Texas Governor Greg Abbott recently signed two bills into law aimed at decreasing the amount of abortion pills entering the state and curtailing public funding for out-of-state abortion travel. 

House Bill 7, known as the “Woman and Child Protection Act,” passed 82-48 in the state House and 17-8 (five not voting) in the Senate and allows Texans to file civil lawsuits against anyone who manufactures, distributes, or mails abortion-inducing drugs to or from Texas. The measure is designed to deter out-of-state abortionists from mailing abortion pills into the state. Chemical abortion drugs are the most common early-term abortion method accounting for about 63 percent of all abortions nationwide. Recent studies show that the number of women being harmed after ingesting the chemical abortion drug Mifepristone are as high as 10.9 percent after just one dose. The law will take effect December 4, 2025. 

According to the law, successful plaintiffs would be entitled to at least $100,000 in damages. If the plaintiff is not directly related to the aborted baby, they would only be entitled to 10 percent of the damages awarded and would have to give the remaining money to a charity of their choosing. The law protects pregnant women who take abortion pills from any penalties and lawsuits as well as any women using chemical abortion drugs to treat ectopic pregnancies or miscarriages. The law also exempts medical personnel in emergencies, postal workers, and transportation providers.

The second bill is Senate Bill 33, which succeeded by a House vote of 87-58 and a Senate vote of 22-9. The law prohibits local governments, such as municipalities and counties, from using taxpayer dollars to help individuals obtain abortions out of state. The law bars them from funding travel, lodging, meals, childcare, or related expenses for abortion access. The law also authorizes the state attorney general or any Texas resident to sue local governments that violate the ban. SB 33 took effect Sept. 1. 

Texas’ pro-life leaders enacted SB 33 in response to abortion-supporting city councils in San Antonio and Austin, which had allocated taxpayer funds for abortion-related travel expenses. In April 2025, San Antonio officials voted to use funds from its $500,000 Reproductive Justice Fund for abortion travel while Austin city officials voted to allocate $400,000 so city residents could get abortions out of state. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued both cities where a state appeals court preliminarily ruled San Antonio must stop using the funds for abortion travel expenses.

Liberty Counsel’s Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said, “We commend Texas pro-life leaders for enacting laws that protect women and their unborn babies. Abortion drugs come with a ‘black box warning’ because they have never been safe. Texas’ near-total abortion ban is in place to save lives and taxpayer dollars should never be used as a workaround to fund out-of-state abortion or subsidize practices that kill children and harm women.”