Texas abortion pill bill advances to House floor ahead of deadline

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AUSTIN, Texas - Texas lawmakers are inching closer to a crackdown on abortion pills after moving a bill through committee with just days to spare.

Senate Bill 2880 passed out of committee Friday, just two days before the deadline for advancing bills to the House floor. The move comes after a group of Republican lawmakers criticized State Affairs Committee Chair Rep. Ken King for allowing the bill to sit in committee for nearly a month with no action.

What they're saying:

"Texas is in a crisis," the lawmakers said in the letter.

The group went on to say that the state's abortion ban was being "subverted daily by bad actors who flood the state with dangerous and deadly abortion pills."

The push comes as Texans have turned to out-of-state doctors and other avenues to get abortion-inducing drugs in the wake of the state's abortion ban.

Last year, Attorney General Ken Paxton sued a New York doctor for sending abortion pills to a Collin County woman.

Some Democratic-controlled states, like New York, have set up "shield laws" that prevent enforcing certain warrants from other states.

Following the letter, House Republicans held a news conference on Friday urging the party to pass several bills out of committee and to House floor before the Sunday deadline.

"We are in a war right now, and you need to understand we are running out of time," Rep. Mitch Little said. "Senate Bill 2880 will make a difference in the lives of Texans. It will save the lives of babies."

The bill moved out of committee a few hours later on an 8-5 vote.

Abortion pill ban bill

The bill says anyone who distributes abortion-inducing drugs — including through the mail — can be sued for up to $100,000. The bill does not require proof that the pills were the cause of death.

It expands the wrongful-death statute and gives people up to six years to file a lawsuit after an abortion takes place.

The bill would allow the attorney general to file a lawsuit "on behalf of unborn children."

There are also protections written in the bill that say the law cannot be challenged as unconstitutional in state court. A state judge who decides the law is unconstitutional can be sued for $100,000.

What's next:

With the bill now out of committee, the House must decide to take it up on the floor before Tuesday.