A bill in Texas dubbed the "wrongful birth" bill, which prohibits parents from suing doctors if their child is born with severe disabilities, is now headed to the full state Senate.
The Texas Senate Committee on State Affairs Committee approved Senate Bill 25 on Monday, after hearing emotional testimony from both supporters and opponents of the measure.
Abortion-rights supporters contended the bill would result in pro-life doctors lying to patients about the health of their fetuses. They warned of dire, unintended consequences and said the bill would let physicians who are opposed to abortion "lie to" and "impose their own morality on" patients.
But anti-abortion advocates disagreed with that characterization and said the bill does not regulate abortion or restrict access to abortion or testing. The bill's supporters say if a doctor deliberately withheld information about a fetus, the parents could still sue for malpractice and gross negligence.
The bill's sponsor, Republican Sen. Brandon Creighton, said patients could still sue for negligence, but could not hold doctors liable for delivering disabled children.
In 1975, the Texas Supreme Court ruled that parents were entitled to damages covering the extra cost of raising a child with disabilities after doctors failed to fully inform them about problems with the pregnancy.
