Speaker Straus Killed Pro-Life Bills so Texas Right to Life and GOP Reps ask for Special Session

The following is a letter from Texas Right to Life sent to Governor Perry signed by 62 Texas pro-life State Representatives. The letter asks for Governor Rick Perry to add pro-life bills to the 2013 Special Session agenda. The bills requested to be added to the Special session are bills that Texas Speaker Joe Straus asked his leadership to kill during the 2013 regular legislative session. Joe Straus did not want any controversial bills to pass because he wanted to make the Democrats happy. No controversial bills means Joe Straus killed the important pro-life bills.

The following is the letter from Texas Right to Life to Governor Rick Perry:

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Texas Right to Life is so proud of the Pro-Life Whip in the Texas House of Representatives, Representative Bryan Hughes, who drafted and circulated the following letter for signatures from his colleagues to urge Pro-Life Governor Rick Perry to again lead on protecting Life.  62 of the 150 House members joined Pro-Life Whip Hughes on the letter.

If a special session is called (after the enormously disappointing 83rd Regular Session that ends on Memorial Day during which no Pro-Life legislation was passed), Governor Perry may call legislators back to address some unfinished business.  Along with the 62 legislators, Texas Right to Life considers the approximately 80,000 tiny Texans who will be aborted this year to be unfinished business.

Pro-Life legislators are frustrated and saddened about being denied the opportunity to pass laws that protect the health and safety of women and safeguard our most vulnerable unborn Texans.  Our Pro-Life State House members are eager to work - even if they have to stay longer in Austin - with our Pro-Life Governor and Pro-Life Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst to enact new Pro-Life laws during a possible special session.

May 24, 2013

Dear Governor Perry,

Thank you for the strong stands you take for life and for liberty.  The undersigned members of the House share your commitment to protect the sanctity of human life.  Despite an overwhelming pro-life majority in the House, not a single pro-life bill filed during this 83rd session reached the House floor.

Since pro-life values are fundamental to us, and since the majority of Texans share these convictions, we are not willing to give up the fight.  In the struggle to defend life, we cannot take a day off - much less a legislative session.

In light of the increasing likelihood of a Special Session, we ask that you exercise your constitutional power and add pro-life bills to the call.

More specifically, we ask that you add the following matters to the call:

1.Protection of pain-capable unborn children from abortion at 20 weeks gestation;

2.Protection of women and unborn children by requiring abortion facilities to meet the same health and safety standards as ambulatory surgical centers; and

3.Protection of women and unborn children by requiring abortion doctors to secure and maintain privileges at an emergency room within thirty miles of the facility where they commit abortions.

4. Legislation ensuring that any Health Insurance Exchange (whether state or federal) set up in Texas does not include coverage for abortion.

On these matters of life, the will of the people has been frustrated thus far in the Regular Session. By adding these fundamentally important issues to the special session agenda, you can enable your pro-life House Members to defend innocent human life.

Thank you for your thoughtful consideration of our request, and thank you for your service to Texas.

