A group of Texas lawmakers is raising alarms after House leadership so far has declined to give a hearing to legislation that would establish June 24 as “Celebration of Life Day,” a holiday marking the reversal of Roe v. Wade.
House Bill 911 by State Rep. Briscoe Cain (R–Deer Park) was referred to the House Committee on Delivery of Government Efficiency—a counterintuitive place for the bill.
Cain told Texas Scorecard he was informed by the committee Chairman Giovanni Capriglione (R–Southlake) that the bill likely wouldn’t be set for a hearing because he felt it would require him to also advance a separate bill by his Democrat vice chair, Salman Bhojani (Euless), which would designate Islamic holidays as optional observances for state employees.
Bhojani is an outspoken Muslim.
“Chairman Capriglione informed me it was unlikely he would set my bill that celebrates the reversal of Roe v. Wade because it would be unfair if he didn’t set the vice-chairman’s bill celebrating Muslim holidays,” said Cain. “I don’t know why in a Republican-majority Texas House we have to move Democrat bills that advance the agenda of Islam in order to advance the agenda of the pro-life movement.”
Bhojani’s bill, House Bill 1047, would expand the list of optional holidays to include Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, Diwali, and other religious observances.
Cain’s bill, by contrast, would formally recognize June 24—the day the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe—as a state holiday called “Celebration of Life Day.”
A letter signed by 33 lawmakers was sent to Capriglione earlier this week requesting a hearing, emphasizing that the bill affirms Texas’ pro-life values and deserves public consideration.
Capriglione has not responded to a request for comment.
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