Texas Catholic Bishops Support Compromise on Access to Sonogram Bill: CSHB 15

AUSTIN—In light of recent changes to the bill language of the Access to Sonogram Bill in the Senate, the Texas Catholic Conference reiterates its support of the compromise bill, CSHB 15. Last week several Texas Catholic Bishops came to the capitol for the Catholic Faith in Action Advocacy Day and met personally with a number of members of the House and Senate to express their support of the compromise.

“Laws must be in place that protect the life of the unborn child, and that educate mothers who may not realize that the life in their womb is exactly that – a unique, irreplaceable human life,” said Jennifer Allmon, Associate Director of the Texas Catholic Conference. “We worked very hard to add the amendment in the House to require the private 24 hour advance meeting with the physician. CSHB 15 will ensure that the 24 hour waiting period covers 93% of the abortions that take place in Texas. We recognize the hard work of many in the House and Senate to reach an agreement on these principles, and also that there are times when a compromise is required to obtain passage of a bill that represents over 90% of the desired outcomes of the original legislation.”

“Providing mothers access to the sonograms of their unborn children is a standard of care allows mothers to be more informed about the risks and complications associated with abortion. These consultations will save lives,” said Allmon.

he Texas Catholic Conference is the association of the 15 Roman Catholic dioceses of the State of Texas and is the official public policy voice of the Bishops of Texas. For more information on the Texas Catholic Conference, visit www.TXCatholic.org.

Full testimony from the Texas Catholic Conference on the Sonogram Bill follows:

Testimony in Support CSHB 15 - Access to Sonogram

Good morning Mr. Chairman and members, my name is Jennifer Allmon and I am the associate director of the Texas Catholic Conference. 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.

As many of you are aware, the Catholic Church teaches that life is a precious gift given to all of us from our Creator. It is a gift that should be nurtured and protected at all stages. Laws must be in place that protect the life of the unborn child and educate mothers who may not realize that the life in their womb is exactly that – a unique, irreplaceable human life.

The Texas Catholic Conference supports CSHB 15 as a gradualistic approach to reduce abortion rates in Texas by giving mothers access to their ultrasound images and to their unborn children’s heartbeat. It is our hope that providing this information to mothers will help them realize the humanity of their unborn children and choose life.

We have previously testified in this committee and in the House regarding the principles that we desire in informed consent and sonogram legislation. In addition to providing access to a sonogram 24 hours before an abortion occurs, another critical principle for the Bishops is requiring that a mother must have a face-to-face conversation with a physician, not a physician’s agent, 24 hours before the abortion procedure can take place. We believe that this standard of care allows mothers to be more informed about the risks and complications associated with abortion. We think such consultations will save lives. We know from our abortion alternatives programs that when mothers are fully informed about their pregnancies, they are more likely to choose life.

We worked very hard with Rep. Callegari to add the amendment in the House to require the private 24 hour advance meeting with the physician. We recognize the hard work of many in the House and Senate to reach an agreement on these principles, and also that there are times when a compromise is required to obtain passage of a bill that represents over 90% of the desired outcomes of the original legislation.

While we pray and work for an end to abortion, Pope John Paul II clearly taught that “When it is not possible to overturn or completely abrogate a pro-abortion law, an elected official, whose absolute personal opposition to procured abortion was well known, could licitly support proposals aimed at limiting the harm done by such a law and at lessening its negative consequences at the level of general opinion and public morality. This does not in fact represent an illicit cooperation with an unjust law, but rather a legitimate and proper attempt to limit its evil aspects (Pope John Paul II, Evangelium Vitae).” It is based on this teaching that the Texas Catholic Bishops accept the compromise offered in this bill regarding the county bracket which allows women in rural counties to choose to waive their right to the private informed consent meeting and sonogram that would otherwise take place 24 hours prior to an abortion being performed.

We thank all members involved in this effort, and look forward to final passage of this bill.

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