HB991 - Relating to abortion, including civil liability for distribution of abortion-inducing drugs and duties of Internet service providers; creating a criminal offense; authorizing a private civil right of action.

      By: Toth H.B. No. 991       A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT   relating to abortion, including civil liability for distribution of   abortion-inducing drugs and duties of Internet service providers;   creating a criminal offense; authorizing a private civil right of   action.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  This Act shall be known as the Women and Child   Safety Act.          SECTION 2.  The legislature finds that:                (1)  human life begins at fertilization;                (2)  abortion is a murderous act of violence that   purposefully and knowingly terminates a human life in the womb;                (3)  unborn human beings are entitled to the full and   equal protection of the laws that prohibit violence against other   human beings;                (4)  the United States Supreme Court's ruling in Dobbs   v. Jackson Women's Health Organization , No. 19-1392 (U.S. June 24,   2022), correctly overruled the lawless and unconstitutional   pronouncements in Roe v. Wade , 410 U.S. 113 (1973) and Planned   Parenthood of Southern Pennsylvania v. Casey , 505 U.S. 833 (1992),   which had invented and perpetuated a supposed constitutional right   to abortion that cannot be found anywhere in the text of the United   States Constitution;                (5)  so-called abortion funds that operate in this   state have been funding and otherwise aiding or abetting criminal   abortions performed in violation of the laws of this state,   exposing themselves and each of their donors to felony criminal   prosecution;                (6)  the abortion funds and their donors are not and   never were protected by an injunction in any abortion-related case   because they are not parties to those cases, and there has never   been an injunction that restrains a state official from prosecuting   abortion funds and their donors who aided or abetted abortions   performed in violation of the laws of this state;                (7)  the abortion funds and their donors are not and   never were protected from criminal prosecution by Roe v. Wade , 410   U.S. 113 (1973), because:                      (A)  there is no constitutional right to pay for   another person's abortion;                      (B)  abortion funds and their donors lack   third-party standing to assert the supposed constitutional rights   of women seeking abortions; and                      (C)  any immunity from prosecution that the   abortionist might have enjoyed on account of Roe does not preclude   the imposition of accomplice liability on abortion funds and their   donors;                (8)  it is a federal crime to mail abortion-inducing   drugs or to receive them in the mail, punishable by five years   imprisonment, under 18 U.S.C. Section 1461;                (9)  it is also a federal crime to transport   abortion-inducing drugs in interstate or foreign commerce under 18   U.S.C. Section 1462(c);                (10)  these federal statutes are fully enforceable now   that Roe has been overruled, and the statute of limitations for each   of these crimes is five years;                (11)  violations of 18 U.S.C. Sections 1461-1462 are   predicate offenses under the federal Racketeer Influenced and   Corrupt Organizations Act (18 U.S.C. Section 1961 et seq.), which   exposes distribution networks of abortion-inducing drugs and their   donors to civil racketeering liability as well as criminal   prosecution as a racketeering enterprise under federal law;                (12)  the legislature calls on the attorney general and   each district attorney in this state to investigate and prosecute   abortion funds and each of their donors for aiding or abetting   criminal abortion in this state in violation of the laws of this   state; and                (13)  the legislature calls on state and federal   prosecutors in this state to investigate and prosecute every   distribution network for abortion-inducing drugs under federal   racketeering laws as well as 18 U.S.C. Sections 1461-1462.          SECTION 3.  Subtitle H, Title 2, Health and Safety Code, is   amended by adding Chapter 171A to read as follows:   CHAPTER 171A. ABORTION-INDUCING DRUGS AND FACILITATION OF   ABORTION; ENFORCEMENT OF ABORTION LAWS   SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS           Sec. 171A.001.  DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:                 (1)     "Abortion" means the act of using, prescribing,   administering, procuring, or selling an instrument, medicine,   drug, or any other substance, device, or means with the purpose to   terminate a pregnancy of a woman, with knowledge that the   termination by any of those means will with reasonable likelihood   cause the death of a living human being in the womb. The term does   not include:                       (A)     in vitro fertilization or fertility   treatments of any type;                       (B)     the use, prescription, administration,   procuring, or selling of an emergency contraceptive, including Plan   B and morning-after pills, intrauterine devices, or any other type   of contraceptive; or                       (C)  an act performed with the purpose to:                             (i)     save the life or preserve the health of   the unborn child;                             (ii)     remove a dead unborn child caused by   spontaneous abortion; or                             (iii)  remove or treat an ectopic pregnancy.                 (2)     "Abortion-inducing drug" means a drug or   medication, including mifepristone and misoprostol, that is used to   terminate the life of an unborn child. The term does not include:                       (A)     an emergency contraceptive, including Plan B   and morning-after pills, intrauterine devices, or any other type of   contraceptive; or                       (B)     drugs or medications that are possessed or   distributed for a purpose that does not include the termination of a   pregnancy, including for the treatment of an unrelated medical   condition.                 (3)     "Abortion funds" means a corporation,   organization, government, governmental agency, business trust,   estate, trust, partnership, association, or any other legal entity   that:                       (A)     exists for the purpose of aiding or abetting   elective abortions; and                       (B)     pays for, reimburses, or subsidizes in any   way the costs associated with obtaining an elective abortion.                 (4)     "Abortion provider" means a person who performs   elective abortions.                 (5)     "Elective abortion" means an abortion other than   those performed or induced in response to a medical emergency.                 (6)     "Fertilization" means the fusion of a human   spermatozoon with a human ovum.                 (7)     "Governmental entity" means this state, a state   agency, or a political subdivision of this state.                 (8)     "Human being" means an individual member of the   species homo sapiens at any state of development beginning at   fertilization.                 (9)     "Information content provider" means a person who   is responsible, wholly or partly, for the creation or development   of information provided through the Internet or any other   interactive computer service.                 (10)     "Interactive computer service" means an   information service, system, or access software provider that   provides or enables computer access by multiple users to a computer   server, including specifically a service or system that provides   access to the Internet and such systems operated or services   offered by libraries or educational institutions.                 (11)     "Medical emergency" means a condition in which an   abortion is necessary to preserve the life of a pregnant woman whose   life is endangered by a physical disorder, physical illness, or   physical injury, including a life-endangering physical condition   caused by or arising from the pregnancy itself.                 (12)     "Unborn child" means an individual organism of   the species homo sapiens in any stage of gestation from   fertilization until live birth.                 (13)     "Woman" means an individual whose biological sex   is female, including an individual with XX chromosomes and an   individual with a uterus, regardless of any gender identity that   the individual attempts to assert or claim.   SUBCHAPTER B. PROTECTION FROM ABORTION-INDUCING DRUGS           Sec.   171A.051.     PROHIBITIONS RELATED TO ABORTION-INDUCING   DRUGS. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), a person may not:                 (1)     manufacture, possess, or distribute an   abortion-inducing drug in this state;                 (2)     mail, transport, deliver, or provide an   abortion-inducing drug in any manner to or from any person or   location in this state;                 (3)     provide information on how to obtain an   abortion-inducing drug;                 (4)     create, edit, upload, publish, host, maintain, or   register a domain name for an Internet website, platform, or other   interactive computer service that assists or facilitates a person's   effort in obtaining an abortion-inducing drug;                 (5)     create, edit, program, or distribute any   application or software for use on a computer or an electronic   device that is intended to enable individuals to obtain an   abortion-inducing drug or to facilitate an individual's access to   an abortion-inducing drug; or                 (6)     engage in conduct that would make a person   criminally responsible under Chapter 7, Penal Code, as a party to a   criminal act described by Subdivision (1) or (2).           (b)     Notwithstanding any other law, Subsection (a) does not   prohibit:                 ( [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]