1. “Women’s Right to Know Half-Truths” bill by Rep. Frank Corte (R-San Antonio) & Sen. Thomas Williams (R-Woodlands). HB 15, a top priority of the anti-choice groups in Texas, passed in 2003 after numerous previous attempts. The bill, which was signed by Governor Perry on 6/20/03 and becomes fully effective on 1/1/04, requires Texas women exercising their constitutional right to obtain an abortion to wait 24 hours after being offered state-mandated materials. The bill also forces doctors to offer women sensationalized information such as “realistic” color photos of the fetus at 2-week increments and information about a mythical and medically discredited link between abortion and breast cancer. In addition, all abortions performed after 16 weeks must be performed at an ambulatory surgical center or hospital, rather than a clinic. This is particularly egregious since less than 5 abortions were performed in ambulatory surgical centers in Texas in 2000 and 2001, making abortions far more difficult to obtain at a stage when many women seek abortions for medical reasons. A pro-choice vote (“P”) was a vote against the bill when it passed the House by a vote of 95-41 on 4/29/03 and the Senate by a vote of 21-10 on 5/21/03.

2. Representative Jessica Farrar (D- Houston) offered an amendment to HB 15 to exempt rape and incest survivors from HB 15’s many restrictions. The amendment was tabled 89-51. A pro-choice vote (“P”) was against tabling the amendment. (4/28/03)

3. Representative Dawnna Dukes (D-Austin) offered an amendment to HB 15 to remove the 24-hour waiting period from the bill because waiting periods impose significant burdens on women and are based on the erroneous assumption that women don’t think carefully and thoughtfully before seeking an abortion. The amendment was tabled 98-43. A pro-choice vote (“P”) was a vote against tabling the amendment. (4/28/03)

4. Representative Eddie Rodriguez (D-Austin) offered an amendment to HB 15 to allow women to obtain an abortion after 16 weeks at a family planning clinic if no ambulatory surgical center in her area was willing to provide the abortion. The amendment was tabled 93-41. A pro-choice vote (“P”) was a vote against tabling the amendment. (4/28/03)

5. Representative Michael Villareal (D- San Antonio) offered an amendment to specifically exempt contraceptive devices or oral contraception from the waiting period and other restrictions in HB 15. The amendment was tabled 89-45. A pro-choice vote (“P”) was a vote against tabling the amendment. (4/29/03)

6. Representative Jessica Farrar (D-Houston) offered an amendment to HB 15 to exempt women seeking an abortion due to severe fetal anomalies or medical necessity from the 24 hour waiting period. The amendment was tabled 89-49. A pro-choice vote (“P”) was a vote against tabling the amendment. (4/29/03)

7. Representative Jessica Farrar (D-Houston) offered an amendment to HB 15 to delete the requirement that women be offered scientifically unsubstantiated information about a purported link between abortion and breast cancer. The amendment was tabled 86-48. A pro-choice vote (“P”) was a vote against tabling the amendment. (4/29/03)

8. Senator Gonzalo Barrientos (D-Austin) offered an amendment to HB 15 to exempt rape and incest victims from the bill’s restrictions as well as women seeking an abortion due to severe fetal anomalies or medical necessity. The amendment failed 11-20. A pro-choice vote (“P”) was a vote for the amendment. (5/20/03)

9. “Redefining Personhood” bill by Sen. Kenneth Armbrister (R-Victoria) & Rep. Ray Allen (R-Grand Prairie). SB 319, another top priority of the anti-choice groups, also passed the Legislature in 2003. Despite claims that this bill was not about restricting access to abortion, the lead advocates behind this bill were Texas’ anti-choice groups. The bill provides full legal personhood to a zygote and embryo from the point of fertilization---a religious and political definition of pregnancy, rather than a medical one. SB 319 is part of a nationwide strategy by anti-choice groups to criminalize abortion without directly tackling Roe v. Wade. NARAL Pro-Choice Texas strongly supports a woman’s right to safely carry a pregnancy to term, and believes that redefining life to begin at fertilization is not necessary to protect pregnant women from violence. Governor Rick Perry signed this bill into law on 6/20/03. A pro-choice vote (“P”) was a vote against the bill that passed the Senate 27-4 on 5/22/03 and passed the House 112-15 on 5/28/03.

10. Representative Jessica Farrar (D-Houston) offered an amendment to SB 319 to redefine legal personhood to begin from fetal viability, rather than fertilization. The amendment was tabled 89-9. A pro-choice vote (“P”) was a vote against tabling the amendment. (5/26/03)

11. Representative Jessica Farrar (D-Houston) offered an amendment to SB 319 to strengthen civil and criminal penalties for injuring a pregnant woman---without undermining reproductive rights. The amendment was defeated by a vote of 25-87. A pro-choice vote (“P”) was a vote for the amendment. (5/26/03)

12. “Viagra—Yes! Contraception—No!” bill by Sen. Thomas Williams (R-The Woodlands). SB 541 bill was promoted as an effort to make health insurance more affordable, but contains no guarantees that lower health insurance costs will result. Instead the bill gives insurance companies approval to issue policies without mandated coverage of certain health care services, such as: contraception, minimum stays at hospitals after childbirth, and other basic healthcare services for women. SB 541 repeals Texas’ popular new contraceptive equity law that requires insurance companies to cover contraception just as they cover Viagra. A pro-choice vote (“P”) was a vote against SB 541, which passed the Senate 26-4 on 4/15/03 and the House 99-14 on 5/26/03 and was signed into law by Gov. Rick Perry on 6/20/03, effective 9/1/03.

