When Texas lawmakers two years ago passed extreme legislation limiting access to abortion care, they promised to come back this legislative session to address the issue of unintended pregnancy. Now they can take a first step toward keeping that promise.
The State Affairs Committee of the Texas House is set on Wednesday to hear testimony on a proposed bill that would help lower the high number of unintended teen pregnancies in Texas. House Bill 468 by state Rep. Mary González, D-Clint, would allow teen parents over the age of 15 to obtain birth control without having to get the consent of their parents or guardians.
Lawmakers should trust teen parents and other Texans to make their own reproductive health care decisions, including the timing and spacing of their children. You can support this bill in two ways. First, contact members of the State Affairs Committee to express your support for HB 468. Second, testify at the public hearing on Wednesday, March 18, at 10:30 a.m. or after the House has adjourned for the day. The hearing is set for Room JHR 140 in the John H. Reagan Building at 105 West 15th Street in Austin.
Tell members of the House State Affairs Committee:
- We trust teen parents with making health care decisions for their own children, and we should respect them enough to make their own decisions about birth control.
- We all should agree that lowering the number of unintended teen pregnancies is important. House Bill 468 is a small but important and common sense step toward meeting that goal.
- Texas has one of the nation’s highest rates of repeat teen births. Allowing teens who are already parents to get birth control when they need it is the best way to address that issue.
Following are names and contact information for State Affairs Committee members:
Chair, Rep. Byron Cook, R-Corsicana
(512) 463-0730
[email protected]
Rep. Helen Giddings, D-DeSoto
512-463-0953
[email protected]
Rep. Tom Craddick, R-Midland
512-463-0500
[email protected]
Rep. Marsha Farney, R-Georgetown
(512) 463-0309
[email protected]
Rep. Jessica Farrar, D-Houston
512-463-0620
[email protected]
Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth
512-463-0610
[email protected]
Rep. Patricia Harless, R-Spring
512-463-0496
[email protected]
Rep. Dan Huberty, R-Houston
(512) 463-0520
[email protected]
Rep. John Kuempel, R-Seguin
(512) 463-0602
[email protected]
Rep. René Oliveira, D-Brownsville
512-463-0640
[email protected]
Rep. John Smithee, R-Amarillo
512-463-0702
[email protected]
Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Houston
512-463-0554
[email protected]
ANY laws that attempt to bring religious beliefs into it is UNLAWFUL!
Frankly, I do not give a damn what “religious” people want, this is still a Constitutional Republic, not a church controlled state.
This country is rolling down a very steep line towards FASCISM.
When any religion, including mine, attempts to have its “beliefs” put into law, I oppose it because of the first amendment of the Constitution. THAT is what the founders wanted this country to be: SECULAR ONLY with freedom for religion but we are also free FROM religion.
[sarcasm]If this gets through, all girls will try to become teen parents as quickly as possible to get around the parental consent clause[/sarcasm].
I would not at all be surprised, if one of the religious right-wingers would come up with that argument given that they also claimed that the only thing keeping girls from becoming nymphomaniacs was the fear of cervical cancer (and therefore the vaccination against that had to be banned or be restricted to boys only).