AUSTIN — The Texas Legislature may clarify for medical professionals when it’s legal to perform a life-saving abortion, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said this week.
“We need to clarify any language so that doctors are not in fear of being penalized if they think the life of the mother’s at risk,” Patrick told WFAA’s Inside Texas Politics with Jason Whitely on Sunday.
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“I think it’s clear, but I’m also open to the idea that some doctors don’t see it that way, some hospitals don’t think that way,” said Patrick, a Republican who presides over the Texas Senate. “We don’t want to stand in the way of that, but we’re not going to open it up so that abortion is prevalent again in the state.”
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Texas’ near-total abortion ban includes an exemption for patients with a physical condition that puts them at “risk of death or poses a serious risk of substantial impairment of a major bodily function unless the abortion is performed or induced.”
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An illegal abortion is a second-degree felony — punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a $10,000 fine — but rises to a first-degree felony, with up to life in prison and a $10,000 fine, if an unborn child dies as a result. Violators also can be hit with a civil penalty of at least $100,000.
ProPublica reported three occasions when pregnant Texans died after the state’s ban went into effect. Medical experts said the deaths were preventable.
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Lawmakers have introduced dozens of abortion-related bills, including Republican proposals to ban or severely limit access to abortion-inducing drugs such as mifepristone. One measure would create liabilities for injury or death to the unborn child or mother caused by an abortion-inducing drug.
Other bills would classify mifepristone as a Schedule IV controlled substance, which pharmacists may only dispense if prescriptions are “issued for a valid medical purpose and in the course of professional practice,” according to state law. Unlawful possession of a prescription for a Schedule IV substance is a Class B misdemeanor punishable by up to 180 days in jail and a $2,000 fine.
Patrick said no mother’s life should be at risk during childbirth.
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“We’re working with some people on language to hopefully clarify that,” he said, dismissing a question about whether the state should punish women who seek an abortion.
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“We should never punish women,” Patrick said, suggesting only “a few people somewhere” who don’t speak for Republicans or Americans support that. “You’re not going to punish women. That’s ridiculous.”
Dan Patrick says he’s open to clarifying medical exception to Texas abortion ban
