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Texas State Rep. Brent Money (R-Greenville) has introduced House Bill 2197 (HB 2197) which aims to criminalize self-induced abortions by removing a legal exception that currently shields women from prosecution. If passed, the bill would extend murder statutes to all individuals, including those who terminate their own pregnancies.
The legislation is the latest push in Texas’ ongoing effort to restrict abortion access following the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson decision, which overturned Roe v. Wade.
Closing the “Loophole” on Self-Managed Abortions
Under current Texas law, doctors and providers face severe penalties for performing or assisting in abortions, but women who self-induce abortions are not criminally prosecuted—a distinction State Rep. Money’s bill seeks to remove.
Since the passage of the Texas Heartbeat Act (2021) and the Human Life Protection Act (2022), nearly all abortions have been banned in Texas, with exceptions for the life of the mother. According to the Society of Family Planning, an estimated 2,800 Texans traveled out of state for abortions each month, while 2,000 more obtained abortion pills by mail during a six-month period in 2023.
Money argues that this ongoing practice undermines Texas’ pro-life stance and fails to fully protect unborn lives,
“52 years ago today, the Supreme Court sentenced millions of babies to death under Roe v. Wade. Although Roe has fallen, millions of babies are still being murdered across America, including in Texas. While the Texas legislature has enacted various pro-life laws, Texas babies are still being aborted on a horrific scale due to the prevalence of self-managed abortions.”
“In 2023 alone, over 56,000 Texas babies were murdered by abortion. 35,190 mothers left the state to procure abortions. Another 20,662 mothers legally performed self-managed abortions on Texas soil using the abortion pill.”Source: Statement by State Rep. Brent Money (R-Greenville), 1.29.2025
Republican Leadership Divided Over HB 2197
While some Texas conservatives support HB 2197, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has publicly opposed the measure, stating that women should not be punished for undergoing an abortion.
“We shouldn’t punish women, of course not. Those are a few people somewhere who said that, and they don’t speak for Republicans. They don’t speak for Americans.”
Source: Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, speaking to WFAA, 1.19.2025
Patrick also expressed concern that doctors may hesitate to perform medically necessary abortions for fear of legal consequences. Some legal experts and pro-life advocates warn that criminalizing women could backfire politically and shift public sentiment against Texas’ already strict abortion laws.
Notably, none of Patrick’s 2025 legislative priorities include abortion-related measures.
Conservative Coalition Rallies Behind the Bill
Despite opposition from Republican leadership, HB 2197 has garnered support from a coalition of 52 conservative leaders, including:
- The Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Republican Party of Texas
- Multiple State Republican Executive Committee members
- Several Republican County Chairs and State Representatives
In a joint statement, the coalition argued that without HB 2197, abortion remains functionally legal in Texas:
“If passed into law, HB 2197 would save tens of thousands of lives in Texas every year. It would also protect women from pimps and traffickers who exploit the legality of self-managed abortion to coerce mothers into terminating pregnancies.”
“The platform of the Republican Party of Texas explicitly calls on the legislature to enact precisely the type of legislation that Representative Money has filed.”
The 2024 Republican Party of Texas Platform explicitly calls for laws like HB 2197, including:
Plank 195. Abolish Abortion: We urge the Texas Legislature to enact legislation to abolish abortion by immediately securing the right to life and equal protection of the laws to all preborn children from the moment of fertilization and to oppose legislation that discriminates against any preborn children and violates the United States Constitution by denying such persons equal protection of the laws, and to adopt effective tools to ensure the enforcement of our laws to protect life when doctors or district attorneys fail to do so.
Plank 142. Preventing Any Death by Abortion: We support legislation such as the Preborn NonDiscrimination Act (pre-NDA) to close existing discriminatory loopholes that fail to protect preborn children suspected of having “fetal anomalies” or disabilities, and we support legislation to enact antidiscriminatory language to apply additional protections to preborn children at risk of being aborted because of their sex, race, disability, or age of gestation. Such legislation should provide families with information about life-affirming social and medical services available to them in Texas, such as perinatal palliative care. We support protecting preborn children and their mothers by stopping abortion pill distributors from sending and trafficking these lethal and illegal drugs into Texas and holding those accountable who break state Pro-Life laws by selling and trafficking illegal abortion pills.
Plank 166. Abortion Homicide Exemption: The physician homicide exemption of the Texas Penal Code Section 19.06 should be modified to apply only to non-elective abortions such as required to save the life of the mother.
A Bill That Has Been Tried—and Failed—Before
HB 2197 is not the first attempt at passing a Prenatal Equal Protection Bill. Similar measures have been introduced in past legislative sessions but have failed to advance.
- 2019: State Rep. Tony Tinderholt (R-Arlington) introduced a version of the bill, which received a public hearing but stalled.
- 2021 & 2023: Former State Rep. Bryan Slaton (R-Royse City) filed the bill twice (HB 3326 & HB 2709), but neither version gained traction. Slaton was later expelled from the House.
State Rep. Brent Money argues that the political landscape has changed post-Dobbs, making this legislation more viable than before:
“Most pro-life Texans think we’ve already eradicated abortion in Texas. But tens of thousands of babies are still being aborted every year through out-of-state travel and abortion pills. It’s time to close that loophole.”
What’s Next? Political Hurdles and Legislative Outlook
Despite grassroots support, HB 2197 faces an uphill battle:
- Texas Republican leadership remains divided, with Lt. Gov. Patrick strongly opposing the measure.
- Some Legal experts warn that criminalizing women could create a backlash, complicating enforcement and hurting pro-life efforts in the long run.
- Public opinion on abortion bans continues to shift, especially after high-profile legal battles and restrictions in Texas and other states.
If passed, HB 2197 would make Texas home to one of the most stringent abortion laws in the nation, setting a precedent for other Republican-led states. However, the bill’s fate remains uncertain, as concerns over political optics and legal implications could stall its progress once again.
With Texas already at the center of the national abortion debate, HB 2197 is set to be one of the most closely watched bills in the upcoming legislative session.
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