"AN ACT relating to the protection of life, including unborn life, from the point of fertilization." This is the opening sentence in the new abortion ban trigger bills filed recently in the 80^th Texas state legislative session, which opened on January 9, 2007. The wording of this bill tells us a lot about the authors, as well as the state of the Texas legislature in general. The author of the House bill (HB175) is, not surprisingly, Rep. Warren Chisum from Pampa (R-District 88). Known for his anti-sex legislation, specifically for reinstating Texas' anti-sodomy law, Chisum also recently authored and filed HB 311, which requires parents to give written consent in order for their child(ren) to be allowed to participate in their school's human sexuality class. Requiring consent for a class on human sexuality is absurd when you take into account written consent isn't required, at least through legislation, for any other science class in public school. Additionally, a little required sexuality education might do Texas teens well considering we have the fifth highest teen pregnancy rate in the nation.

The author of the Senate bill (SB186) is, also not surprisingly, freshman Sen. Dan Patrick from Houston (R-District 7). Patrick, a conservative radio talk show host, is credited with discovering Rush Limbaugh and is also widely known in the Christian community for his book, "The Second Most Important Book You Will Ever Read: A Personal Challenge to Read the Bible." Patrick is a self proclaimed "strong pro-life advocate" and has even received an award from Texas Right to Life. His campaign website says he believes "God has given him a platform to share biblical principles to many who may never step inside a church." Now that this platform has moved from the radio to the Texas legislature, there is no telling what will be next from Sen. Patrick.

For now, both abortion ban bills have been referred to their respective State Affairs committees, but if these bills pass, they would trigger an abortion ban in the state of Texas if the U.S. Supreme Court ever overturned Roe v. Wade. Although there is an exception if the life of the woman is in danger, there is no exception for rape or incest. It is also interesting the way the bills differentiate between the penalties depending on whether the woman consents to the abortion or not. For example, the bill states it would be a third degree felony if someone performed an abortion with the woman's consent, but it would be a second degree felony if someone performed an abortion without the woman's consent. Additionally, it would be considered murder if someone performed an abortion and the woman died. I'm not sure why there is a ranking of the penalties. If abortion is what the right says it is, murder, then why would there be a difference in punishment? Also, the bill does not indicate if or how the woman would be punished if she consented to the abortion.

Most people on both sides of the debate have said it is unlikely the abortion ban will pass during this legislative session. The Houston Chronicle reported Joe Pojman, executive director of Texas Alliance for Life, as saying, "I don't see Roe as being overturned anytime soon, and I want to put our resources behind things I think will save lives right now." They also quoted Fran Hagerty, chief executive officer of Women's Health and Family Planning Association of Texas, as saying, "We do not expect the U.S. Supreme Court will rule in this manner to trigger this bill." In the meantime, there are plenty of other bills for Texans to look out for during this legislative session, including one (HB23) that would require pharmacists to inform women seeking emergency contraception that the drug may prevent implantation or fertilization, but leave out the fact that it can also prevent ovulation from occurring first. Click here for more information on similar pending legislation in Texas.