FORT WORTH, Texas — Texas’ “trigger” law banning most abortions in the state is scheduled to go into effect Aug. 25, Attorney General Ken Paxton announced in a Wednesday advisory.
Paxton’s advisory about the law’s start date comes after the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday issued its judgment in a Mississippi abortion case that overturned Roe v. Wade. The Texas law states and Paxton previously said that the ban goes into effect 30 days after the judgment, which is different from the release of the Supreme Court opinion delivered June 24.
“Texas law in a post-Roe world has already been written,” Paxton said in the advisory. “Now that the Supreme Court has finally overturned Roe, I will do everything in my power to protect mothers, families, and unborn children, and to uphold the state laws duly enacted by the Texas Legislature.”
The law, with exceptions for medical emergencies, carries a minimum $100,000 fine for each violation and stipulates that a person who performs, induces or attempts an abortion could face up to life in prison if successful, and up to 20 years in prison if the abortion is unsuccessful.
The law doesn’t make exceptions for rape and incest. Paxton said an abortion patient cannot be penalized under the law.
Paxton in his advisory said the definition of abortion under Texas law doesn’t apply when done to “save the life or preserve the health of an unborn child,” “remove a dead, unborn child whose death was caused by spontaneous abortion,” or “remove an ectopic pregnancy.”
While the “trigger” law has not gone into effect, clinics across the state have stopped offering abortion services. Abortion access in the state was already restricted due to a law that effectively prohibits most abortions before six weeks of pregnancy through civil enforcement. The law lets a person bring civil action against someone who performs or aids in the performance of an abortion. Texas also has a pre-Roe law banning most abortions, the enforceability of which has been subject to litigation.
“(Tuesday’s) issuance of the final decision from the Supreme Court in the Dobbs case is just want we expected — the beginning of the end of legal abortion care in Texas,” said Amy Hagstrom Miller, the president and CEO of Whole Woman’s Health. “The Texas trigger ban will go into effect 30 days from now, but let’s be honest, Texas officials have successfully blocked abortions from being provided in clinics all across Texas since Roe was overturned on June 24th.”
The abortion provider previously announced it is closing its Texas clinics and looking to relocate to New Mexico. In an open letter, Planned Parenthood officials in Texas stressed that facilities remain open to provide sexual and reproductive health care.
“Texas’ anti-abortion lawmakers are relentless — but so are we,” the letter reads.
Anti-abortion groups welcomed the coming implementation of Texas’ “trigger” law after Tuesday’s judgment was issued, but Texas Right to Life said more needs to be done.
“The Pro-Life movement has witnessed that we need a variety of enforcement tools to stop the abortion industry,” the group said in a statement. “Thus, Texas Right to Life is speaking with state lawmakers to pass a bill in the next legislative session that would allow private citizens to sue abortionists who break state law, similar to the Texas Heartbeat Act.”
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