Yesterday we linked you to several stories reporting on assertions by Texas prosecutors that a state law could make doctors performing some abortions eligible for the death penalty. Today the Fort Worth Star-Telegram follows up. LINK
Joe Pojman, executive director of Texas Alliance for Life, said his group advocated for the new Texas laws and asked Swinford to request the attorney general's opinion.
"When we were lobbying for all those laws, we were very clear that the penalty for physicians violating the law ... is either a Class A misdemeanor or a third-degree felony," said Pojman, of the statewide anti-abortion advocacy group. "It was not capital murder."
No matter what, the law needs to be clarified to avoid a chilling effect, said Peggy Romberg, director of the Women's Health and Family Planning Association of Texas, a statewide family planning advocacy group that supports abortion rights.
"Just the possibility that physicians could be charged with capital murder for making a [paperwork] mistake, ... that could result in physicians not providing care," Romberg said. "We already have situations where fewer doctors are willing to provide abortions because of harassment.
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