April 10, 2019      4:22 PM

After marathon hearing on abortion ban, Chairman Leach will have his resolve tested in political standoff with Tinderholt

Tinderholt surprised the committee by not offering compromise language; Chair Leach vows he will not vote out a bill that includes criminal penalties for women: “I don’t want those post-abortion recovery efforts to take place behind bars and that’s what I fear this bill does.”

In a marathon 11-hour hearing in the Texas House Judiciary Committee, Chairman Jeff Leach, R-Plano, heard from hundreds of anti-abortion activists on Rep. Tony Tinderholt’s bill to ban abortion outright, HB 896.

The bill by Tinderholt, of Arlington, would expand the legal definition of murder to include a fetus at any point after conception and would expand the full legal penalties, including capital punishment, to those found guilty. That would include the woman who sought to terminate her pregnancy.

The bill was heard despite the fact that Chairman Leach, a staunch conservative, has vowed “no bill will move out of this committee that seeks to hold the woman either civilly or criminally liable.”

To be clear, Leach had said he would hold a hearing on pro-life bills when a hearing was requested, but there will be no votes on bills that hold women liable.

By Andrew Turner

Copyright April 10, 2019, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved