A Democrat lawmaker has filed legislation to repeal “medically unnecessary and outdated health care restrictions,” targeting restrictions on abortion and gender mutilation surgeries for minors.
State Rep. Donna Howard (D–Austin), a self-described “leader on women’s health policy” and the current chair of the Texas Women’s Health Caucus, introduced House Bill 126 on Monday in her latest attempt to reduce protections for unborn infants.
The bill begins with a new definition for the term “abortion.” Whereas Section 245.002 of the Health and Safety Code currently specifies that abortion causes the “death of an unborn child of a woman known to be pregnant,” HB 126 describes the procedure as ending “the medical condition of pregnancy.”
Howard also changes the definition of “postpartum depression” under Section 32.046(e) of the Health and Safety Code to a disorder experienced by “an individual,” rather than “a woman,” specifically.
Section 9 of Howard’s bill seeks to repeal 46 provisions entirely.
These include Chapter 170A of the Health and Safety Code, which describes the prohibition of abortion and its exceptions, and Subchapter Y, Chapter 161, Health and Safety Code, which prohibits certain “gender reassignment procedures.” Subchapter Y was previously designated “Subchapter X,” and is listed as such in Section 9, HB 126.
Additionally, the bill seeks to repeal Chapter 33 of the Family Code, which addresses abortion procedures for minors and parental notice.
Section 2 of the bill removes several items from the list of prohibited practices for physicians or medical license applicants as specified under Section 164.052(a) of the Occupations Code.
The removed items include, but are not limited to, the performance of a “criminal abortion,” certain third-trimester abortions, an abortion on an unemancipated minor without consent of the minor’s parents or guardians, and certain “dismemberment abortions.”
Notably, Section 2 of HB 126 also removes “gender transitioning or gender reassignment procedure or treatment in violation of Section 161.702 of the Health and Safety Code,” from the list of prohibited procedures.
Such procedures and “treatments,” which are specifically designated for children in Section 161.702, include castration, vaginoplasty, phalloplasty, mastectomy, and the administration of “prescription drugs that induce transient or permanent infertility.”
Additionally, Section 4 of HB 126 seeks to remove the Chapter 33 exception from Section 266.010(a) of the Family Code, which specifies the circumstances in which certain foster children can consent to medical care. Chapter 33 of the Family Code describes the age of consent limitations to obtain an abortion.
Howard has authored several previous bills seeking to reduce restrictions on abortion.
Howard’s House Bill 257 sought to redefine the term “pregnant” under Section 170A.001(3) of the Health and Safety Code to mean “an embryo or fetus develop[ing] within the human body,” rather than “a living unborn child within the female’s body.”
HB 257 also sought to amend Section 170A.002 of the Health and Safety Code, which would allow for certain abortions deemed “necessary to preserve the pregnant patient’s physical or mental health, including preservation of the patient’s fertility.” Section 170A.002 currently only allows abortions to prevent the mother’s death or prevent “serious risk of substantial impairment of a major bodily function.”
The bill filing comes shortly after Attorney General-elect Nathan Johnson declared he will “not pursue the judicially absurd position” of suing out-of-state doctors for mailing abortion pills into Texas.
Texas Right to Life has not responded to a request for comment on the bill.
Texas’ 90th Legislative Session begins on January 12, 2027.
