<\/p>\n
People attend the Texas GOP convention in the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston Friday, June 12, 2026.<\/p>\n
Melissa Phillip\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n
Abortion is already illegal in Texas, but a battle is brewing between factions of the anti-abortion movement over whether lawmakers should go even further, by banning in vitro fertilization<\/a> and punishing women who get abortions.\u00a0<\/p>\n At this month\u2019s Texas GOP convention, delegates added both policies to the party platform<\/a>, calling IVF \u201cdestructive\u201d and saying anyone who has an abortion should face criminal penalties.<\/p>\n The push for more hardline restrictions shows how the state\u2019s most extreme anti-abortion groups, known as \u201cabolitionists,\u201d are gaining sway.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The new platform also puts the party at odds with some of its top leaders, including Vice President\u00a0JD Vance and Attorney General Ken Paxton, who declared in recent days<\/a> that he is a \u201cstrong supporter of IVF.\u201d And it comes as Texas Republicans have moved to soften a strict abortion ban<\/a> that women said put their lives in danger.<\/p>\n READ MORE: Texas ‘bounty hunter’ law targeting out-of-state abortion pills takes effect<\/a><\/p>\n The GOP platform is not a binding document, but the party uses it to pressure lawmakers and it often does influence the policy they set.<\/p>\n Some in Texas worry it’s a sign of what\u2019s to come.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cIn the near term, in 2027, I think it\u2019s almost impossible that bill would pass,\u201d said Amy Bresnan, a lobbyist who has been involved in abortion policy in Texas and is pro-abortion rights. \u201cIn 2029, I don\u2019t know.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Anti-abortion groups were prominent at the GOP convention in Houston, putting up booths and handing out flyers fighting over the proposed \u201cprotect life\u201d language.\u00a0<\/p>\n The party adopted stances asking lawmakers to advance policy defending \u201cequal protection under the law from the moment of fertilization,\u201d a concept pushed by hardliners who believe the termination of a pregnancy should be equivalent to homicide. The platform also called for protection from \u201cdestructive practices, such as IVF and commercial surrogacy.\u201d And it struck language that exempted women from criminal penalties related to their own abortion.\u00a0<\/p>\n Abolish Abortion Texas, a sponsor of the convention, celebrated the changes, even as other prominent Texas anti-abortion groups say they don\u2019t agree.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe won the debate fair and square,\u201d the group said on social media. \u201cAnyone claiming otherwise is simply in denial that Texas conservatives support equal protection of the laws for preborn babies.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n While the opinions of the party carry no inherent weight for lawmakers, the Texas GOP has taken steps to campaign against Republican incumbents it views as insufficiently conservative. Proof of its clout was also reflected in the convention speakers, including Gov. Greg Abbott, US Sen. Ted Cruz and House Speaker Dustin Burrows, the first sitting speaker to address the convention.<\/p>\n Incoming chair D\u2019rinda Randall announced that delegates chose \u201cprotect life\u201d as the eighth top priority for the party this year, according to a published<\/a> letter.\u00a0<\/p>\n The platform puts the party out of step with most Texas GOP lawmakers and with federal Republicans.<\/p>\n READ MORE: Texas bill that would clarify abortion access in emergencies draws rare bipartisan support<\/a><\/p>\n Texas has been deliberate in targeting doctors, family and others who help women get abortions in some way, but not women themselves. Last session, lawmakers passed a bipartisan bill to make it clearer when doctors can perform an abortion during a medical emergency<\/a>, after lawsuits and widespread outcry from women who said their lives had been put at risk<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Burrows and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick did not respond to requests for comment on the GOP platform\u2019s anti-abortion changes. The governor\u2019s office released a statement that did not directly address them.<\/p>\n \u201cTexas will continue leading the nation in protecting both mothers and their children,\u201d Andrew Mahaleris, press secretary for Abbott, said in a statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n Federally, Republicans have defended IVF, describing it as pro-family. Some have shied away from harsher abortion penalties as a matter of political reality.\u00a0<\/p>\n Vance recently said in an interview that he hears \u201cfrom the abortion abolition movement all the time, and my response to them is, we can\u2019t be immune to the realities of modern politics.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n But since Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, Mary Ziegler, who studies the history and politics of abortion policy, says the abolition movement has grown.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cThere’s a lot of debate within the movement about what this idea of personhood actually requires, and if it either, in terms of practicality or logical consistency, it requires punishing women, and that was a very fringe position a decade or two ago,\u201d said Ziegler, a professor and legal scholar at the University of California – Davis. \u201cThat wing of the movement has gained more influence.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n READ MORE: At least six Texas children under age 12 got abortions out of state in 2023<\/a><\/p>\n Ziegler also said that as states like Texas continue to crack down on medications that can be prescribed to induce abortions, the movement may realize that, as a practical matter, it\u2019s easier to punish women than doctors.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt turns out that it’s very hard to punish doctors when most people are getting abortion medication from states where abortion is legal,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n While Ziegler said that in some states \u201cabolitionists have a lot of influence in the state legislature,\u201d Texas isn\u2019t necessarily there yet.\u00a0<\/p>\n But that doesn\u2019t mean the idea among powerful anti-abortion groups isn\u2019t being debated.<\/p>\n John\u00a0Seago, president of Texas Right to Life, one of the most influential groups in the state, said right now the prospect of imposing new criminal penalties is \u201ckind of like a family conversation amongst Republicans.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Seago wouldn\u2019t directly say whether the organization would support or oppose punishments for women who have abortions, only that it\u2019s not their top priority right now. Currently, he said they\u2019re focused on limiting access to abortion drugs. On the issue of IVF, he said they aren\u2019t advocating for a ban, but want to regulate the industry to avoid any destruction of embryos.<\/p>\n At least one powerful anti-abortion group is fighting the recent changes in Texas\u2019 platform.\u00a0<\/p>\n Amy O\u2019Donnell, executive director at Texas Alliance for Life, said punishing women will ultimately work against the goals of the movement. She described situations where a woman may need help that could ultimately lead her away from an abortion, but won\u2019t seek it out of fear of prosecution. She also described situations where a woman\u2019s life could be in danger, but she won\u2019t seek medical attention out of fear.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to hold abortion providers accountable and help women choose life,\u201d O\u2019Donnell said. \u201cRepealing these statutes opens the door for prosecuting women for homicide instead, and that is not going to be an advancement for the pro-life movement.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n READ MORE: How many Texas women travel for abortions \u2014 and where do they go? This new study has answers.<\/a><\/p>\n Democrats in the state have warned that the laws against abortion will hurt women.<\/p>\n “The Texas Republican Party has once again shown how extreme its agenda has become,\u201d the Texas Democratic Party said in a statement. \u201cBy removing protections for women facing pregnancy complications and calling for an end to IVF, Texas Republicans are interfering with some of the most personal decisions families will ever make.\u201d<\/p>\n The state\u2019s abortion ban, which offers no exception for rape or fetal abnormality, continues to drive women to leave Texas for care<\/a>. Despite the state\u2019s near-total ban on the procedure, about 43% of Texans said the state\u2019s current abortion policy\u00a0should be less<\/a> strict and 53% said it should be legal<\/a> for women to get abortion medication, according to 2026 polling from the Texas Politics Project.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Bresnan said while anti-abortion groups duke it out over the platform changes, she\u2019ll be watching lawmakers. So far, when these types of policies have been introduced in Texas, they haven’t gotten anywhere.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cPeople should be watching legislation closer than platforms,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"People attend the Texas GOP convention in the George R. 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