The TCC is the statewide association of the 15 Roman Catholic dioceses in our state and it is our responsibility to advocate for the public policy positions of the active Bishops of Texas.

While we did support the original filed version of HB 2555, we are deeply disappointed in the committee substitute introduced on April 20, 2011. Based on Catholic moral teaching we are obliged to oppose it. The substitute specifically eliminates the parental consent language that was passed in 2005, significantly reducing parental involvement. While there are problems with the way the judicial bypass works in some jurisdictions, it is far better to look for ways to strengthen parental consent rather than taking away current parental consent altogether. We respectfully ask the House State Affairs committee to oppose this bill based on the damage it does to parental rights in Texas.

The Texas Bishops support gradualistic means to end abortion in Texas, including strengthening the judicial bypass law, in order to strengthen the parent-child relationship and provide parents with the opportunity to guide and teach their daughters.

Read our policy paper on strengthening efforts to restrict judicial bypass here.

(Updated from 4/21/2011 post)