A Texas Republican has introduced a bill that would restrict access to information on how to obtain an abortion or
abortion pills online. Dubbed the
Women and Child Safety Act, the legislation authored by Houston-area state
Rep. Steve Toth would require Internet service providers (ISPs) to "make every reasonable and technologically feasible effort to block Internet access to information or material intended to assist or facilitate efforts to obtain an elective abortion or an abortion-inducing drug."
Should HB 2690 pass, it would also make it illegal to create, edit, publish, host, maintain, or register a domain name for a website that helps people seek abortions. The legislation's text specifically singles out web sites by Aid Access, Hey Jane, Plan C, Choix, Just the Pill and Carafem. Similarly to
Senate Bill 8, it encourages individuals to sue people or organizations that violates the proposed law. It would also criminalize abortion fund websites that help Texans to obtain abortions in other states—even if abortion is legal in those places.