(Texas Scorecard) – Legislation filed by State Rep. Brent Money to remove legal protections for mothers who carry out self-managed abortions was abruptly pulled from a scheduled committee hearing, just one day before it was set to be heard.
House Bill 2197, which was filed to amend Texas’ penal code and treat all abortion-related deaths as homicide regardless of who performs them, was scheduled for a hearing on Tuesday, April 22, in the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee.
But on Monday evening, Money announced that State Rep. John Smithee, who chairs the committee, removed the bill from the agenda.
“I have been told by Chairman Smithee and the Speaker’s office that my bill to abolish abortion (HB 2197) has been yanked from the hearing list,” Money posted on X. “To all the pro-life activists who are traveling to Austin, I’m sorry. Chairman Smithee has told me it was the Speaker’s office, and the Speaker’s office has told me it was Chairman Smithee’s decision. I don’t care who decided to do it, but granting this bill a hearing and then yanking it the night before is wrong.”
As of publication, Smithee did not respond to a request for comment.
The decision drew immediate praise from Planned Parenthood Texas, which claimed credit for the reversal.
In a message sent to supporters, the organization said over 200 emails had been sent in less than 12 hours opposing the bill and celebrated that HB 2197 “will no longer be heard on Tuesday.”
The group called the legislation “dangerous” and encouraged continued activism on another bill that would tamp down on abortion-inducing drugs in a hearing later in the week.
The legislation also faced some opposition within the pro-life movement as well, with some criticizing the bill for subjecting women who obtain abortions to the death penalty. In a sit-down interview with Texas Scorecard shortly after filing the bill, Money emphasized that the legislation was not about creating new penalties but about applying the law equally.
“If killing a baby is murder, then it’s murder, no matter who does it,” he said, explaining that self-managed abortions remain legal in Texas even after the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
The move to yank the bill comes just days after House leadership sparked outrage among pro-life Texans for attempting to honor Cecile Richards, the former president of Planned Parenthood, with an official resolution. That effort was ultimately derailed after pushback from conservative lawmakers.