Bill > HB5510

This bill establishes comprehensive restrictions on abortion and abortion-inducing drugs in Texas, known as the Women and Child Protection Act. The legislation creates a complex legal framework that prohibits manufacturing, distributing, mailing, or providing abortion-inducing drugs, with extensive civil and criminal penalties. The bill allows private citizens to sue anyone who assists in obtaining an abortion-inducing drug, including through digital platforms, with potential damages of at least $100,000 per violation. Notably, the law creates criminal offenses for paying for or reimbursing abortion costs, with penalties escalating to a first-degree felony if an unborn child or pregnant woman dies. The bill also expands criminal enterprise laws to include abortion-related violations and creates special jurisdictional provisions that limit courts' ability to challenge the law. Significantly, the legislation applies extraterritorially, meaning it can potentially impact actions taken outside of Texas, and includes provisions that make it difficult to legally challenge the statute. The law provides narrow exceptions for medical emergencies and includes protections for the pregnant woman herself, but broadly aims to create significant legal and financial risks for anyone involved in facilitating an abortion. The bill is set to take effect on September 1, 2025, and includes a severability clause to protect other provisions if any part of the law is found invalid by a court.

Government Affairs

https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=89R&Bill=HB5510