In a major pro-life victory, the Texas Medical Board (TMB), voted on August 24, 2006, to require that abortion doctors obtain the written consent of a parent or guardian before performing an abortion on a minor girl and that the signature be notarized. The TMB is charged with regulating physicians.
This new TMB rule goes a long way to prevent the fraud like we have already seen in Texas. In April, a pro-life investigator called a Houston abortion facility saying that she wanted to schedule an abortion for a young girl. The abortion facility staff coached the caller on how to circumvent the parental consent law by bringing someone to fraudulently sign for a parent at the facility where an illegal abortion would be performed.
The requirement of a notarized signature will make that kind of fraud harder to get away with and increase the penalties if someone tries. Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers strongly opposed the new rule.
This victory rests on one of the most significant pro-life victories in Texas, when the Legislature passed a bill requiring written parental consent before a physician can perform an abortion on a minor girl. That allowed pro-life Governor Rick Perry to sign the bill into law in June 2005. Governor Perry also weighed in with the Texas Medical Board to support strong rules to prevent fraud at abortion facilities. Without his support, there would be no victories, and parents would have no legal right to protect their little girls from abortion providers.
For information on how you can thank Governor Perry for his consistent pro-life support, click here.
There are other provisions to protect minor girls from abortion providers, including:
Texas Alliance for Life held a tremendously successful Leadership Circle kick off event in Austin
last week. The Leadership Circle holds three meetings a year for members and their spouses or guests with prominent pro-life medical and legal experts, community leaders, and elected officials. Speaking to an overflow crowd at the first meeting was Dr. Stephen Fletcher, Chief of Pediatric Neurosurgery at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston and at Memorial-Hermann Children's Hospital. A staunch pro-life advocate, Dr. Fletcher described his efforts to fight for children's lives and well being in his daily work, even those with severe injuries. He discussed ground-breaking research using adult stem cells (not embryonic) to treat children with traumatic brain injuries.
More than a dozen people joined the Leadership Circle at the first meeting! The next meetings are planned for January, April, and August. Members also receive a complimentary table for 10 at our annual October dinner. Membership requires an annual financial contribution (monthly, quarterly, or onetime) at one of the following levels:
Many companies encourage their employees to donate to non-profit organizations through United Way. If your company participates, it is easy to donate to Texas Alliance for Life. United Way acts as a pass-through organization, taking a very minimal percentage to cover their administrative costs. What an easy and effective way for you to support our efforts to protect babies!
During the fall, campaign coordinators at your company will begin their annual drive. They have the materials for you make donations through payroll deduction, check, or credit card for 2006 - 2007. (We know of no United Way affiliates in Texas that provides funding to Planned Parenthood.)Most United Way organizations have an "Open Door Choice." This allows you to "write in" our name and contact information. On the pledge form (either the standard version or customized version for your company), there is a line near the bottom of the page that states "Optional for donations other than, or in addition to, the United Way." You simply enter your gift amount and our contact information:Texas Alliance for Life Trust Fund2026 Guadalupe St.Austin, TX 78705Texas Alliance for Life Trust Fund is our charitable, 501(c)(3) account, which we use to for pro-life education, legal defense, and compassionate alternatives to abortions. The United Way will automatically mail us a check with your donation on a quarterly basis. For more information, please contact Alexis Dobson at alexis@texasallianceforlife.org or 512-477-1244.