Texas Republicans look to crack down on abortion pills

AUSTIN – The Austin American-Statesman reports that over the past two years, Texas women barred from terminating their pregnancies have shared their stories on the national state and on the campaign trail, and many of them challenged the state’s laws in high-profile court cases. Democrats and abortion advocates had hoped that the attention on Texas’ near-total ban, which bars abortions except when a pregnant person faces a “life-threatening condition,” would lead to electoral gains in the state Capitol and in D.C. But that didn’t pan out in 2024, and after Texas Republicans strengthened their supermajority in the state Legislature, and federally the GOP won the White House and both chambers of Congress, they are positioned to move the state farther right on abortion issues this session.

The Lone Star State has some of the toughest abortion restrictions in the nation, with the procedure banned unless a pregnant person faces a “life-threatening condition.” There are no exceptions for rape, incest or fatal fetal anomalies. While Texas doctors face steep criminal penalties, out-of-state physicians have mailed tens of thousands of abortion-inducing drugs into the state since the procedure was banned in 2021. A #WeCount survey from the Society for Family Planning found an estimated 12,420 abortions occurred with the use of mailed pills in Texas between June and December 2023. Bills filed ahead of the 2025 legislative session, which began Tuesday, would crack down on these transactions. House Bill 991, filed by Rep. Steve Toth, a Republican hailing from the Houston suburbs, would make it a criminal offense to possess, sell or distribute abortion-inducing drugs such as misoprostol and mifepristone, adding on to pre-existing laws that bar people from helping others illegally terminate a pregnancy in Texas. HB 1636, filed by House GOP Caucus Chair Tom Oliverson of Cypress, would further restrict access to abortion-inducing drugs by classifying them as Schedule IV controlled substances. Schedule IV classification typically applies to drugs that carry a risk of addiction or abuse, including Ambien, Valium and Xanax.