Texas senators have unanimously passed a wrongful birth bill that would allow doctors to lie to pregnant moms but protect them from potential lawsuits. The bill will soon enter another round of deliberation but it has already sparked a heated conversation among pro-life and pro-choice supporters.
Under the wrongful birth bill, doctors would be protected if they don't tell their patient certain details about the pregnancy. In a situation where doctors think telling the truth would push the mother to abort her baby, then doctors would not be accountable for lying. When the mother learns she's carrying a child with severe disabilities and her doctors did not tell her, she won't be able to sue them, San Antonio Current reported.
Republican Sen. Brandon Creighton authored the wrongful birth bill, S.B. No. 25. He said the measure is to ensure that children with disabilities are not discriminated. Creighton also said he believes the majority of Texans support the rationale and value behind the bill.
"Children born with disabilities ought to have the same rights as any abled person," the senator said, per Dallas News. "Their rights are just as important as others."
Pro-choice proponents, however, said the bill is not about protecting children with disabilities or the doctors. It is actually anti-abortion and dehumanizing for mothers, according to Romper. Pregnant moms have the right to know they are carrying a child with disability especially since raising special needs kids is physically, emotionally and financially draining.
"It shouldn't be the policy for the state of Texas to excuse doctors from lying to their patients," NARAL Pro-Choice Texas advisor Blake Rocap said. "That's what this bill does."
Mom Rachel Tiddle testified why she should have been told of her baby's condition when she was pregnant. She wasn't looking at abortion as an option but she wanted early intervention therapies that could've helped her child's condition. Tiddle, whose baby died at birth, is against Creighton's bill because it would allow doctors to impose their moral beliefs.
