Texas Senate approves bill to bar abortion drugs

Texas Republicans in the state Senate on Wednesday approved a measure to restrict the sale and production of abortion-inducing drugs in the Lone Star State.

The state has already banned abortion in nearly all circumstances, though the matter of the drugs has remained the subject of legal scrutiny. Notably, the bill includes a provision that would allow any Texas citizen to sue a manufacturer or provider of such drugs. The state's abortion ban includes a similar provision.

“Protecting life is a priority of the Texas Senate and mine and we passed SB 6 today to ensure that abortion-inducing drugs are not distributed in Texas for the purpose of obtaining an illegal abortion," Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, R-Texas, said in a statement. "The Texas Senate will continue passing this pro-life protection each legislative session until House Democrats return from their ‘vacation’ and get back to work for the people of Texas.”

His mention of a Democratic "vacation" referred to lawmakers of the opposition party leaving the state to deny the legislature a quorum and thereby block an unrelated redistricting effort.

Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent at Just the News. Follow him on X.