Texas Tries New Anti-Abortion Strategy After High Court Loss
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The long, bitter battle over Texas' new efforts to further restrict abortion has begun in the Republican-controlled Legislature.
Top conservatives have shifted strategy from offering past legislation they say protected women's health to instead saying they're safeguarding fetuses. The change comes after the U.S. Supreme Court last summer voided much of Texas tough, past abortion limits.
One bill being heard Wednesday by a Senate committee would mostly ban a commonly used second-trimester abortion procedure, "dilation and evacuation." Federal courts have blocked similar bans in four other states.
Another major proposal requires burying or cremating fetal remains. A Texas health department rule doing the same thing already was blocked in federal court.
A third proposal bans donating fetal tissue after the 2015 release of secretly recorded videos from Planned Parenthood clinics.
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