SB 31, known as the Life of the Mother Act, proposes clarifications to the current exceptions to Texas’s strict abortion prohibitions. The bill amends existing statutes to affirm that physicians may perform abortions if, in their reasonable medical judgment, the pregnant woman's life is at risk or if there is a serious threat of substantial impairment to a major bodily function. Importantly, it specifies that the physician does not have to wait until the risk becomes imminent or the patient is physically harmed before intervening.
The bill also amends civil liability laws to treat lawsuits against physicians performing abortions allowed by law as healthcare liability claims, subjecting them to the same standards and protections as other medical malpractice suits. SB 31 defines key terms such as "life-threatening" conditions and amends the current definition of “ectopic pregnancy.”
Additionally, the legislation requires that physicians, when possible and without increasing risk to the woman, provide treatment that gives the unborn child the best chance of survival. However, it ensures that protecting the woman's life and health takes priority when necessary. Overall, SB 31 seeks to provide physicians with greater clarity and protection when addressing critical medical situations during pregnancy, while maintaining Texas's overall prohibitions on abortion except in narrowly defined emergencies.
The bill also includes mandatory continuing education programs for attorneys and certain physicians on Texas abortion law. It incorporates references to Supreme Court cases such as In re State and State v. Zurawski to guide statutory interpretation.
The originally filed version of SB 31 proposed broad statutory revisions regarding exceptions to Texas’s abortion laws. It struck the term “life-threatening” from current law, which previously allowed abortion not only to save a woman’s life but also to prevent serious bodily harm.
The Committee Substitute narrowed the scope of the bill. It maintains the requirement that an abortion is only authorized when a physical condition is "life-threatening." It also preserves the essential core of the bill, clarifying that physicians can act before an imminent threat materializes and providing a more practical definition of "life-threatening" conditions. It removes the repeal of some additional statutes, thereby simplifying the bill’s legal reach. Furthermore, the committee version uses broader language to reference Supreme Court rulings without embedding detailed procedural standards directly into the statute.
Overall, the Committee Substitute streamlines SB 31 to focus primarily on granting physicians greater discretion and legal protection when treating pregnant women facing serious health threats, while providing definitions and clarifications practically necessary to comply with the law. It reflects a move toward clarifying and securing core legal protections while avoiding the expansion of regulatory frameworks beyond what is necessary to address the immediate medical-legal concerns.
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Sen. Bryan Hughes
