Texas legislators provisionally approved controversial abortion restrictions in a House vote Tuesday night after 10 hours of debate. The bill should effectively close nearly every women’s health clinic that provides abortions in the largest US state.
The measure would to ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy and enact regulations on clinics so invasive, critics say, that only six of the state’s 42 women’s health clinics will be able to remain open. Doctors who perform abortions would be required to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals and prescribe when abortion needs need to be taken. Abortions would also only be allowed to be performed in surgical centers.
A final, formal vote in the Texas House is scheduled for Wednesday. Known as House Bill 2 (HB2), the bill is then expected to pass through the Republican-controlled state Senate later this week before it is signed into law by Republican Governor Rick Perry.
The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists issued an open letter to Texas lawmakers before the vote was held Tuesday and warned of the grave health consequences HB2 and its counterpart in the Senate, SB1, could have.
“Facts are very important, especially when discussing the health of women and the American public. And a lot of ‘facts’ are being asserted in this debate,” read the letter signed by ACOG President Jeanne Conry. “Truth be told, the scientific underpinnings of this legislation are unsound.”
“First, there’s the 20-week ban, which is based on the argument that a fetus can feel pain. Recent and rigorous scientific reviews have concluded that there is no evidence of fetal perception of pain until 29 weeks at the earliest (third trimester is 28-40 weeks).”
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