Will New Abortion Legislation Save Pregnant Patients’ Lives?

“I’ve talked to a lot of doctors who feel like at the end of the day, they would like the state Legislature out of their exam rooms with their patients. They would like to see these laws no longer on the books, but [with the reality being that] these laws are what they are and they’re likely to remain in effect until we see some sort of significant legislative shifts in Texas, they’re happy to take what they can get on this, and this will sort of lift this cloud of fear and paralysis that they’ve been operating under.”

—Eleanor Klibanoff, Law and Politics Reporter and Former Women’s Health Reporter, The Texas Tribune

About the Episode

This is Episode 1 in our three-part series on reproductive health in Texas — where we have world-class health facilities, yet rank near the bottom when it comes to women’s health outcomes. Listen to Episode 2 and Episode 3. 
 

Eleanor Klibanoff, the law and politics reporter and former women’s health reporter at The Texas Tribune, joins senior health policy fellow Elena M. Marks to discuss new abortion legislation in Texas that aims to clarify when doctors can perform emergency abortions. Senate Bill 31, or the Life of the Mother Act, was passed by the Texas House in late May and awaits passage by Gov. Greg Abbott.

Klibanoff and Marks explore the bipartisan support for the legislation and whether it goes far enough to clarify the only exception allowed by the state’s abortion ban — to save the life of the pregnant patient — following numerous reports of women who died or nearly died after being denied abortions by doctors who were confused by the law or too fearful of strict penalties to intervene.

They also discuss SB 2880, or the Women and Child Protection Act, which was in committee at the time of recording. This bill, which would have expanded penalties for violating the abortion ban, ultimately died in the Texas House with the end of the state legislative session on June 2.

This conversation was recorded on May 9, 2025.

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Transcript

A full transcript of this episode is available here. This transcript was AI-generated and has not been through editorial review.

About ‘Texas Briefing’

 “Texas Briefing” brings expert insights to the policy challenges shaping life in the Lone Star State. Through topical miniseries, institute scholars and their guests untangle issues in health, the economy, climate resilience, and more to understand how policy matters are impacting communities from the Panhandle to the Gulf Coast.

Select episodes of our “Baker Briefing” and “Texas Briefing” podcasts are recorded in front of a live studio audience at Rice University in Houston, Texas. These recordings are free and open to the public. To learn about upcoming recordings and other public programming from the Baker Institute, subscribe to our “Events Digest” newsletter, delivered weekly.

This material may be quoted or reproduced without prior permission, provided appropriate credit is given to the author(s) and Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. The views expressed herein are those of the individual author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.