Gov. Perry: Texas Will Continue to Build on Our Legacy of Life

Press Release

Gov. Rick Perry today rallied pro-life advocates from around the country at the National Right to Life Convention. The governor has called a second special session to protect women and the unborn in Texas.

"In the four decades since Roe v. Wade, more than 50 million children have lost their chance at life. Faced with this scar on our national conscience, Texas has pursued policies to protect unborn children, and the laws we will pass in the coming weeks will build on that legacy of life," Gov. Perry said. "Some have tried to make this a partisan issue. It's not. This is a human rights issue, and too important a cause to allow the unruly actions of a few to stand in its way."

The governor has called on lawmakers to pass measures to protect the health and safety of women and babies, including banning abortion after 20 weeks gestation, when studies have shown that babies can feel pain. The governor has also urged lawmakers to hold abortion clinics to the same standards of cleanliness and safety as other surgical facilities in the state.

Gov. Perry commended the men, women and organizations that have worked to build a culture of life in Texas and around the nation by giving women options and information about choices other than abortion.

Over the past 10 years, Texas has taken important steps to protect life and ensure women have all the facts before making such a life-ending decision, including passing laws requiring both parental notification and parental consent to their minor daughter's abortion, funding and promoting alternatives to abortion, and passing a law requiring a mother considering an abortion to have a sonogram first.

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