Yesterday, Texas governor Greg Abbott signed into law an amendment adding Abortion to the list of heinous crimes subject to capital punishment. Under the new law, anyone convicted in a Texas court of aiding or abetting an abortion could be sentenced to death by a jury or presiding judge. Circumstances can be taken into consideration when meting out this sentence such as race, color, and national origin.
The governor acknowledged this legislation was the result of extreme pressure from "Every Life Matters," a nationwide right-to-life group and major campaign donor during his reelection bid. They originally had lobbied for the application of Texas' new Accelerated Execution Program (aka AEP). Abbott declined to support this right now, citing the current schedule of executions was already taxing state prison and cemetery staff to the breaking point.
The Texas Republican, a regional print-only newspaper, recently reported that people were being executed faster in Texas than all 49 other states combined, thanks to the new program. AEP was part of a 2020 bill (TX:2020.04) also authorizing adults without a college degree to become certified teachers for K-12 public schools (with proof of successfully completing 8th grade).
Northeastern states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Vermont reacted immediately on the day's news, and will codify non-extradition laws in their states to prevent sending anyone back to Texas for execution because they were involved with an abortion procedure, giving female reproductive health advice, or hosting a website with related information.
