The special session began July 21st and will run for 30 days. Lawmakers can only address issues on Governor Greg Abbott's (shown right) agenda.
Some other agenda items include: the central Texas floods and emergency communications, the regulation of the hemp industry, and requiring people to use restrooms that align with their biological sex.
Kim Schwartz of Texas Right to Life talked about Governor Abbott's agenda includes pro-life concerns but lists no real specifics about what he might like to address.
"He did put pro-life issues on the agenda, but it just said protect unborn children and their mothers from the harm of abortion. So, that's pretty vague. Lawmakers could kind of go in any direction that they wanted to on that. They could stop abortion pills. They could go with something that doesn't really do much. Like there's another group that's pushing a bill that says if teens go out of state for abortions, they need to have permission from their parents."
She said active legislation on an abortion pill ban has the potential to save more lives than some other measures.
SB 2880, known as The Women and Child Protection Act, establishes a new Chapter 171A in the Texas Health and Safety Code, focused on restricting the use and distribution of abortion-inducing drugs within the state. The bill prohibits the manufacturing, distribution, mailing, prescribing, or provision of such drugs to anyone in Texas, with narrow exceptions.
These exceptions include medical emergencies, possession for non-abortion purposes, and actions taken under federal authority that would otherwise be preempted by federal law.
"You probably will see or have seen a lot of bills filed in the special session related to abortion, but none of them are like the flagship bill -- The Women and Child Protection Act. It's likely that none of those other bills will actually move. The Women and Child Protection Act would allow the attorney general to step in, so no matter where you live, even if you've got a rogue district attorney like Austin and all the other kind of major cities, the attorney general can step in, so nobody is like free from prosecution,” Schwartz said.
