Life of the Mother Act becomes law in Texas, allowing some abortions

MCALLEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — This weekend, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed into law the Life of the Mother Act.

The new law clarifies when doctors can perform abortions if the pregnancy poses a risk to the mother’s life. Senate Bill 31 does not expand access to abortions in Texas, but it explains when a doctor can perform an abortion to save a pregnant woman’s life in serious medical situations.

Attorney Lisa Kaufman, who served as general counsel of the Texas Civil Justice League during the bill's development, says this will help save lives.

“To save women's lives, to make sure that women who are having a pregnancy complication, in a life-threatening condition, can get the medical care that they need," Kaufman said.

Governor Abbott signed the legislation on Saturday. The new law allows a doctor to perform an abortion if continuing the pregnancy poses a serious risk to the mother's health, even if her life is not in immediate danger.

The law makes it clear when a doctor can act, as previous statutes were not that clear.

“The doctor doesn't have to wait for her to get sepsis," the attorney said. "They know that if you have PPROM, that is, if you don't intervene, that sepsis will happen, and it allows the doctor to intervene right away, before the woman ever gets sick and has the possibility of dying.”

Kaufman says women who may need cancer treatment can now get an abortion if they are pregnant because the law aims to save the woman’s life whenever it is at risk.

However, some doctors still worry, as Shillie Haynes-McMahon from Planned Parenthood points out, that it is not the most effective way to provide more rights to doctors doing their duties.

“It does say that a doctor can use their best medical judgment, but I think that still fleshes out in a court of law," Haynes-McMahon said. "Yes, a doctor was going to treat their patient according to the Hippocratic oath, according to what they think is best for their patient, but this bill still does not give 100% clarity or protections.”

Critics also say the law does not go far enough because they say there are no abortion protections for rape and incest victims.

“What I would love to see is doctors not having to hesitate to take care of their patients," Haynes-McMahon said. "Doctors not having the voice of a legislator in their mind, and only thinking of what's the best thing to do to save a patient's life if necessary, or to save them from gross bodily harm or losing major bodily functions.”

Kaufman says that both doctors and lawyers, who work in the specific area of this medical field, will have to undergo some educational training as the law is implemented.

“They understand what happened with the changes of law and what is expected of them in terms of their practices, both legally and medically," Kaufman said. "And so those will go into effect in the coming months, and so I do think it will have a big effect, because of the educational component.”

The law went into effect immediately after the governor’s signature.