A Republican lawmaker in Texas has introduced a bill that would allow the death penalty for women who have abortions.
“Today, I filed HB 3326 to Abolish Abortion in Texas,” Texas State Rep. Bryan Slaton (R) said on Twitter.
“The bill will end the discriminatory practice of terminating the life of innocent children, and will guarantee the equal protection of the laws to all Texans, no matter how small,” he said.
Under HB 3326, a person who has an abortion or performs an abortion could be charged with assault or homicide, which is punishable by death, the Texas Tribune reported.
Slaton’s legislation also says that certain parties may have to testify in cases of death or “bodily injury to an unborn child,” and offers immunity to those that do.
The legislation also directs the state’s attorney general to “direct a state agency to enforce those laws, regardless of any contrary federal statute, regulation, treaty, order, or court decision,” the newspaper reported.
The bill would also ban abortions at fertilization, whereas most abortions in Texas are prohibited after 20 weeks.
Slaton’s proposal is not the first time a Texas lawmaker has proposed the death penalty for abortion. Texas state Rep. Tony Tinderholt (R) introduced a similar measure in 2019 classifying abortion as a homicide.
The legislation comes as GOP states seek to aggressively restrict or ban abortions in an effort to get the Supreme Court to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) signed a bill into law on Tuesday banning abortions unless it is to save the life of the mother.