Patient-Friendly Bills Filed to Protect Women’s Health Care in Texas

November 22, 2022

THE PHYSICIANS AT WOMEN’S HEALTH DOMAIN PROVIDE THEIR PERSPECTIVE AND EXPERTISE TO MEDIA AND OTHER SOURCES TO PROVIDE OBJECTIVE FACT AND CONTEXT ON HIGH-PROFILE WOMEN’S HEALTH ISSUES.

Women’s Health Domain is pleased and encouraged to see bills filed to remove some of the onerous restrictions on access to abortion care in Texas.

The Texas Legislature convenes January 10, 2023, but lawmakers have begun pre-filing legislation.

“The restrictions on access to reproductive care for pregnant patients in Texas are dangerous and unacceptable,” said Tyler Handcock, M.D., partner, Women’s Health Domain. “The patients I see, counsel, and care for deserve better, and I’m encouraged that bills are in the works to ensure access to safe reproductive health care.”

Among the bills already filed are Senate Bills 122 and 123 by Sen. Nathan Johnson of Dallas. Both bills also have eight co-sponsors.

Senate Bill 122 would add an exception for sexual assault to the ban on abortion.

Senate Bill 123 would add exceptions to the abortion ban to allow abortions when in the physician’s best medical judgment, abortion is necessary to preserve pregnant patient’s life, necessary to preserve pregnant patient’s physical or mental health, requested because of a lethal fetal anomaly or diagnosis, or requested because of a life-limiting diagnosis that indicates the existence of the fetus outside the womb is incompatible with life without extraordinary medical interventions.

“I hope that SB 122 and 123 move through the legislative process with bipartisan support,” said Amy Chapman, M.D., partner, Women’s Health Domain. “These bills protect the patient-physician relationship and are essential for us to be able to care for our patients as they expect.”