Slew of bills filed in Texas aimed at denying access to abortion pills
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Bills crafted to stop what is widely viewed a loophole as abortion pills have helped mitigate bans dotting the US. As the Texas legislature convenes in Austin on Tuesday for the first day of its 2025 session, a number of anti-abortion bills have already been filed, largely aimed at halting the flow of abortion pills into the state.
The bills were crafted to stop what is widely viewed as a loophole in abortion bans across the country, as pills have helped mitigate the impact of the bans now dotting the US. Texas Right to Life, the state’s largest anti-abortion advocacy group, has had a hand in drafting a number of the bills, and is encouraging men to sue people who have supported their partners’ abortions.
“There hasn’t been any real accountability when it comes to abortion pill access, so we are going to try several different approaches to give Texans more tools to end this deadly trend,” said John Seago, president of Texas Right to Life. Texas was the first state in the US to ban most abortions in recent years, passing a six-week ban that went into effect months before the fall of Roe v Wade. Following the Dobbs decision that overturned Roe, the state enacted a total ban that threatens doctors with up to life in prison. Texas often serves as a laboratory for anti-abortion bills and strategies that other Republican-led states later replicate.
While a Texas law already criminalizes sending abortion pills to its residents by mail, it has been difficult to enforce. An average of 2,800 abortions per month are still obtained in Texas through so-called shield laws that were passed in a number of blue states to offer protection to providers who prescribe to women in states with bans. Other abortions are self-managed with help from pills supplied through underground networks. These channels have been sources of ongoing frustration for anti-abortion activists who see the mail-order route as a final loophole that needs closing.