Sincerely,

Representative George Lavender
House District 1

Representative Dan Flynn
House District 2

Representative Cecil Bell, Jr.
House District 3

Representative Lance Gooden
House District 4

Representative Bryan Hughes
House District 5

Representative Matt Schaefer
House District 6

Representative David Simpson
House District 7

Representative Jim Pitts
House District 10

Representative Kyle Kacal
House District 12

Representative Lois Kolkhorst
House District 13

Representative Steve Toth
House District 15

Representative Brandon Creighton
House District 16

Representative Tim Kleinschmidt
House District 17

Representative James White
House District 19

Representative Marsha Farney
House District 20

Representative Greg Bonnen
House District 24

Representative Dennis Bonnen
House District 25

Representative Rick Miller
House District 26

Representative Ed Thompson
House District 29

Representative Geanie Morrison
House District 30

Representative Scott Turner
House District 33

Representative J. M. Lozano
House District 43

Representative Jason Isaac
House District 45

Representative Harvey Hilderbran
House District 53

Representative Jimmie Don Aycock
House District 54

Representative Charles "Doc" Anderson
House District 56

Representative Trent Ashby
House District 57

Representative Rob Orr
House District 58

Representative Jim Keffer
House District 60

Representative Phil King
House District 61

Representative Larry Phillips
House District 62

Representative Tan Parker
House District 63

Representative Ron Simmons
House District 65

Representative Van Taylor
House District 66

Representative Jeff Leach
House District 67

Representative Drew Springer
House District 68

Representative James Frank
House District 69

Representative Scott Sanford
House District 70

Representative Charles Perry
House District 83

Representative Phil Stephenson
House District 85

Representative John Smithee
House District 86

Representative Four Price
House District 87

Representative Jodie Laubenberg
House District 89

Representative Stephanie Klick
House District 91

Representative Jonathan Stickland
House District 92

Representative Matt Krause
House District 93

Representative Bill Zedler
House District 96

Representative Craig Goldman
House District 97

Representative Giovanni Capriglione
House District 98

Representative Stefani Carter
House District 102

Representative Linda Harper-Brown
House District 105

Representative Pat Fallon
House District 106

Representative Angie Chen Button
House District 112

Representative Cindy Burkett
House District 113

Representative Bennett Ratliff
House District 115

Representative Dan Huberty
House District 127

Representative John Davis
House District 129

Representative Bill Callegari
House District 132

Representative Jim Murphy
House District 133

Representative Tony Dale
House District 136

Representative Dwayne Bohac
House District 138

Representative Debbie Riddle
House District 150

Click and follow this link to download this urgent letter -->
Yours for Life,

Elizabeth Graham
Director, Texas Right to Life

Governor Perry Supports Texas Preborn Pain Bill to Ban Abortions after 20 Weeks

Governor Perry has come out in support of a bill that was filed for the 2013 Texas Legislative Session called the Preborn Pain Bill. The Preborn Pain Bill, if passed, would outlaw abortions after 20 weeks because that is when it has been proven that unborn babies can feel pain. You cannot hurt animals without going to prison because the non-human animals can feel pain, so why in the world would we allow unborn HUMANS have to suffer the pain of being tortured and torn apart?

the following is from Texas Right to Life:

At a press conference hosted by Texas Right to Life on Tuesday, Governor Rick Perry urged Texas legislators to support Texas Right to Life's flagship bill for the 2013 Texas legislative session, the Preborn Pain Bill. The Preborn Pain Bill will protect babies in the womb who can feel pain from the torture of abortion by prohibiting abortions from being committed at 20 weeks gestation and later.

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

Governor Perry:  The ideal world is a world without abortion. Until then, we're going to pass laws to ensure that abortion is as rare as possible under existing law...

This session, I'm calling on the legislature to strengthen our ban on that procedure, prohibiting abortion at the point a baby can feel the pain of being killed. We have an obligation to end that type of cruelty. 

And I'll be clear: my goal, and the goal of many of those joining me here today, is to make abortion, at any stage, a thing of the past. 

While Roe v. Wade prevents us from taking that step, it does allow us -- the states -- to do some things to protect Life if we can show there is a compelling state interest. Now, I don't think that there is any issue that better fits the definition of "compelling state interest" than preventing the suffering of our state's unborn. We cannot, and will not, idly stand by while our unborn are being put through the agony of having their lives ended.

Elizabeth Graham:  Texas Right to Life is so honored that Governor Perry would highlight Texas Right to Life's flagship bill for the 2013 legislative session...

We're very excited that pre-born children who can feel pain will be spared from this barbaric and gruesome procedure next session in 2013. Please show your support to your elected officials to pass this bill, and join us next spring when Governor Perry signs the bill after it passes.

