Abortion Limits Passed. Bill with consent rule, restrictions goes to supportive governor
By Christy Hoppe
The Dallas Morning News
May 26, 2005
AUSTIN – New abortion restrictions that tighten the ban on third-trimester procedures and require minors to obtain parental consent moved closer to becoming law Thursday night.
By a 23-7 vote, senators agreed to accept those provisions and sent the bill to the governor, who has indicated his support. Currently, a doctor must notify parents in Texas if their daughter 17 or younger is seeking an abortion. The new law would tighten that to make doctors obtain a parental consent form. And while third trimester abortions are banned except for the "health of the mother," lawmakers felt such a standard was too broad. The new law would allow for late-term abortions only when the life of the woman is endangered, or when there is a strong probability that continuing the pregnancy will result in brain damage or paralysis to the woman. "I'm pleased that we have finally passed this legislation ensuring that parents have a say in their daughter's decision about an abortion. No other major medical procedure is allowed for a minor without the parent's consent," said Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Lewisville, author of the bill. Abortion rights advocates said these measures will actually affect only a small number of women, but lawmakers have targeted those who are in bad situations. Sarah Wheat, a spokeswoman for Texas Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League, said most women who seek abortions late in their pregnancies only do so because they fear for their own health or because the fetus has irreparable medical complications. "It's making a tragic and sad situation more difficult. In most cases, these are wanted children. And for those who would like to try and have children again, this new ban could permanently damage some women's reproductive health," Ms. Wheat said. Teenagers who come from families of abuse, neglect or abandonment will be put through the same judicial bypass procedure as before, Ms. Wheat said. "I don't think it does anything positive or preventative to help teens who find themselves in this tough situation," she said, adding that she wished lawmakers had worked instead to educate Texans on how to avoid pregnancy. "The Legislature could have done something proactive to help a large number of Texas women. Instead they have put up barriers and injected themselves into incredibly difficult and vulnerable situations," Ms. Wheat said. Lawmakers had failed to get some restrictions passed during the session, but Rep. Will Hartnett, R-Dallas, managed to tack these two provisions onto a bill reconstituting the Board of Medical Examiners, which oversees licensing requirements for doctors. Under the provisions, physicians could lose their medical licenses if they fail to get a consent form from a minor's parents, or provide an abortion on a viable fetus without the stated health implications existing for the woman. "I think these are good attempts at clarifying the law," said Stacy Emick, legislative director for Texas Right to Life. She said the amendments are short and "very vague," which means the Board of Medical Examiners will probably have to define certain procedures. For instance, the consent of a parent "doesn't have to be in person. It doesn't have to be an affidavit. It's not clear how consent will happen," she said. Because the provisions were placed into an occupations code dealing with doctor's licensing, it could be open to legal challenge on the grounds that a doctor can follow state health laws, which still only call for notification and "health of the mother," but lose their license to practice.
Staff writer Terrence Stutz contributed to this report.
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