Texas abortion law under scrutiny

Abbott asked whether some abortions are murder

Lawmaker says murder charges not appropriate.

By Jason Embry
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Thursday, July 13, 2006

Could Texas doctors face murder charges for performing late-term abortions or abortions on minors whose parents have not consented?

House State Affairs Committee Chairman David Swinford, R-Dumas, doesn't think so, but he's concerned that's how a statewide prosecutors group is interpreting legislation passed last year. Swinford has asked Attorney General Greg Abbott to weigh in with a formal opinion.

The question of whether murder charges should be on the table has even surprised some anti-abortion activists who pushed for the legislation in question.

"We certainly think that aborting a viable third-trimester baby is the killing of a child, but this is the first I have heard of anyone interpreting it to be a capital offense," said Kyleen Wright, president of the Texans For Life Coalition. READ MORE