A 'real opportunity' to protect lives

The state's legislature just recently launched its 20-week biennial session with the introduction of a trigger law titled the Human Life Protection Act of 2021 that would completely ban abortion in Texas if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns its 1973 precedent.

"That means if the Supreme Court takes some cases that are before them now and rules to allow states to truly protect unborn babies throughout pregnancy in a matter of months, Texas could have a complete ban on abortion," explains Joe Pojman of the Texas Alliance for Life.

Considering the fact that the state has a recorded 60,000 abortions a year, the law could save many lives.

"Those numbers are way down from previous years, but still, we have an opportunity now to protect tens of thousands of lives every year from the tragedy of abortion," Pojman says, noting that the mothers and the families are included in that. "This is a real opportunity to do what the pro-life movement has dreamed about for many years."

If the nation's high court does overturn or significantly alter Roe v. Wade, Texas would become the 11th state with a trigger law banning abortion ready to go into effect. Arkansas, which passed a trigger law two years ago, is in the process of going even a step further: declaring abortion outright illegal.