Landmark legislation would halt illegal abortion pill trafficking networks
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact: Matt Hadro
[email protected]
March 10, 2023, AUSTIN, Texas — Human Coalition Action celebrates the introduction of the Women and Children Safety Act in the Texas House of Representatives by Rep. Steve Toth.
Although abortion is illegal under the Texas state constitution and Texas law, out-of-state abortion industry actors continue to exploit enforcement loopholes, endangering women and ending the lives of children in the state.
In addition to starving her preborn child to death, the abortion pill regimen carries serious risks to the pregnant mother’s health. Chemical abortion is four times more dangerous to women than surgical abortion. A new analysis reveals that 35 percent of women who take the abortion pill end up in the emergency room within 30 days. Risks include hemorrhage, sepsis, and the psychological trauma of seeing the fully-formed, deceased child when he or she is expelled.
The Women and Children Safety Act protects women and children from these dangers and comprehensively holds abortionists – and those who aid and abet them – accountable for trafficking illegal chemical abortion drugs. The Act shields children and women from the dangers of the abortion pill regimen and strategically overcomes historical enforcement challenges to these issues.
Rep. Steve Toth stated:
“This bill is the next frontier for protecting life in Texas. Abortion activists put women and children in danger by smuggling the abortion pill regimen into our state without any medical oversight or precautions. Companies and abortion funds paying for abortion trafficking. Local officials refuse to enforce the laws of the state.
“This powerful legislation closes major loopholes abortionists utilize to exploit and prey on women and abort their children. I am proud to introduce this bill to start the next major chapter in the fight for life at the Capitol.”
Chelsey Youman, Texas State Director and National Policy Advisor for Human Coalition Action, reacted to Rep. Toth’s filing of the Women And Children Safety Act, saying:
“Human Coalition pioneered this innovative proposal precisely because they see firsthand how women become the living victims of the abortion pill. They serve women every day who are traumatized and horrified by what they experience during a chemical abortion.
“Abortionists unscrupulous traffic abortion pills without basic precautions such as providing sonograms, physician interaction, or any guidance. The abortion pill regimen ends a human life and poses significant health risks to women. Women are told the procedure is as easy as taking an aspirin, that they can forget about it that day, and are given few details about what they will experience, see, or feel during and after the abortion.
“Texas is blazing a path forward for protecting women and children from abortion pill traffickers, while expanding care for them. I thank Rep. Toth for introducing this bill to amplify protections for women and children.”
In February, Human Coalition filed an amicus brief in support of a federal lawsuit aimed at halting the distribution of abortion drugs nationwide on the grounds that the FDA illegally approved the regimen more than two decades ago. Human Coalition highlights the tragic stories of women who were not told what was in store for them or their children in the process of a chemical abortion:
Many [abortion pill] clients report that they were not told about seeing fetal remains. Staff are told such things as:
“I had no idea that the pill was going to be as painful as it was.”
“I bled way more than I was told. The whole procedure was more painful than I was led to believe.”
“I saw the baby come out in the toilet . . . It was very traumatic. And no one told me I would see a baby. I didn’t know what to do . . . It felt wrong to flush the baby down the toilet.”
Women call Human Coalition nurses panicking in the middle of their abortions. The nurses support them over the phone, so they are not alone.
Abortion providers do not always return patients’ calls, even after complications arise. Human Coalition has served many women whose medication abortions failed and found themselves still pregnant. A few clients were unknowingly ectopic when they arrived at Human Coalition with abortion pills in hand. Human Coalition sonographers provided potentially life-saving ultrasounds. This is not what informed consent looks like.
And this is not what proper medical care looks like. Decades of medication abortion marred women and girls into living victims of abortion. It caused severe damage to their physical and mental health, including death. These grievous lessons were learned as the FDA failed to fulfill its duty under the law to ensure basic safety measures for women. The FDA callously dismisses women’s real experiences and
traumas, wielding its incomplete data as a shield. But Human Coalition believes their voices matter. Women and children in the womb deserve better.
About Human Coalition Action
Human Coalition Action is a public policy advocacy organization, advocating for preborn children and their mothers by assisting governing officials in advancing pro-life policies, informing voters about pro-life candidates, and supporting pro-life legal arguments in the Courts.
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