Texas abortion laws prohibit nearly all abortions from the moment of fertilization, with a single narrow exception for life-threatening medical emergencies. The ban took effect on August 25, 2022, after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.1Supreme Court of the United States. Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization If you are pregnant in Texas and considering your options, the practical choices now involve contraception, emergency birth control, traveling to a state where abortion remains legal, and federal protections for emergency hospital care.
What the Ban Covers
Two state laws work together. The primary one is the Human Life Protection Act, codified at Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 170A. It makes performing or attempting an abortion a crime, and the prohibition starts at fertilization rather than at any later point in pregnancy.2State of Texas. Texas Health and Safety Code 170A.002 – Prohibited Abortion; Exceptions The statute’s definitions treat “pregnant” and “unborn child” as beginning at that same point.3State of Texas. Texas Health and Safety Code 170A.001 – Definitions
The second is the Texas Heartbeat Act, Senate Bill 8, which sits in Chapter 171. SB 8 bars a physician from performing an abortion once cardiac activity is detectable, usually around six weeks of pregnancy and often before a person knows they are pregnant.4Texas Legislature Online. Texas Senate Bill 8 – Texas Heartbeat Act Chapter 170A’s broader ban now covers everything SB 8 covers, but SB 8 remains active and carries a separate enforcement mechanism through private civil lawsuits.5Texas Legislature Online. Texas HB 1280 – Human Life Protection Act
Both surgical and medication abortions fall within the prohibition. The definition of abortion covers using instruments, drugs, or other means to end a pregnancy.
The Medical Exception
A physician may perform an abortion only when the patient has a life-threatening physical condition caused by, aggravated by, or arising from the pregnancy, and the condition places the patient at risk of death or poses a serious risk of substantial impairment of a major bodily function. A licensed physician makes this call using reasonable medical judgment.2State of Texas. Texas Health and Safety Code 170A.002 – Prohibited Abortion; Exceptions
Ectopic pregnancies and miscarriage management are explicitly carved out of the ban. Treating either does not count as a violation of Chapter 170A.
The Texas Medical Board adopted guidance in 2024 confirming that physicians do not need to wait until a medical emergency is imminent before intervening, echoing a Texas Supreme Court ruling on the same point. The board declined to publish a list of specific conditions that qualify, so determinations are made case by case. A doctor later found to have performed an illegal abortion risks losing their medical license, and the board’s findings can be used by prosecutors.
Who Can Be Prosecuted
Penalties target the provider, not the patient. Performing an abortion that results in the death of the unborn child is a first-degree felony punishable by 5 to 99 years or life in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.6State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 12.32 – First Degree Felony Punishment If the attempt does not result in the death of the unborn child, the offense drops to a second-degree felony, with 2 to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.7State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 12.33 – Second Degree Felony Punishment
SB 8 adds civil exposure. Any private citizen may sue a person who performs an abortion in violation of the Heartbeat Act, or anyone who knowingly helps, which can include paying for the procedure, reimbursing costs through insurance, or providing other logistical assistance. A successful plaintiff receives at least $10,000 in statutory damages per violation, plus court costs and attorney’s fees, and the person suing does not need any personal connection to the situation.8State of Texas. Texas Health and Safety Code 171.208 – Civil Liability for Violation or Aiding or Abetting Violation
The pregnant person is protected. Chapter 170A explicitly bars the state from imposing criminal, civil, or administrative penalties on the person who receives an abortion, even one performed in violation of the law.9State of Texas. Texas Health and Safety Code 170A.003 – Construction of Chapter The enforcement apparatus is aimed entirely at providers and those who help them.
Medication Abortion
Mifepristone, the drug most commonly used in medication abortions, cannot be legally prescribed or dispensed in Texas for the purpose of ending a pregnancy. Chapter 170A’s prohibition covers all methods of ending a pregnancy, which pulls medication abortion inside the ban along with surgical procedures.
The FDA updated its mifepristone rules in January 2023 to allow dispensing through certified pharmacies with a prescription, and the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel has stated that the Comstock Act does not prohibit mailing the drug when the sender does not intend an unlawful use. These federal developments matter in states where medication abortion is still legal. In Texas, prescribing, dispensing, or helping someone use mifepristone to end a pregnancy exposes the provider and anyone assisting to the same criminal and civil penalties that apply to any other abortion.
