A Senate committee on Monday advanced Senate Bill 6, the “Women and Child Protection Act,” a proposal by Sen. Bryan Hughes that would create a civil enforcement mechanism aimed at companies and organizations that manufacture, distribute or mail abortion drugs into Texas. The committee voted to report the measure to the full Senate.

Supporters, including anti‑abortion groups and pregnancy‑center advocates, told the committee the bill is designed to stop what they say is widespread illegal trafficking of medication abortions into Texas. They said existing criminal statutes and local prosecutors have been unable to stop providers in other states and overseas from mailing pills into Texas. “If you are making these bills and sending them to Texas to kill little unborn babies, illegal abortions, you’re gonna be held accountable,” Sen. Hughes said while laying out the bill.

The measure would add a new prohibition on making, providing or distributing mifepristone and misoprostol for abortion purposes and would authorize citizens and the attorney general to sue under a qui tam‑style private enforcement scheme. Proponents said the private suits are necessary because some other states and prosecutors have adopted “shield” laws or policies that, in practice, block enforcement of Texas law. “These actions are illegal under our pro‑life laws, but enforcement remains difficult,” said Ashley Solano of Texas Right to Life.

Opponents — including physicians, hospital groups and reproductive‑health organizations — argued the bill would have a chilling effect on legitimate medical uses of the same drugs (such as treatment for ectopic pregnancy, management of certain miscarriages and obstetrical hemorrhage) and could jeopardize timely care. “Our concerns with SB 6 are strictly based on the impact the bill could have on medically necessary health care,” Heather Dela Garza Barone of the Texas Hospital Association testified. The Texas Medical Association also warned the bill’s private‑suit structure, long statute of limitations, and monetary penalties could deter clinicians from providing time‑sensitive care.

Lawmakers and witnesses debated data and the scale of out‑of‑state mailing. Witnesses citing research and claims from advocacy groups testified that thousands of abortion pills are being sent into Texas each year; opponents disputed the studies or said the evidentiary record is incomplete. Supporters pointed to a study they said showed higher rates of serious complications after medication abortion than previously reported; opponents and some researchers countered that medication abortion remains safe when used under medical supervision and that expanding civil liability would reduce access to necessary care.

The bill includes explicit language stating the chapter would not impose liability for manufacture, distribution, possession or use of those drugs “solely for 1 or more of the following purposes: treating a medical emergency; removing an ectopic pregnancy; removing a dead unborn child whose death was caused by spontaneous abortion; or a purpose that does not include performing, inducing, attempting, or assisting an abortion.” The sponsor and committee staff described those provisions as protections for legitimate medical practice.

The committee received more than four hours of public testimony from a broad mix of stakeholders: anti‑abortion advocacy groups, adoption agencies, pregnancy‑center staff, physicians, the Texas Hospital Association, Planned Parenthood representatives and abortion‑fund and civil‑liberties advocates. Planned Parenthood Texas Votes’ executive director said the bill “invites strangers to surveil, report, and profit from deeply personal health care decisions,” while advocates from pregnancy centers and pro‑life organizations said the measure targets traffickers and protects women.

The committee voted to report SB 6 favorably to the full Senate (roll call recorded as eight ayes, zero nays). The bill was left pending for floor consideration.

What’s next: The committee’s favorable report moves SB 6 to the full Senate for debate and a possible floor vote.

Sources: Testimony and debate before the Senate State Affairs Committee on SB 6; witness testimony from Sen. Bryan Hughes, Ashley Solano (Texas Right to Life), Chelsea Yeoman (ADF Center for Public Policy), Dr. Deborah Fuller (OB‑GYN), Heather Dela Garza Barone (Texas Hospital Association), Shelley Hayes McMahon (Planned Parenthood Texas Votes) and others.