Texas Bill Would Provide Array of Supports to Women Seeking Abortion Alternatives
Melanie Israel / Maeve Reilly /
A new bipartisan bill in Texas, the Every Mother Matters Act, looks to offer women considering an abortion an avenue of support, highlighting the pro-life movement’s commitment to the aid and well-being of both the unborn and their mothers.
Fully 75% of women seeking an abortion report that under different circumstances they would choose to keep their child. The legislation looks to change circumstances by offering women seeking an abortion a “resource access assistance offer.”
With help from Human Coalition Action, the public policy advocacy arm of Human Coalition, the bill was first introduced in the Texas state Senate in February.
Under the bill, women are connected via a toll-free number with a licensed third-party professional providing information regarding public and private resources she can be directly connected to at no cost.
Those resources include “support services other than abortion for the pregnant woman or unborn child’s biological father, including housing, employment, resume development, child care, prenatal and postpartum medical care, mental health or behavioral counseling, adoption services, financial assistance, abuse- or neglect-prevention assistance, substance- or alcohol-abuse prevention assistance, and health benefit plan coverage.”
The offer also includes the sharing of accurate medical information regarding the abortion procedure and screening for abuse, neglect, violence, human trafficking victimization, and abortion coercion.
Women would not be required to divulge any information to the professional and can decline the services offered at any point.
At the conclusion of the call, the mother will receive a unique identification number, devoid of personal information, signifying the resource access assistance offer was made. Regardless of the pregnancy’s outcome, if the woman chooses, the offer to receive services provided under the bill would continue to stand for up to two calendar years.
The bill, similar to one passed by the Arkansas Legislature earlier this year, highlights the pro-life movement’s commitment to not only the protection of the unborn child’s life, but ensuring the child’s mother and family have every opportunity to thrive.
Chelsey Youman, Human Coalition Action national legislative adviser and Texas state director, noted:
Women and their children are always more than statistics. They are real, living human beings with histories, families, challenges, dreams and goals. To empower them, we need to ensure they have the opportunity to engage with meaningful aid for their future. That’s what EMMA is all about.
Pro-abortion activists often assert that pro-life Americans aren’t actually pro-life, they’re merely “pro-birth.” That empty allegation has no bearing in reality, as evidenced by the pro-life movement’s deep commitment to foster care and adoption; the thousands of pregnancy resource centers that serve millions of women, children, and their families all across the country; and the many efforts from churches, communities, and individuals to support women facing a challenging pregnancy.
In fact, organizations such as Human Coalition were founded on the very principle that unborn children and their families deserve better.
Human Coalition’s story reads in part, “We are for preborn babies who need to be protected in the womb; for women who should not have to choose the life of their baby for a fulfilling life; for families, whose members should flourish in an environment of value and love; for mothers and fathers who deserve a chance at being mothers and fathers, and for society that needs all its children to live and thrive if it is to be called ‘civilized.'”
In 2020, Human Coalition on average provided more than 40 points of contact with each mother considering an abortion but chose life. In total, it offered more than 194,000 services to its clients.
The Human Coalition hopes to see the bill passed in Texas during the current legislative session. The work of organizations like it continues in states across the country, regardless of who sits in the Oval Office, walks the floors of Congress, or sits in a state legislature.
Through legislation such as the Every Mother Matters Act, policymakers can affirm their commitment to offer women and their children better than abortion.
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