13. Representative Senfronia Thompson (D-Houston) offered an amendment to SB 541 to require insurance companies to cover contraception, just like they cover Viagra. The amendment was tabled 70-44. A pro-choice vote (“P”) was a vote against tabling the amendment. (5/26/03)

14. Representative Dawnna Dukes (D-Austin) offered an amendment to SB 541 to require insurance companies to offer women a minimum stay in a hospital after childbirth. The amendment was tabled 77-43. A pro-choice vote (“P”) was a vote against tabling the amendment. (5/26/03)

15. Representative Dawnna Dukes (D-Austin) offered an amendment to SB 541 to give legislators a second opportunity to require insurance companies to cover contraception just like they cover Viagra. The amendment was tabled 77-44. A pro-choice vote (“P”) was a vote against tabling the amendment. (5/26/03)

16. “DeFund Planned Parenthood” rider by Sen. Steve Ogden (R-Bryan). This budget “rider”(Rider 8) to the appropriations bill cuts funding for family planning clinics that provide abortion services or contract with or provide funds to individuals or entities that perform abortion procedures. The result is a $13 million loss to six Planned Parenthood affiliates in Texas, including facilities in Austin, Waco, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio, and Midland/Odessa, affecting an estimated 115,000 patients. The amendment was added in the Senate Finance Committee by a vote of 10-5 on 4/15/03 and maintained in Conference Committee by a vote of 6-4 on 5/22/03. Gov. Perry signed this bill into law on 6/22/03. A pro-choice vote (“P”) was a vote to protect family planning funding. Please note: Six Planned Parenthood affiliates are challenging this bill in a suit brought to court on June 26, 2003. On August 4, the Planned Parenthoods won a preliminary injunction that suspended implementation of the ban on funding.

17. “Choose Life” amendment by Rep. Arlene Wohlegmuth (R- Burleson). This amendment (Amendment 13) to SB 1704 authorized the state to issue “Choose Life” license plates. Funds garnered from the sale of these license plates would have gone to “crisis pregnancy centers,” fake clinics without medical professionals that frequently use misinformation and intimidation to discourage women from exercising their constitutional right to choose abortion. Fortunately, this bill died in the House on 5/25/03 after many failed attempts to amend it. Rep. Michael Villareal (D-San Antonio) offered an amendment to substitute “Adopt-a-Child” license plates for “Choose Life” plates with proceeds going to the Texas Adoption Resource Exchange, an agency that matches special needs children with adoptive and foster care parents. Rep. Villareal’s amendment was tabled 96-33. A pro-choice vote (“P”) was a vote against tabling the amendment. (5/25/03)

18. Rep. Dawnna Dukes (D-Austin) offered an amendment to make the Texas Adoption Resource Exchange, an agency that matches special needs children with adoptive and foster care parents, eligible for funds garnered from the sale of “Choose Life” plates. The amendment was tabled 91-40. A pro-choice vote (“P”) was a vote against tabling the amendment. (5/25/03)

19. Rep. Dawnna Dukes (D-Austin) offered another amendment to enable crisis pregnancy centers to receive funds garnered from the sale of “Choose Life” license plates if they are also a licensed child-placing agency. The amendment was tabled 89-41. A pro-choice vote (“P”) was a vote against tabling the amendment. (5/25/03)

20. “Who Helped Jane Doe?” bill by Sen. Kenneth Brimer (R-Fort Worth). SB 331 requires the state to collect data on outcomes of teens seeking judicial bypasses to Texas’ parental notification requirement for an abortion. The courts’ rulings would be made public, adding political controversy to judicial elections. Judges could be targeted for following the guidelines of the Texas Parental Notification law and weighing a case on its merits rather than following a political ideology which views all abortions unnecessary, regardless of the reasons the teen is seeking a judicial bypass and an abortion. While this bill died in the House, SB 331 passed the Senate 21-9. A pro-choice vote (“P”) was a vote against the bill. (4/23/03)

21. Senator Jeff Wentworth (R-San Antonio/Austin) offered an amendment to SB 331 to ensure the privacy of the individual court rulings and requiring the data be collected on a statewide basis to protect judges from being politically targeted for following the law, rather than an anti-choice viewpoint. The amendment was defeated 9-21. A pro-choice vote (“P”) was a vote for the amendment. (4/23/03)