Traveling to Another State
No Texas statute prevents a resident from leaving the state to obtain an abortion where it is legal. States such as New Mexico, Colorado, and Illinois have enacted laws protecting out-of-state patients, and the constitutional right to interstate travel limits Texas’s reach over conduct in another jurisdiction. Because the state’s ban targets the person performing the abortion, Texas has no criminal jurisdiction over a provider operating elsewhere.
A caveat: a handful of Texas counties have passed local ordinances attempting to restrict abortion-related travel. In 2023, Cochran, Goliad, Lubbock, and Mitchell counties each adopted ordinances of this type. They remain legally contested and have not been widely enforced, but residents in those counties should know they exist.
Tax Treatment of Medical Travel
The IRS classifies a legal abortion as a deductible medical expense, and related transportation costs qualify when you travel for the procedure. For 2025 returns, the standard medical mileage rate is 21 cents per mile. Lodging tied to medical care away from home is deductible up to $50 per night for the patient and one companion. Meals generally are not deductible unless provided at the medical facility.10Internal Revenue Service. Publication 502, Medical and Dental Expenses To claim the medical expense deduction, your total unreimbursed medical expenses must exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income.
Some employers offer travel reimbursement for out-of-state reproductive care. When structured through a qualifying health plan, these reimbursements are excluded from your taxable income and not subject to payroll taxes, as long as the travel is primarily for medical care and stays within IRS limits. Any reimbursement above those limits, such as lodging above $50 per night, is treated as taxable income.
Emergency Hospital Care
The Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, known as EMTALA, requires every hospital that accepts Medicare funding to screen and stabilize any patient who arrives with an emergency medical condition. If the hospital cannot provide the needed care, it must arrange a transfer to a facility that can. This duty applies to pregnancy-related emergencies.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 1395dd – Examination and Treatment for Emergency Medical Conditions and Women in Labor
The interaction between EMTALA and state abortion bans is still being litigated. In Moyle v. United States (2024), the Supreme Court dismissed the case without reaching a final decision on preemption. In June 2025, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. issued a letter to healthcare providers stating that EMTALA preempts state laws that directly conflict with its requirements and that providers should not use state abortion restrictions as a reason to deny stabilizing care in emergencies. The current guidance references obstetric emergencies like ectopic pregnancies, miscarriages, and premature membrane rupture, though in narrower language than prior guidance about when abortion care is required.
If you believe a hospital denied you emergency stabilizing treatment, you can file an EMTALA complaint through the CMS online portal. Complaints may be submitted anonymously.
Contraception and Plan B
Texas does not restrict contraception. Birth control pills, IUDs, implants, patches, and other hormonal or barrier methods remain fully legal and available through pharmacies, clinics, and physicians. The constitutional right to contraception established in Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) has not been overturned, and the Dobbs majority stated that its holding was limited to abortion.
Plan B and its generic equivalents are available over the counter without a prescription at pharmacies and major retailers throughout the state. These medications work by preventing fertilization rather than ending an existing pregnancy, which places them outside Chapter 170A’s prohibition, because the statute defines pregnancy as starting at fertilization and emergency contraception acts before that point.3State of Texas. Texas Health and Safety Code 170A.001 – Definitions
No federal statute specifically codifying the right to contraception has been enacted. The Right to Contraception Act has been introduced in Congress multiple times but has not passed.12Congress.gov. S.422 – Right to Contraception Act Access currently rests on Supreme Court precedent and the absence of any Texas law restricting it.
Your Medical Privacy
HIPAA’s baseline privacy protections still apply to reproductive health records in Texas. Covered entities such as hospitals, clinics, and insurance companies are permitted but not required to disclose your protected health information without your consent, even when another law demands it. For a disclosure to qualify as “required by law” under HIPAA, the legal mandate must be enforceable in court and the disclosure cannot exceed what the outside law specifically requires.13U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. HIPAA Privacy Rule and Disclosures of Information Relating to Reproductive Health Care
In 2024, HHS finalized a rule adding extra protections for reproductive health records, requiring providers to obtain attestations before disclosing that information. A federal district court vacated most of that rule in June 2025. The enhanced protections are not currently in force, and providers fall back on standard HIPAA rules when responding to requests for patient records.
Digital privacy is a separate problem. Location data from phones, search history, period-tracking apps, and payment records can all reveal information about reproductive healthcare decisions, and none of these sources are covered by HIPAA. If you are considering traveling for care, encrypted messaging, cash or prepaid cards, and disabling location tracking are practical steps that address real-world privacy risks the law does not cover.