***TEXAS LEGISLATIVE UPDATE***

Dear Friend of Life,

Below is a summary of the most recent information we have received concerning the advancement of pro-life legislation during the Second Special Session of the Texas Legislature.  Your prayers, calls, emails and visits to the Capitol in support of Life are urgently needed! 

To reach the Governor's desk and become law, pro-life legislation must be voted out of both House and Senate Committees, and be passed by the House and Senate bodies as a whole.  Pro-life House Bill 2, filed by Rep. Jodie Laubenberg, will be heard in the House State Affairs Committee tomorrow, Tuesday, July 2, at 3:30 pm in room E2.030.  If you are able, please come to the Capitol in Austin tomorrow to (1) sign in in support of HB 2 and (2) testify in support of the bill if you would like.  Wear Texas Blue.  This hearing is the only activity on pro-life legislation anticipated this week.  The full House and Senate have adjourned until Tuesday, July 9, which means July 9 is the earliest possible date for HB 2 to be heard by the House in its entirety (assuming the bill is voted out of the House State Affairs Committee this week).   

If you plan to attend the hearing tomorrow, you will need to sign in in support of HB 2 and indicate if you wish to testify using one of the witness registration stations located near the committee hearing room.  Please note:  Signing in to register your support of the bill is worth making the trip to Austin, even if you do not wish to testify!  Additional details regarding witness registration are available here (and Texas Alliance for Life staff will be available to assist with the process).  If you desire to testify, you may do so orally and/or in writing.  If you wish to testify orally, prepare a 3-minute statement on how abortion has hurt or affected you or someone you know; otherwise, testify on why you support the merits of the bill. (Review HB 2 here.)  If you would like to submit written testimony to the Committee, you must bring 15 copies.  Testimony will be received until midnight.  (Note:  Bring your 15 copies of written testimony even if you sign up to testify orally, in case the hearing adjourns before you have been called to testify.  We anticipate large numbers on both sides signing in to give oral testimony.)

If you can't make it to the Capitol, here are 4 things you can do from home:

1. Pray!  Pray for all of us who are traveling to Austin tomorrow, for all who will be testifying on behalf of life, for our legislators, and for everyone involved – on both sides.  Pray for the protection of all, and for the conversion of hearts of those who support abortion.
   
2. Tweet!  Join the #Stand4Life tweetfest.  (Get the quickest updates from the CPLC:  Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.)
   
3. Make Contact!  Call or email your state representative and state senator to urge his or her support of the renewed efforts to pass pro-life legislation in the second session.  (Find your state representatives here.)
4. Watch for our additional updates re next Tuesday, July 9 – we will be looking into the possibility of organizing a bus to go to the Capitol from Dallas.  If you are interested, please email us as soon as possible at cplc@prolifedallas.org and let us know.
   

Thank you for your critical support of these historic legislative efforts to protect women and save lives in Texas!

Blessings in Christ, for Life,

Karen

Karen Garnett
Executive Director
Catholic Pro-Life Committee
Respect Life Ministry of the Diocese of Dallas