“Everything’s better in Texas!” Texans like to proudly say. Today, even those of us not from Texas can agree that something is, in fact, better in Texas!
In Austin, Texas, the Texas State Attorney General has issued two opinions that are important achievements in the fight to successfully protect the health and safety of women who seek abortions from Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers.
According to Lifenews.com, the Texas State Attorney General, Greg Abbott, has issued two opinions that have pleased pro-life groups. First, he has ruled that abortion centers providing women with the RU-486 abortion drug must have an abortion facility license. RU- 486 has proved to be dangerous to women, causing severe side effects, as well as several deaths in women in the United States. Abbott’s ruling concludes that abortion centers where this drug is administered cannot avoid being licensed by the state department, just because they do not perform surgical procedures. This ruling makes it clear that performing an abortion is, in fact, a serious medical procedure—one that should require a license to practice. This isn’t the first time the state of Texas has become strict with abortion clinics. Last year, the Texas Department of State Health fined and shut down four Planned Parenthood facilities that were performing illegal abortions. Presumably, these abortions were chemically performed.
Abbott’s second ruling declared that abortion centers can no longer used pre-recorded telephone messages to provide a woman with information, including medical risks, that the law requires a doctor to provide “orally by telephone or in person” 24 hours before her scheduled abortion. This is an essential step in emphasizing the education of women before they actually decide to go through with an abortion.
Abbott’s ruling on “telemed abortions” is important for pro-life groups. Planned Parenthood began practicing “telemed abortions” in Iowa. The process is too simple: all a woman needs to do to receive an abortion is to meet with a doctor via teleconference, and then push a button to open a drawer to receive abortion drugs after. While it might sound convenient, it definitely puts women’s health at a much greater risk. Not only is the abortion pill risky to begin with, now women are left with no doctor around in case of severe and dangerous side effects, and complications with the drug. Women have the right to have sufficient and specific information from their doctors, including the medical risks of the procedure at least 24 hours before an abortion. They also have the right to actually discuss the information they receive, rather than hearing a pre-recorded speech and pressing a button.
Pro-life supporters and groups want to protect not only the unborn, but mothers as well. Abbott’s rulings benefit pro-life groups who want to make sure that women are effectively and efficiently informed of information available to them, and hopefully they will choose life for their unborn child. Overall, things are definitely getting better in Texas.
