US EditionTexas Senate OKs effort to clarify medical exceptions under state’s abortion ban
- The Texas Senate unanimously approved changes on May 4, 2025, to clarify medical exceptions in the state’s abortion ban.
- This effort followed years of debate and legal challenges after the 2022 Supreme Court overturning of Roe v. Wade, which led to Texas’s near-total abortion ban taking effect.
- The revised law specifies that doctors can perform abortions for life-threatening conditions capable of causing death, even if not actively injuring the patient, though it does not list specific exceptions or include cases of rape or incest.
- State Sen. Bryan Hughes said the bill aims to "remove any doubt" that doctors can act to save lives, while Democratic Sen. Sarah Eckhardt called the policy "no less cruel for being made clear."
- The measure’s passage marks a rare bipartisan moment but requires House approval and Gov. Greg Abbott’s signature before becoming law, and advocates say it only modestly improves urgent medical care.
50 Articles
50 Articles
Texas Senate Passes Bill Confirming Abortion Ban Doesn’t Deny Women Emergency Medical Care
The Texas Senate has unanimously passed the Life of the Mother Act (Senate Bill 31), a bipartisan measure designed to clarify when doctors can legally perform emergency medical interventions during pregnancy. As The Texan reported, the bill passed unanimously after revisions were made in committee to ease concerns on both sides of the abortion debate. Though some Democratic committee members initially expressed difficulty supporting the bill, th…
Texas Senate Approves Legislation to Clarify Exceptions to Abortion Ban. But Experts Fear Confusion Would Persist.
Following ProPublica’s reporting, Republicans acknowledged women were denied care because medical providers were unsure what Texas’ abortion ban allowed. But the new legislation doesn’t remove what doctors say are the biggest impediments to care.
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