Women's Health Care Under Attack in Texas: 50 Votes in 10 Years

The more Republicans elected to the Texas House of Representative, the more record votes there are that attack women's health care.

Fifty votes in ten years is no accident - it's intentional.

Over the last 10 years, Texas conservatives in the State House of Representatives have cast at least 50 record votes against women's health care. Original research by Progress Texas shows that the more Republicans there are elected to the Texas House of Representative, the more record votes there are that attack women's health care. Research shows that in 2003 and 2011, when Republicans had their largest margins in the Texas House, were the years when women's health was decimated the most. Meanwhile, in 2007 and 2009 - when there was balanced partisanship in the Texas House - most all the anti-woman's legislation was kept from coming to the floor. A full accounting of our research can be found by clicking here.

Some of the most outrageous votes conservatives cast include:

  • Requiring doctors to lie to women and tell them an induced abortion can lead to breast cancer (2003)
  • Rejecting an amendment to ensure that any standard health benefit plan that provides coverage for medication to treat male erectile dysfunction to also include coverage for contraceptives (2003)
  • Refusing to ensure that contractors comply with basic federal family planning regulations when administering health care (2005)
  • Denying an increase in funding to family planning services (2007)
  • Requiring women to take a sonogram before receiving an abortion (2011)
  • Decimating funding for family planning services in Texas (2011)

A full account of the 50 votes in 10 years conservatives have cast against Texans can be found here.