The Texas Observer reported.
That’s a very rigid stance already, but the proposed legislation goes even further.
“The bill would remove the exception for abortion in the state’s penal code for criminal homicide, meaning that women and providers could face charges as serious as murder for the procedure,” the outlet continued.
State Rep. Tony Tinderholt of Arlington had introduced the legislation before but soon faced a major backlash. He and his family needed police protection back in 2017 after receiving multiple death threats for a similar proposal to severely criminalize abortions, according to The Texas Tribune.
This time around, the bill is still triggering a fiery response from both sides of the political aisle. Earlier this week, the first public hearing for the legislation took place in a Texas House committee attended by hundreds of people.
“In all, 446 witnesses registered their approval for the bill. Mainly representing faith groups and local arms of the GOP,” The Washington Post reported.
Fifty-four people also showed up to speak in opposition to the measure.
“A woman who has committed murder should be charged with murder,” the president of West Texans for Life, Jim Baxa, said.
Others framed the debate in terms of dollars and cents.
“We are literally missing billions of dollars in taxpayer money,” one woman said during the committee hearing, implying that the bill was needed to increase the state population and in turn tax money.
But unsurprisingly, there was also strong push-back from the left.
“I’m trying to reconcile in my head the arguments that I heard tonight about how essentially one is okay with subjecting a woman to the death penalty for the exact — to do to her the exact same thing that one is alleging she is doing to a child,” Democrat state Rep. Victoria Neave said. She insisted that pro-life voices were undermining their own arguments with the legislation.
Tinderholt, the representative behind the drafted law, explained his views by pointing to cases where an unborn child is already protected under law.
“I think it’s important to remember that if a drunk driver kills a pregnant woman, they get charged twice. If you murder a pregnant woman, you get charged twice. So I’m not specifically criminalizing women,” he said, according to WDCA.
“What I’m doing is equalizing the law,” he added.
While Texas is traditionally a fairly red state, the bill is certainly not guaranteed to pass. It faces an uphill climb in the capitol with even a good number of Republicans likely to distance themselves from the proposal.
And if it passes, it would likely face immediate court challenges, with liberal groups already pledging to fight the legislation tooth and nail.
What the bill has doubtlessly done is spur serious debate about abortion and its consequences in our country. That national agreement won’t be settled any time soon, but it’s worth watching this Texas legislation as an indicator of which way the political winds are blowing on this issue.
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