Democrats in Texas are introducing new pieces of legislation to remove safeguards surrounding the sanctity of life.

For decades, Texas was considered a conservative stronghold. The Lone Star State’s policies widely championed the sanctity of life, and outgoing Republican Governor Greg Abbott made sure of this during his 12-year tenure. 

Now, that all could change. 

After a blue tsunami struck the country last week, Democrats will control Texas for the first time in over 30 years. While the newly elected officials, including Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa and Senator-elect James Talarico, won’t take office until January 2027, several Texas Democratic state lawmakers are already making plays to undo the protections in place for children in the womb. 

“It’s heartbreaking to see in real time just how high of a priority Democrats consider the legalization of killing infants. Across the country, as a result of the midterms, Democrats are showing their hand and revealing just how extreme their agendas are,” Joy Stockbauer, policy analyst for Family Research Council’s Center for Human Dignity, told The Washington Stand. “They campaign on lowering gas prices, but when push comes to shove, their priority is making it easier to kill babies.” 

In the Texas House of Representatives, Democratic Rep. Donna Howard, filed House Bill 126 on November 9, a bill seeking to abolish the state’s current bans on abortion. Texas has three laws that protect life, including the Texas Heartbeat Ban that was enacted in 2021, which “prohibits physicians from performing or inducing an abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected.” Howard’s bill additionally aims to repeal Texas’s ban on child mutilation procedures for minors. 

State Rep. Rhetta Bowers (D) also introduced HB 987 that would maintain the Heartbeat law but undo HB 1280 and the 1925 Texas abortion laws that criminalized the act. 

HB 1280, also known as the Human Life Protection Act of 2021, “amends the Health and Safety Code to create a second-degree felony offense for a person who knowingly performs, induces, or attempts an abortion and to provide for the enhancement of that penalty to a first-degree felony if an unborn child dies as a result of the offense. The bill also subjects a person who engages in the prohibited conduct to a civil penalty of not less than $100,000 for each violation and sets out exceptions to the application of the offense. The bill prohibits a physician from taking an action that constitutes such an exception if, at the time the abortion was performed, induced, or attempted, the person knew the risk of death or a substantial impairment of a major bodily function arose from a claim or diagnosis that the female would engage in conduct that might result in the female’s death or in substantial impairment of a major bodily function.”

In the Texas Senate, state Senator Carol Alvarado (D) filed Senate Bill 231, which would allow for children conceived in rape or incest to be killed without a police report or evidence.

State Senator Molly Cook (D) also filed SB 243, aiming to legalize abortion when two doctors confirm a baby in utero has a “fatal condition,” and require an ethics committee to review cases beyond 24 weeks gestation. 

But the sanctity of life isn’t the only issue now at greater risk in Texas. 

Newly elected Democratic Chief Justice Maggie Ellis of the Texas Supreme Court has said she plans to eliminate a religious accommodation for judges who refuse to perform wedding ceremonies for same-sex couples. Ellis identifies as a “queer woman” herself. 

“It’s sad that an incoming Justice’s first public statement is one against religious freedom. We’ve won in litigation on this very issue,” said Kelly Shackelford, president, CEO, and chief counsel for First Liberty Institute in a press release. “Religious freedom and accommodation are fundamental rights rooted in the history and tradition of America. The new Chief Justice is off to a regrettable start.”

Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America, noted in a post on her X account, “Elections have consequences.”