We know that we'll face a tough fight from now until May as anti-Life
politicians work to break down protections on Life, but we have a strong
coalition of Republicans and Democrats on our side in Austin who will
defend and advance the cause of Life.
Below are the bills Texas Right to Life’s coalition will work to pass:
Texas Preborn Pain Bill
The Preborn Pain Bill will protect the lives of preborn children who can feel pain. The current medical consensus, comprising hundreds of medical studies, confirms that preborn children can feel pain at 20 weeks development in the womb, if not earlier. The Preborn Pain Bill would ban abortion at the 20-week mark, sparing preborn children from excruciating pain during the dismemberment of an abortion.
Abortion Industry Accountability Bill
This bill would require abortion centers to actually follow state
inspection laws that are not being enforced. The bill also requires that
abortionists secure admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles
of the abortion facility. Additionally, every abortion facility is to
have transfer agreements with local hospitals so that women and babies
who survive botched abortions can undergo emergency, life-saving care
immediately, rather than be left at a center that is unprepared for
surgical crises and medical complications.
Pro-Life Health Insurance Reform
The Health Insurance Reform Bill would shield citizens from paying for
abortion insurance coverage through the state exchanges mandated by the
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare,
if such exchanges are established in Texas. Furthermore, abortion
coverage would also be narrowed to medical emergencies only—clearly
defined as physical, imminent threat to the mother’s life—in the
taxpayer-funded insurance plans for state employees.
Protect Minors from Secret Abortions and Sexual Predators
This bill will close the loophole in current law that allows pregnant
minors to circumvent parental involvement in an abortion decision.
Currently, judges can permit minor girls to have abortions without even
notifying their parents. The abortion industry manipulates this judicial
bypass loophole by appointing their own attorneys to shepherd pregnant
minors through the intimidating court system, conspire for a secret
abortion without parental involvement, and even cover up sexual abuse.
Patient Protection from Do-Not-Resuscitate Orders
Many physicians defy the expressed wishes of their patients by issuing
unauthorized -- even secret -- Do-Not-Resuscitate orders to force their
own arbitrary quality-of-life value judgments on their patients. By
doing this, doctors may actually hasten their patient's death. Texas
Right to Life's bill would require that doctors secure the consent of
the patient or his surrogate before executing a DNR order.
Advance Directive Reform
Current Texas law allows a physician to withdraw life-sustaining
medical treatment, including food and water, from a patient despite the
patient’s advance directive or expressed wishes by empowering physicians
and so-called "ethics committees" to force patients to leave the
hospital within 10 days. If patients do not leave by the 10-day
deadline, they risk having all life-sustaining treatment denied. Texas
Right to Life's Advance Directive Reform will change the law to allow
more time for patients to be transferred to more appropriate care
settings, or to physicians who will honor the patients' choices to
continue necessary medical care like food and water.
Texas Right to Life is the only Pro-Life organization whose lobbying
team will maintain full-time presence in our State Capitol throughout
the 2013 Legislative Session. Please monitor TexasRightToLife.com to
keep updated for action alerts, hearing notices, prayer requests,
obstacles to bills, and talking points to use with your elected
officials, citizen activist groups, and churches. Texas Right to Life
will need your help to pass these bills, so please join at
TexasRightToLife.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment