Texas 2021 - 87th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1671 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	87R12078 SCL-F
2	2	By: Hall S.B. No. 1671
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to declaring void certain federal court decisions related
8	8	to abortion and prohibiting cooperation with the enforcement of
9	9	those decisions; creating a private cause of action; creating a
10	10	criminal offense.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the "Roe v.
13	13	Wade Is Unconstitutional Act."
14	14	SECTION 2. PURPOSE. The purpose of this Act is to exercise
15	15	the sovereign authority of this state, consistent with the
16	16	Constitution of the United States, to declare and treat as void the
17	17	opinions and judgments of the Supreme Court of the United States in
18	18	Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973), and its judicial progeny that
19	19	claim to prohibit states from providing the equal protection of the
20	20	laws to people who have not yet been born.
21	21	SECTION 3. INTENT. The Legislature intends to act pursuant
22	22	to the following provisions, among others, of the Texas
23	23	Constitution:
24	24	(1) "Texas is a free and independent State, subject
25	25	only to the Constitution of the United States, and the maintenance
26	26	of our free institutions and the perpetuity of the Union depend upon
27	27	the preservation of the right of local self-government, unimpaired
28	28	to all the States" as provided under Section 1, Article I, Texas
29	29	Constitution;
30	30	(2) "All political power is inherent in the people,
31	31	and all free governments are founded on their authority, and
32	32	instituted for their benefit" as provided under Section 2, Article
33	33	I, Texas Constitution; and
34	34	(3) "No citizen of this State shall be deprived of
35	35	life, liberty, property, privileges or immunities, or in any manner
36	36	disfranchised, except by the due course of the law of the land" as
37	37	provided under Section 19, Article I, Texas Constitution.
38	38	SECTION 4. STATE AUTHORITY REGARDING ABORTION. Title 1,
39	39	Government Code, is amended by adding Chapter 2 to read as follows:
40	40	CHAPTER 2. STATE AUTHORITY
41	41	SUBCHAPTER A. AUTHORITY REGARDING ABORTION
42	42	Sec. 2.001. LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS. The legislature finds
43	43	the following:
44	44	(1) "The [United States] Constitution does not
45	45	constrain the States' ability to regulate or even prohibit
46	46	abortion" under June Med. Servs. L.L.C. v. Russo, 140 S. Ct. 2103,
47	47	2149 (2020) (Thomas, J., dissenting);
48	48	(2) Section 2, Article VI, United States Constitution,
49	49	provides that "[The United States Constitution], and the Laws of
50	50	the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof. . .
51	51	shall be the supreme Law of the Land";
52	52	(3) the Tenth Amendment to the United States
53	53	Constitution affirms that "The powers not delegated to the United
54	54	States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are
55	55	reserved to the States respectively, or to the people";
56	56	(4) legislators, as elected officials, have solemnly
57	57	sworn to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution and laws of
58	58	the United States and of this State, so help us God;
59	59	(5) though prudence dictates that states should not
60	60	declare actions of the federal judiciary void for light or
61	61	indefinite causes, the legislature does not concede that the
62	62	federal judiciary is infallible nor its powers unlimited;
63	63	(6) nothing in the United States Constitution provides
64	64	for a right to abortion of preborn human beings;
65	65	(7) the concept of the federal judiciary compelling
66	66	states to allow the practice of prenatal homicide runs completely
67	67	contrary to the text and principles of the United States
68	68	Constitution;
69	69	(8) the legislature denies that the power to authorize
70	70	the genocide of more than 62 million preborn human beings over the
71	71	last 48 years and counting is within the legitimate powers of the
72	72	federal judiciary; and
73	73	(9) actions of the federal judiciary purporting to
74	74	provide a right to abortion are not made in pursuance of the United
75	75	States Constitution and consequently are not the supreme law of the
76	76	land.
77	77	Sec. 2.002. DEFINITION. In this subchapter, "Roe v. Wade"
78	78	means the opinions and judgments of the United States Supreme Court
79	79	in Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973), and its judicial progeny, past
80	80	and future, including Planned Parenthood v. Casey, 505 U.S. 833
81	81	(1992), and June Med. Servs. L.L.C. v. Russo, 140 S. Ct. 2103
82	82	(2020).
83	83	Sec. 2.003. ROE V. WADE VOID. Texas exercises its authority
84	84	through this chapter, consistent with the United States
85	85	Constitution, to declare and treat as void the opinions and
86	86	judgments of the United States Supreme Court in Roe v. Wade that
87	87	claim to prohibit states from providing the equal protection of the
88	88	laws to people who have not yet been born.
89	89	Sec. 2.004. ENFORCING ABORTION RESTRICTIONS AND
90	90	PROHIBITIONS. This state and all political subdivisions of this
91	91	state shall enforce prohibitions and other restrictions of abortion
92	92	without regard to Roe v. Wade.
93	93	Sec. 2.005. RESTRICTION ON USE OF STATE AND LOCAL
94	94	RESOURCES. This state and all political subdivisions of this state
95	95	are prohibited from using any personnel or financial resources to
96	96	enforce, administer, or cooperate with Roe v. Wade to prevent this
97	97	state or its political subdivisions from protecting the lives of
98	98	people who have not yet been born.
99	99	Sec. 2.006. PROHIBITING COOPERATION WITH FEDERAL
100	100	GOVERNMENT TO ENFORCE ROE V. WADE. (a) No government agency or
101	101	official of this state or its political subdivisions, including any
102	102	sheriff, deputy sheriff, or other law enforcement officer, shall
103	103	give force or effect to any court order that conflicts with this
104	104	subchapter.
105	105	(b) Cooperative agreements with federal agencies
106	106	notwithstanding, no law enforcement agency or law enforcement
107	107	officer in this state shall assist or cooperate in any way with the
108	108	arrest or imprisonment of any government official or individual who
109	109	complies with this section and refuses to comply with any contrary
110	110	court order. Such contrary orders shall include any order to levy on
111	111	property, seize bank accounts, arrest the person, or serve process
112	112	for the purpose of causing any person to violate this section, or
113	113	for the purpose of punishing any person for the failure to comply
114	114	with an order contrary to this section.
115	115	(c) A federal officer or agent who arrests any state or
116	116	local government official for compliance with this section shall be
117	117	subject to arrest by state or local law enforcement.
118	118	Sec. 2.007. ATTORNEY GENERAL. The attorney general shall,
119	119	on a request of an employee or former employee of this state or a
120	120	political subdivision of this state, provide for the defense of any
121	121	action brought against the employee or former employee for an act or
122	122	omission in the scope of employment relating to this subchapter.
123	123	Sec. 2.008. CRIMINAL OFFENSE; CIVIL LIABILITY. (a) A
124	124	person who violates Section 2.005 or 2.006 commits an offense. An
125	125	offense under this subsection is a Class A misdemeanor.
126	126	(b) A person who commits a violation described in Subsection
127	127	(a) while acting in the person's official capacity is subject to
128	128	termination from employment to the extent allowable under state law
129	129	and, if the person is a public servant at the time of conviction,
130	130	shall forfeit the person's position or office.
131	131	(c) Any aggrieved party may bring a private cause of action
132	132	against a person who commits a violation described in Subsection
133	133	(a).
134	134	SECTION 5. APPEARANCE NOT REQUIRED. This state and its
135	135	political subdivisions, and agents of this state and its political
136	136	subdivisions, are not required to enter an appearance, special or
137	137	otherwise, in any federal suit challenging this Act.
138	138	SECTION 6. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act takes effect
139	139	immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members
140	140	elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas
141	141	Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for
142	142	immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2021.