State Legal Snapshot
Abortion law, status, and enforcement — one-page reference
Texas enforces a near-total abortion ban with a narrow medical emergency exception, backed by overlapping criminal, civil, and private-enforcement statutes.
Tex. Health & Safety Code § 170A.002(a) · Zurawski v. State of Texas, No. 23-0629 (Tex. May 31, 2024)
Texas's legal treatment of fetal personhood is internally consistent but conceptually layered. The Penal Code and Civil Code both define the unborn child as an 'individual' — a person — from fertilization, giving the fetus homicide-victim status and wrongful-death standing. At the same time, both codes contain express carve-outs that exempt the pregnant woman from criminal and civil liability for the death of the unborn child (Penal Code § 19.06(1); Civil Practice & Remedies Code § 71.003(c)(1)), and exempt physicians who perform lawful medical procedures (Penal Code § 19.06(2)-(4); CPRC § 71.003(c)(2)-(4)).
Tex. Penal Code § 1.07(a)(26) · Tex. Penal Code § 19.06
An unemancipated minor must obtain the consent of one parent, managing conservator, or guardian, and the physician must give at least 48 hours actual notice before the abortion; both requirements are waived in a medical emergency with insufficient time.
Texas has no statute requiring spousal or paternal consent or notice for an abortion.
| Actor | Offense | Penalty |
|---|---|---|
| Physician (abortion provider) | Violation of § 170A.002 — performing, inducing, or attempting an abortion outside the medical emergency exception | Second-degree felony (2-20 years imprisonment, up to $10,000 fine); first-degree felony (5-99 years or life, up to $10,000 fine) if unborn child dies; civil penalty of not less than $100,000 per violation; mandatory license revocation; Texas Medical Board discipline |
| Physician (SB 8 exposure) | Performing or inducing an abortion after detection of fetal cardiac activity (§ 171.204) | Private civil action: statutory damages of not less than $10,000 per abortion, plus injunctive relief, costs, and attorney fees |
| Aider/abettor (SB 8) | Knowingly engaging in conduct that aids or abets an abortion after fetal cardiac activity detection, including paying for or reimbursing abortion costs | Same as above: private civil action, minimum $10,000 statutory damages per violation plus injunctive relief, costs, and attorney fees |
| Medication provider/distributor (Ch. 171A) | Manufacturing, distributing, mailing, transporting, delivering, prescribing, or providing abortion-inducing drugs to or from any person or location in Texas | Qui tam civil action: minimum $100,000 statutory penalty per violation, plus reasonable attorney fees and costs; potential criminal accomplice exposure under pre-Roe statutes (2-5 years) |
| Pregnant woman | Not criminally or civilly liable under abortion-specific statutes (expressly exempted by § 170A.003, § 171.208(e), § 171A.051(b)(2)) | None under abortion statutes; theoretical unresolved exposure under Penal Code fetal homicide provisions (§ 1.07(a)(26), § 19.06) has not been tested |
Zurawski v. State of Texas (post-decision developments)
Litigation · Texas Supreme Court rejected facial challenge May 31, 2024; potential federal constitutional challenge or as-applied challenge could follow
A renewed as-applied challenge on behalf of specific medical conditions not adequately covered, or a federal constitutional claim, could further define the boundaries of the medical emergency exception; unlikely to substantially alter the regime given the unanimous Texas Supreme Court ruling.
Challenge to Chapter 171A (HB 7) medication ban
Litigation · Law took effect December 4, 2025; constitutional challenges anticipated on First Amendment, Commerce Clause, Full Faith and Credit, and Due Process grounds
A court could enjoin the anti-shield provisions, the qui tam enforcement mechanism, or the entire Chapter 171A on constitutional grounds; alternatively, the law may be upheld, substantially curtailing medication abortion access in Texas and creating interstate enforcement conflicts.
County abortion travel ban challenges
Litigation · County ordinances in Cochran, Goliad, Lubbock, and potentially other counties remain on the books; no appellate ruling on their constitutionality
A court ruling could either strike down all county travel bans as unconstitutional violations of the right to interstate travel, or could uphold them, encouraging more counties to adopt similar ordinances and further restricting practical access to out-of-state abortion.
The principal near-total abortion ban in Texas, prohibiting abortion from fertilization with a single medical emergency exception, enforced through criminal felony charges, civil penalties, and license revocation.
The landmark private-enforcement abortion ban, allowing any person to sue for at least $10,000 per prohibited abortion; its novel enforcement structure survived pre-enforcement Supreme Court review and served as the model for Chapter 171A.
Creates a dedicated medication-abortion enforcement regime with qui tam private enforcement ($100,000+ per violation) and anti-shield provisions targeting out-of-state providers and shield-law states.
Defines 'abortion' as an act intended to cause the death of an unborn child of a woman known to be pregnant, with express exclusions for miscarriage management, ectopic pregnancy, and acts to save the unborn child.
The pre-Roe criminal abortion laws that were challenged in Roe v.
Generated from the structured legal focused deep-research record for TX (research completed 2026-07-12). This snapshot condenses a much larger sourced dataset — full citations, quoted statutory text, and plain-language explanations are in the full Texas survey. This document has not been reviewed by a lawyer and should not be used as legal advice.