State Sen. Eddie Lucio, D-Brownsville, was the only Democrat in the Texas Senate to vote for the controversial abortion bill earlier this summer, and said he will re-file his bill requiring women to take a class about adoption before they can get an abortion.
Lucio is not against providing extra healthcare funds to make services available, but is still true to his beliefs about abortion.
"I’m hoping that we can save a few lives by having the woman think about the possibility of allowing her child to go through the birth process and giving it up if necessary so she can continue to go through her life as maybe she has planned," he said.
Lucio said the bill will require all women to complete a Health and Human Services-designed class about adoption and receive a certificate before being allowed to receive an abortion in Texas.
He said the class will be able to be taken for free in person or online.
Lucio said it would be a three-hour course that would need to be completed 24 hours before receiving an abortion. The content would consist of information about pregnancy, resources that expectant parents can access and information about adoption.
Victims of rape or incest would be exempt from the course, and Lucio said he will spend the next year and half adjusting the bill so it is ready for the 2015 legislative session.
"It gives us time to look at the bill during the interim," he said. "I’m okay with that. The only thing that concerns me is the amount of abortions that happen every day -- I'm told about 3,000 a day nationwide."
Lucio said between now and the next legislative session he will be talking to fellow lawmakers and various community leaders to garner the support needed to pass the bill.
