{"id":251275,"date":"2021-08-14T15:46:44","date_gmt":"2021-08-14T20:46:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=251275"},"modified":"2021-08-13T16:58:56","modified_gmt":"2021-08-13T21:58:56","slug":"texas-senate-bans-mail-order-abortion-pill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/texas-senate-bans-mail-order-abortion-pill\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas Senate bans mail-order abortion pill for third time, needs quorum in House to advance"},"content":{"rendered":"
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For the third time, a ban on mail-order abortions in the state of Texas passed the Senate handily, following an August 11 vote of 19-10 in support of the ban, according to a press release provided to Live Action News by Texas Alliance for Life.<\/p>\n

Senate Bill 4, which bans mail-order abortions and creates certain safety protocols around chemical abortions, sponsored by pro-life Democratic Sen. Eddie Lucio, Jr., has received strong support in the Senate each time it has been introduced, including in the spring legislative session and\u00a0two special sessions<\/a> called by pro-life Governor Greg Abbott this summer. A partner bill, House Bill 6, sponsored by pro-life Republican Rep. Stephanie Klick, has not yet been voted on because the House has lacked sufficient legislators present for a quorum.<\/p>\n

Both bills require that a doctor must be the one to prescribe the abortion pill regimen, classifying mail-order abortion administration as a felony.<\/p>\n

READ:\u00a0Could the abortion pill be behind the abortion rate increase in Texas?<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The mail-order abortion ban takes aim at preventing further complications of abortion drug use, which is on the rise in Texas, which saw a 32% increase<\/a> in chemical abortions between 2017 and 2019 alone. Data<\/a> from the Texas Health and Human Services Commission shows that in 2020, fully 53% of abortions in the state were chemical abortions (the abortion pill).<\/p>\n

Mail-order abortions refer to abortion drugs that are ordered over the internet and sent by mail\u00a0without<\/em> an in-person doctor visit. Some websites additionally sell abortion pills by mail\u00a0without a doctor’s prescription<\/em>. In April of 2021, and allegedly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the FDA controversially approved<\/a> a temporary suspension of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s requirement for an in-person doctor’s office visit before abortion pill administration.<\/p>\n

The Dallas\u00a0Morning News reported<\/a>\u00a0that Senator Bob Hill brought up two concerning scenarios that the mail-order abortion ban seeks to prevent: 1) a family member could order the abortion pills for a woman and slip them to her unknowingly, and 2) sex-trafficked pregnant women could be forced by their traffickers to take the pills.<\/p>\n