Texas Bill Filed to Outlaw 20+ Week Abortions to Protect Preborn Children Who Feel Pain

Several other states have laws banning aboriton after 20 weeks because it is proven that unborn babies feel pain at 20 weeks. Texas needs to pass this law too! Seriously, we protect dogs and cats from torture, can't we also protect innocent babies from the pain of getting ripped apart?


from Texas Right to Life:

Protect Preborn Children Who Feel Pain

Monday, November 12th, marks the unofficial start of the 2013 83rd Texas Legislative Session.  While legislators begin to file legislation during this pre-filing period that began today, they, too, look forward to supporting the flagship Pro-Life bill for the next session:  Texas Right to Life’s Preborn Pain Bill.

Texas Right to Life has already met with countless Pro-Life activists, experts, and Pro-Life elected officials across the state to build consensus for this measure and to spread awareness about the fact that children who are capable of feeling pain are subjected to an excruciating premature death by abortion.

The general medical consensus is that the developing human preborn child is capable of experiencing torturous pain at 20 weeks post-fertilization.  These scientific findings are based on anatomical, behavioral, and physiological neuro-stimuli.  The science of preborn pain sets the standard of care for preborn children who undergo surgery in utero.
The Texas Pre-born Pain Bill will:
-- Establish a state interest in preborn life that can feel pain according to peer-reviewed medical literature.

-- Apply that state interest by prohibiting all abortions on preborn children who feel pain.

-- Take a giant step forward in protecting the sanctity of human life.

-- Draw awareness to the humanity of the preborn child.

-- Emphasize the barbaric nature of abortion.

As soon as our bill authors file this legislation, you will be notified of the bill number(s) and asked to contact your elected officials to support this landmark piece of legislation.
Yours for Life,

Elizabeth Graham
Director

Texas Has Death Panels? YES! And We Can Stop Them!

Most people probably remember when Sarah Palin revealed the death panels that Obamacare would create[1].

I bet most people do not know that Texas has death panels too!

Now that Conservative Republicans have taken over the Texas House of Representatives, we can put an end to these panels.

Read the following letter from Elizabeth Graham, the Director of Texas Right to Life[2]:

End the Texas Death Panels

Texas Right to Life supports House Bill 3520 to restore the rights of patients and their families to make their own health care decisions.

The Human Services Committee of the State House will hear House Bill 3520, a bill to restore the rights of patients.  House Bill 3520 would stop the operational death panels currently sanctioned by Texas law!

Texas law (Chapter 166.046 of the Health and Safety Code) allows a physician to override and ignore a patient’s advance directive or expressed wishes.  A doctor or hospital can withdraw life-sustaining treatment (including food and water) from a patient after giving ten day’s notice. Once the physician’s decision is made and then approved by the ethics committee (aka the death panel) at the hospital, the patient and his family are thrust into a frenzy of legal skirmishes, quibbling with the facility over medical records, and blindly searching for new health care facilities that will treat their ailing loved one—all to beat the ten-day clock!

Texas Right to Life supports House Bill 3520 to restore the rights of patients and their families to make their own health care decisions; House Bill 3520 would also require sufficient time to transfer the patient.  Eleven other states have enacted laws similar to that of House Bill 3520 by requiring the patient to be transferred to a more appropriate care setting—and not become a victim of involuntary euthanasia.

House Bill 3520 would:

expand the 10-day period and foster the transfer of the patient;

allow a doctor to maintain the right to transfer the patient if treatment conflicts with the doctor’s judgment;

safeguard the expressed wishes of the patient;

improve the doctor-patient relationships;

protect vulnerable Texans from the withdrawal of life-sustaining medical treatment (involuntary euthanasia); and strengthen the legitimacy of advance directives.

Please email all the members[3] of the House Human Services Committee today to respectfully request support of House Bill 3520.  In a few weeks, you will be asked to call your State Representative on this issue, but today, please email the committee members and provide your name and address so that the committee members know that a diverse segment of Texans want to stop involuntary euthanasia!

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[1] http://www.cato-at-liberty.org/death-panels-sarah-palin-was-right/

[2] http://www.texasrighttolife.com/

[3] http://www.texasrighttolife.com/petition.asp?pid=LNCCQMYYPO20