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Texas governor and lawmakers celebrate passage of bills restricting local abortion support and clarifying emergency care
Summary
At a gubernatorial press event, officials marked the passage and signature of Senate Bill 33, prohibiting local governments from financially or logistically supporting abortions, and Senate Bill 31, the 'life of the mother' clarification protecting clinicians who provide emergency care for pregnant patients.
The governor opened a press event by thanking lawmakers and advocacy groups and announcing that Senate Bill 33 and Senate Bill 31 have become law, saying the measures advance Texas's pro‑life agenda.
"The legislature has passed and I've signed laws that protect the life of every child," the governor said, and described a problem the bills address: "some cities have circumvented those laws using taxpayer dollars to support abortion." He said of SB33, "Senate bill 33 ends that."
SB33, as described at the event, prohibits cities, counties, school districts and the state from providing financial or logistical support for abortions, including use of taxpayer dollars to transport patients to other states. Representative Noble, who said he carried the measure in the House, called it "egregious" that tax dollars could be used to accomplish in another state what is illegal in Texas and said he was proud the bill passed.
The event also highlighted Senate Bill 31, introduced by participants as the "life of the mother act." The governor said the measure "clarifies that a doctor may act to save the life of a pregnant woman when she faces a life threatening condition" and added it "protects doctors from both civil and criminal liability" when providing care to preserve a mother's life. He also said the law makes clear that treatment for ectopic pregnancies or miscarriages "does not violate Texas abortion laws." Senator Hughes, who discussed the bill, said some physicians had been confused about the law and that clarification was needed to prevent harm to patients.
Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick framed the bills as part of a long legislative effort, dating back to earlier measures such as the sonogram bill, and said the combined legislative effort "has saved possibly over 300,000 babies." That numerical claim was offered as an account of impact by the lieutenant governor during his remarks.
Speakers at the event also pointed to state programs that support mothers and infants. Senator Hughes referenced the alternatives to abortion program, described in the transcript as now the "thriving Texas families" program, and said the governor assigned "hundreds of millions of dollars" to support mothers before and after birth. Those funding figures were presented as descriptive remarks at the event; no budget documents or vote tallies were cited in the transcript.
Representatives and senators described the bills as a continuation of prior policy and as intended to protect both mothers and babies; no roll call votes or amendment texts were provided during the remarks. The event concluded with the governor thanking advocates for their decades‑long engagement.
Both bills were described at the event as having passed the legislature and been signed; according to the remarks, they are now law. The transcript does not include vote tallies, effective dates, or detailed statutory text for either bill.
