Although President Donald Trump is working to build a Supreme Court that will one day reverse the Roe v. Wade decision, two states are moving forward with their own plans to abolish abortion completely.
In Texas, House Bill 948, which was filed in January, states, in part:
A living human child, from the moment of fertilization upon the fusion of a human spermatozoon with a human ovum, is entitled to the same rights, powers and privileges as are secured or granted by the laws of this state to any other human child.
Chief among those rights would be the right to life, as described in the Declaration of Independence. The bill also charges the state attorney general and all political subdivisions (cities and counties) to enforce the penal code with regard to abortion.
The bill also states:
Any federal statute, regulation, executive order or court decision which purports to supersede, stay or overrule this Act is in violation of the Texas Constitution and the Constitution of the United States of America and is therefore void. The State of Texas and its political subdivisions, and agents thereof, may not enter an appearance, special or otherwise, in any federal suit challenging this Act.
The bill's author, state Rep. Tony Tinderholt (R-Arlington), and his family were placed under protection of the Department of Public Safety because he began receiving death threats. Pro-life groups have called out Senate Republicans for failing to file a companion bill in their chamber.
The Texas Republican Party adopted a measure at its 2016 convention by a wide margin demanding the GOP-controlled legislature pass legislation to abolish abortion entirely during the 2017 session. And the Rev. Rusty Lee Thomas, National Director of Operation Save America, delivered the following speech at the steps of the state Capitol:
On the steps of the state Capitol in Montgomery, Alabama, after the successful completion of the Selma to Montgomery march on March 25, 1965, Martin Luther King Jr. uttered this famous phrase "How long? Not long." He proclaimed this as he was dealing with the evil and injustice of his generation. In fact, he stated, "How long? Not long, because no lie can live forever." And if I might be so bold to add, lies carry the seed of its own destruction, while truth carries the seed of its own survival. Moreover, he declared, "How long? Not long, because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice."
The reason why the moral universe arcs toward justice is because the God of the Bible is the God of all justice. His throne is built upon the two pillars of justice and righteousness and "He has shown us, O men, what is good; and what does the LORD require of us but to do justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with our God" (Micah 6:8)? The order is extremely important in God's economy.
Make no mistake about it; this is a long time in the making. We have endured an extended night of darkness, death and despair that has savaged our nation and its people, but as the Scripture promises "Joy comes in the morning." In God's providential history, we have come at this place, at this appointed time, to establish the self-evident truth, which is, man is made in the image of God, and these precious children in the womb need to be welcomed in life and protected by law like each and every one of us. We are simply demanding equal justice under the law.
We no longer come to regulate baby murder; we are here to end it. We are here to plead the case of the fatherless to win it, and let us be absolutely clear on this; we are not here to just plead their case anymore and wait for so-called pro-life scrapes to fall from the political table. We are here to win the case on the behalf of the fatherless. How long? Not long.
In 1973, with the infamous Roe v. Wade decision, America officially entered into a covenant of death. Our nation has been plagued with cultural immorality, government corruption and tyranny, and violence ever since. With HB 948, we will no longer nibble at the edges of this grave evil and injustice. We will no longer be content to use these precious children as political footballs to increase our coffers and political power. Those days have mercifully come to an end, and a new day is dawning. With HB 948 the standard of what it means to be pro-life will forever change in America. No more wiggle room, no more delays and no more compromise. The government sponsor of the murder of the preborn ends now, in Jesus' mighty name. Here we stand, we can do no less. God help us!
We are here to honor and obey God's moral commandment, "Thou shall not murder" and the covenant principles enshrined in our own founding documents. How many remember, "We hold these truths to be self-evident. That all men are created equal, and are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights that among these are the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."
As far as the Constitution is concerned, what does it actually state? "No person shall be deprived of life without due process of law." What capital crime was committed by the preborn that deserves capital punishment? You see, no penumbra of the Constitution, no mist that emanates from the Constitution can maintain this lawless facade any longer. The emperor has no clothes on. Besides, courts cannot make law and any human law that violates God's law is no law at all.
We are here to call upon our governor, our lt. governor, the attorney general and every legislator in Texas to be strong and of a good courage. We demand they uphold the rule of law and do their duty to protect life and stop the shedding of innocent blood and also preserve the God ordained institution of marriage.
We are here to call upon the church to regain her prophetic voice to instruct the moral conscience of Texas and our nation. We can no longer turn a blind eye and deaf ear to this injustice that plagues our state and nation. If we as God's people do not speak up and act, history will condemn our complicity. History has proven time and again that the church's silence and inaction in the face of evil always strengthens the oppressor and prolongs the suffering of the victim. That mentality needs to end at once along with the evil of abortion that it inadvertently supports.
We call upon the citizens of Texas and everyone of good will to rise up and convince our civil officials in Texas to co-sponsor and support the passage HB 948. And remember this one everlasting truth. We do not fight alone in this great battle for the souls of men, the lives of children and the future of our, broken, wounded land. There is a just God in heaven who presides over the destiny of nations. If we repent and do what is right in His sight, His blessing will return to Texas and beyond to secure a future and a hope. God bless Texas and God use us to pass this righteous bill in Jesus' mighty name!
Texans believe they are in this fight alone, but they aren't. Republicans in Iowa, with control of both chambers of the General Assembly for the first time in decades, and feeling pressure from a now-unified pro-life movement in the state, are considering their own "life at conception" bill—Senate File 253—that would outlaw abortion as well.
"Iowans have the opportunity right now to finally do something that will protect the lives of our most innocent," Iowa Right to Life Director Jenifer Bowen, a member of the state's new Coalition of Pro-Life Leaders, said. "With pro-life majorities in the House, Senate and the governor's mansion, and SF 253, the Life at Conception Act, on the table, it's time for Iowans to stand united and declare that together, we will defend Iowa's babies from death by abortion."
SF 253 passed out of subcommittee on a party-line vote Monday afternoon at the Iowa Statehouse, but faces an uncertain future. Sources in Des Moines say the bill has "maybe a 50-50" chance among Republicans in both chambers.
CoPPL is launching a media blitz to keep the pressure on those legislators. At a press conference that just got underway, the pro-life leaders will announce their new "She's a Baby" campaign, which engages video, radio and grassroots activism to inspire Iowans in the defense of life.
"That's the heart of the new She's a Baby campaign," Maggie DeWitte of Iowans for LIFE, another CoPLL member, said. "Because by now we've all heard the arguments about abortion. And people have understandable concerns. But there's one truth no argument can argue away. That little girl in her mother's womb? She's a baby."
Bob Vander Plaats, president and CEO of The FAMiLY LEADER, echoed those sentiments ahead of the press conference. He said the new campaign is meant to remind even the most ardent supporters of abortion that "She is a baby."
"Now is the time for Iowa to lead by doing what is right in passing SF 253," he said. "If not now ... when? If not us ... who?" 
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